Hot Mess

by R. Linda

  “The wrong people? Really? Who am I going to tell?”

  “Do you want to come to the party or not? That’s why I’m here,” he said before shaking his head and walking off muttering under his breath.

  “Huh.” I turned to face Eva who had already stripped off her clothes and was standing in my living room in a swimsuit. “What are you doing?”

  “You heard the dick. Let’s party.”

  “Let’s party?”

  “Yes. Go get your suit on.” Eva ushered me to my room.

  I changed into my high-waisted red and white polka dot bikini. It was my favorite; totally made me look like a fifties pin-up. Then I covered it up with shorts and an off the shoulder gray sweatshirt.

  Eva was in the kitchen with the blender, tequila and a tub of ice cubes. “Get the grenadine,” she ordered as she pulled open the fridge and grabbed the carton of orange juice.

  I grabbed two cocktail glasses from the cupboard and poured a little bit of the red liquid in the bottom while Eva blitzed the tequila, O.J and ice together to make Sunrise Slushies.

  “Wait!” She reached for my glass before I could take a sip and dug through my bottom drawer before pulling out two straws and two paper umbrellas. “There.” She clapped once. “Let’s go.”

  I followed her out to the backyard and over to the pool area. The music was thumping, and people were dancing, swimming, drinking. My eyes landed on Tate who looked our way, raised his beer in our direction and nodded. I returned his smile with a small one of my own and sat down with Eva on one of the lounge chairs beside the pool.

  I still didn’t understand how he could get away with having a party like this and no one finding out about it when he was so careful about his privacy. Guess he and Rachel had really trustworthy friends.

  We sipped our drinks, and I found myself actually enjoying myself. Girls were floating in the pool on blow-up flamingoes that obviously didn’t come from the pool shed, because I only had an inflatable frog. People flitted in and out of the house.

  Every now and then my eyes wandered over in Tate’s direction. He was talking and laughing with his mates, but each time, as though he could sense me watching him, he’d meet my gaze and smile. I figured he still felt bad about the garage thing and was being extra nice to make up for it.

  Eva returned to the pool house to make us another cocktail and no sooner had she left was her chair occupied by none other than Tate himself.

  “Can I help you?”

  “You came,” he said. His voice was rich, deep and smooth. He lifted his beer to his mouth and took a drink, Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as he swallowed. And that urge to dive into the pool again returned. Since when did I find an Adam’s apple sexy? I was in so much trouble when it came to this guy.

  “Yeah well, it was Eva’s idea.”

  “She’s smart.”

  “That’s debatable. She’s just fond of...” I trailed off and waved my hands in his direction.

  Tate pointed to himself and smirked. “Me?”

  “You seem surprised.”

  “Nah, I just like hearing it. What about you?”

  “What about me?” I narrowed my eyes. He wasn’t seriously asking if I was a fan of him, was he?

  “Do you share her fondness for...” He paused and thought about the right word to use.

  “I’m not easily impressed by pretty things.” I waved him off and glanced over my shoulder searching for Eva with my cocktail. He was so full of himself. I’d never met anyone like him.

  “Who let the whale out?” The voice was shrill, drifting over me like an ice-cold bucket of water had been thrown over my shoulders. I shivered and looked up right into the eyes of Rachel.

  We’d not had much interaction since she moved in with Tate, but the times I did pass her, she always had a snide remark. They were mostly muttered under her breath, though, not announced loudly as the music ends so the whole party can hear.

  “Excuse me?” I stood up, not intending to let a twig like her insult me.

  “I said, who let the wh—”

  Tate cut her off by gripping her by the elbow and pulling her to face him. “We heard what you said.” I held my breath, knowingly, unlike those buxom heroines in my romance novels who always seemed to hold their breath without realizing. Was he going to stand up for me? My heart stuttered. In front of all these people? “Relax. If she wants to hang out by the pool, she can. It’s her house. Let’s go.”

  “But she’s ruining the view.”

  “Rachel,” Tate warned, and if I wasn’t mistaken, Tate’s jaw was tense and his posture rigid as though he wasn’t happy with her.

  I released the breath I knew I was holding and squared my shoulders. I was stupid to think Tate would stand up to his girlfriend for me in front of all their friends, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t stand up for myself.

  “Wait,” I said as Tate pulled her away. They stopped and turned to face me. Tate raised an eyebrow curiously, while Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her heeled foot on the ground giving off an air of impatience. “I know I’m not thin, toned or tanned. My thighs rub together and considering my love of pizza, that will never change. I’d rather look like this and eat what I want than starve myself to look super-hot in a barely-there bikini.”

  “You keep telling yourself that,” Rachel scoffed.

  “I’m serious. I’m happy the way I am, and I know I’ll never look as hot as you.”

  Rachel flicked her hair over her shoulder, smoothed out her dress and smirked. “It takes a lot of work to look this hot.”

  It took all my self-control not to roll my eyes at her. No wonder she and Tate were together. They were both so self-absorbed. I imagined they fought over the mirror in the mornings to make themselves look beautiful.

  “Oh my god.” I put on the fakest voice I could muster and still hold my dignity. Taking a step closer to her I continued, “You are like so super-hot. You really must need to cool down.”

  Before Malibu Barbie could realize what I was doing, I placed my hands on her shoulders and pushed as hard as I could. Her mouth dropped open and she stumbled back. Her arms lifted and waved frantically in the air while she tried to catch her balance, and she almost had it, but those strappy stilettos were precarious at the best of times, let alone on the tiled edge of a swimming pool.

  Rachel lost her footing and fell backwards, but not before grabbing on to Tate’s arm, who unfortunately, in an attempt to keep his balance and perfectly-styled sexy bed hair from getting wet, reached out for me and dragged me into the pool with them.

  Unlike the icy chill that washed over me at Rachel’s hurtful words a few moments earlier, the water was surprisingly warm as I was submerged and tangled in a mass of limbs. I tried to fight my way to the top, but it was Tate’s hands on my waist that pulled me to the surface.

  “You okay?” he asked, wiping the water from his face and taking a deep breath. His grip tightened on my hips and pulled me closer. His leg slid between mine and before I could muster an answer, he pushed me back and pulled Rachel to him as she came up for air. It all happened so fast I didn’t think she noticed our brief...

  I didn’t know what it was, but I liked it.

  Cheers and laughter and catcalling echoed around the pool as everyone in the backyard stopped to watch us in the water.

  “You okay, baby?” He bit his lip as he spoke to her, and I could have sworn it was to stop himself from laughing, but that would be crazy. Surely, he’d be upset with me for drowning his girlfriend. Though, considering the impressive size of the airbags on her chest, I’m surprised she went under at all. I would have thought she’d have floated like a raft. Guess I was wrong.

  “What the hell?” Rachel screeched, pushing her wet hair out of her face and reaching for me. Tate grabbed her around the waist and hauled her away from me, but it still didn’t stop her from screaming and causing even more of a scene.

  “Holy shit. What did I miss?” Eva asked as she
stood on the edge of the pool with our drinks.

  “Felt like going for a swim.” I shrugged and lifted my hand up for the glass.

  “In your clothes?”

  I nodded.

  “Okay.” She placed her drink down on the edge and dove into the pool fully dressed as well. “I can get onboard with that.” She laughed as she came up for air.

  I laughed and sent her a grateful smile, knowing that she did it to make me feel better.

  “Woo!” Someone screamed before a splash sounded, followed by more cheers and more bodies jumping fully-clothed into my pool.

  I looked around and couldn’t help but laugh at the entire situation. It seemed like us falling in the pool was just what was needed to loosen the rest of the party up. It didn’t escape my attention that Rachel was nowhere to be seen. But it was Tate who caught my eyes.

  He was sitting at the far end of the pool on the edge. Shirt removed, water dripping down his face and perfectly-sculptured chest. I wondered briefly as his eyes bore into mine, sending chills up and down my spine that had nothing to do with the temperature of the water, whether he’d let me sculpt him one day.

  Chapter Nine

  TATE

  I watched Wren and her friend Eva in the pool, carefree and relaxed as they sipped whatever pink cocktails they were drinking. Laughing and splashing each other. It only took about three seconds after I climbed out of the pool for everyone else in the backyard to join them, fully-clothed. Phones and keys, purses and wallets were strewn across the yard.

  I was contemplating sliding back into the water at the exact moment Rachel returned. Dried, dressed in jeans and her hair up. She never looked that casual unless she was sick, so it could only mean one thing.

  Music cut out, Rachel climbed on to the table and announced, “The party is over. Get the fuck out.”

  Everyone stopped and shared confused glances for a moment before she shouted it again and they all scrambled to get out of the pool. Everyone except Wren and Eva who were giggling into their cocktail glasses.

  “Shit. Good luck with that bro,” Jet said and shook my hand as he grabbed his stuff to leave.

  Donovan bounced on his feet for a few moments, glancing over his shoulder at the door Rachel had stormed back through. Fucking whipped. “You deal with that, because I don’t want to look at her, or I’ll do something we will both regret.”

  Donovan waited until the party cleared before heading inside, searching for Rachel. It was moments like these I was glad he was head-over-heels in love with her because it meant I didn’t have to put up with her shit. Though I did wish he had have picked someone better to fall for. Someone who appreciated him and deserved his devotion. Rachel didn’t do anything unless it benefited her. She was so self-absorbed that she didn’t see what was right in front of her.

  Given the chance, Donovan would idolize her. Dote on her. But Rachel would never see that.

  Once Donovan had disappeared into the house, I grabbed a trash bag and began cleaning up all the cans and bottles lying around. The yard was a mess.

  “Want some help?” Wren asked. She stood before me, still in her clothes, dripping wet, and fresh cocktail in her hand.

  “No, it’s fine.” I shook my head and continued picking up the garbage.

  “I feel like I ruined your party.”

  I smirked. “You didn’t ruin my party.”

  Wren smiled, a look of relief on her face.

  “You ruined Rachel’s party.”

  Her eyes widened and she winced. “She’s going to hate me so much more now.”

  “She doesn’t hate you,” I said even though I knew it probably wasn’t true. Rachel didn’t like anyone who couldn’t further her career. Which was ironic, because her career was simply being popular, and you don’t become popular by being a bitch.

  Wren let out a bitter laugh. “She called me a whale in front of everyone. If that’s not hatred, then I pity the person she truly hates.”

  “Rachel’s just... Rachel.”

  “Yeah because that makes it better.” Wren downed her drink, turned and walked away, presumably to find Eva. Maybe I should have tried to fix things for Wren, but really, I didn’t need to beg forgiveness on Rachel’s part. She wouldn’t want it and it would be an empty apology regardless.

  I finished clearing the yard of rubbish and even managed to pick up a few hundred dollars that seemed to have fallen from purses or money clips. I’d slide that into Wren’s cookie jar when she wasn’t pissed at me. God knew she needed the money more than I did.

  Donovan came back outside with his hands held up in the surrender gesture. “She’s absolutely mental, man. You’re on your own. I’m out.” He waved his hands and shook his head slowly before turning to leave.

  “Shit.” I kicked at the ground, loosened my shoulders and bounced on my feet as though I was in the ring preparing for a fight. I guess technically I was. If Donovan bailed, then it must be pretty bad inside. I needed a way to tame the beast, something that would make her forget the pool incident and her embarrassment. Why? Because PR’s a bitch.

  I entered the house, wondering where Rachel was. In my room? Her room? The gym? It didn’t take long to figure out though. The shattering of glass in the hall and the loud screech was a dead giveaway. I rushed toward her to find her pulling a framed picture off the wall and throwing it on the ground.

  ‘Rachel!” I called but she ignored me, moving onto a bust next. I cringed when it shattered on the ground, breaking into a million clay pieces. Skirting over the debris from all Wren’s destroyed artwork, I lunged for Rachel, wrapped my arms around her waist, and hoisted her over my shoulders.

  I’d worry about how I was going to tell Wren Rachel destroyed her art in the morning. Right then, I needed to get her to stop kicking and screaming and punching my back. I carried her to her room and threw her on her bed. Her eyes flashed and she grinned at me. “Wanna get rough, baby?”

  Suppressing the urge to roll my eyes, I ground out, “No. I want you to cool the crazy down and stop destroying shit.”

  Rachel sat up and bared her teeth. “She made me look like an idiot.”

  “So, you destroy her stuff? Her parents’ house?”

  “You,” she growled and stomped toward me until we were chest to chest, “you made me look like a fool.” She turned away and walked to the dresser, knocking the mirror off the top onto the floor. “You pulled her to the surface of the water.” She swiped her arm across the nightstand knocking the lamp off. “Do you know how bad that looked? Why? Why would you save her? You’re my fiancé!”

  “Because I didn’t know if she’d sink,” I said, swallowing the lump in my throat from making fun of Wren’s fuller figure. I regretted it the moment the words escaped my lips, but there wasn’t much I could do, except maybe tear Rachel down a peg or two as well.

  She threw her head back and laughed at Wren’s expense, causing the pit in my stomach to grow with guilt.

  “Besides, I knew you’d float,” I said with all the seriousness I could muster as I tried not to look at her overly-inflated chest. Those things would never sink.

  She preened and gave me a flirty smile, completely missing the insult.

  “Just calm down and go to bed.”

  I left Rachel in a slightly better mood after that and went in search of the broom and more trash bags. It was going to be a long night of cleaning up her mess, and the leftover bottles and cans inside from the party.

  I hated house parties.

  Chapter Ten

  WREN

  “Come on,” Eva giggled as she poured me yet another cocktail. We were well and truly wasted. “It’ll be so much fun.”

  “We’ll probably die,” I insisted.

  “We won’t. It’ll be amazing. I promise.”

  “Will it fit?” I screwed my nose up as she began unraveling the rubber in front of us.

  “Do you trust me?”

  “Not at all.”

  “Bitch.”

 
; I grinned. She gave me a pleading look. One that not even the most determined person could refuse. “Okay, fine. You pump that up. I’ll go and get the film ready.”

  “Make it something worth looking at. I want muscles and abs. Don’t put one on that’s all chicks or old men. Kay?”

  “Yeah, yeah.” I waved over my shoulder as I walked out the door.

  Careful not to stumble over my own unsteady feet as the ground wobbled beneath me, I made my way out to the projector and switched it on. Eva wanted muscles and I had the perfect movie for that.

  After setting up the film I went to see if Eva needed help and was knocked over by the inflatable mattress she was pushing out my door. Landing on my butt, I hissed as pain shot up my arms from my wrists when they broke my fall.

  “Argh.”

  “Wren?” Eva’s voice called from behind the mattress before her face appeared around the side. “What are you doing on the ground?”

  “You knocked me over. And it really hurts.”

  “Well get up, this thing’s heavier than I thought for something full of air.”

  “I’m fine by the way.” I stood up and brushed off my hands before grabbing one side of the mattress and helping her drag it over to the edge of the pool.

  “Okay, help me with the pool,” she said and skipped off back to the pool house. I followed reluctantly, still not convinced this was her best idea, and helped her lift the inflatable pool as well. “Ahh, Eva?”

  “Yes?”

  “What happened to my shelf?” My shelf with photo frames and vases was on the floor, glass and ceramic pieces everywhere.

  “Oh, umm, the pool kind of knocked everything off.” She shrugged as if it were no big deal. “We’ll clean it tomorrow.”

  “You will clean it tomorrow. This was your hare-brained idea.” I was not cleaning her mess up.

  “But you agreed to it. So really, that mess is your fault. At worst, you’re an accessory to the damage.”

  I rolled my eyes and helped her pull the kiddie pool outside before she damaged any more of my stuff.