Trish glanced back up at the balcony and shook her head, clearly not impressed with what she heard. “She’s just jealous, Chey.”
That much was obvious.
She set her glass down on the bar top. “Look, don’t let her get to you. All she wants is attention. Don’t waste yours on her.”
Dad came over then, halting the conversation, which I was thankful for. “You finally ready to take some photos?”
“Absolutely.” I took his hand and followed him over to where the backdrop for the club was set up.
We posed for a handful of pictures, the perfect distraction for two women in matching black pantsuits to come out with the cake on a rolling table. I joined in as everyone sang ‘Happy birthday’, but my jaw dropped as I saw the second cake, the one that read ‘Happy Eighteenth Chey’ on the cart beside his, eighteen silver and gold candles burning brightly, just waiting for me to extinguish them.
Dad wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Surprise!”
I managed a weak smile as another set of flashbulbs went off. Surprise, all right.
***
Soon, Dad and I were busy cutting the first slices while the two women who’d brought the cart out stood nearby, ready to take over. Sor held the two plates out beside me, and I caught a glimpse of Adriana lurking behind her. I slid the pieces of cake onto Sor’s plates and contemplated practicing my knife-throwing skills and aiming it at Adriana.
Instead, I plastered a fake smile on my face. “Did you want a slice?”
She peeked over Sor’s shoulder.
“I couldn’t possibly eat a slice that big, Chey.” Picture wide-eyed, innocent blink here. “That would last me a week.”
Yeah, right.
I wanted to take the few steps towards her and strangle her pretty little neck, but Sor must have sensed my thoughts because she shoved a plate in my hand and grabbed my arm before I could take my first step towards a midnight mug shot.
“C’mon.” Sorche lead me away.
“Damn, she’s annoying.” I fought the urge to look back over my shoulder. I didn’t want to see her gloating face that she’d driven me away from my own cake-cutting.
“Makes her night to see you all riled up.” Sor stopped in front of a booth with a silver ‘reserved’ sign on it. I slid into the black leather banquette and Sor followed, obviously wanting to keep an eye on me.
“What is her problem?” she asked as we caught Adriana’s attention focused our way.
I turned away.
“I’d go with I exist, the fact I’m here and breathing, and not to mention the ‘Face of Vanetti’ as the icing on her cake.”
Sor giggled.
“I think you nailed it.” She pushed her fork through the cake on her plate. “On to better subjects, what did you wish for?”
“What do you mean?” I cut a forkful of my own cake and took a bite. I was guessing this was the white chocolate Trish had mentioned as a back-up when she’d asked for my opinion on a cake tasting. Sneaky woman.
“When you two blew out the candles back there.”
“Honestly?” I’d forgotten to wish for anything when I blew out the candles. I’d been a little too surprised to think of something. “Nothing.”
“Only you would forget to make a wish.”
“What else could I wish for?”
“I thought for sure Adriana being led out of the party by security would be number one on your list.”
Now, it was my turn to laugh. “Hey, do you have a lighter? We can grab a fresh slice of cake and one of those candles and have a do-over?
JT chose that moment to slide in across from us at the table. “So this is where the party’s at, huh?”
“For the moment. At least ’til her royal highness of bitchiness takes off.” Sor toyed with the straw in her drink. “She unnerved Chey so much, she forgot to make a wish.”
I rolled my eyes as JT raised a questioning eyebrow in my direction. He stole my fork and helped himself to my slice of cake. Never mind the fact he could have just headed over to where the two women were still cutting slices for the hungry party guests.
“You guys don’t need to baby-sit me,” I offered.
I was sure she’d rather be hanging out with Milo than me at the moment. I wasn’t exactly radiating ‘happy party girl’ vibes. Like I said, my acting skills hovered somewhere around nil.
Sor laughed. “Who said we were babysitting?”
JT nodded, forkful of cake halfway to his mouth.
“Besides, I prefer the term bodyguard.” He grinned. “Emphasis on body.”
I laughed and took another sip of my drink. “What could she do?”
Really, other than ruin an evening with her mere presence.
Milo arrived at our table a few moments later, and I slid around the curve in the booth so he could sit beside Sorche, and I ended up beside JT.
“Where have you been?” I asked.
“Arranging a little birthday present for you.”
“What?”
He smiled. “Notice anything, or maybe, anyone missing?”
I scanned the crowd. Dad still stood near the bar talking away, Trish beside him. So it wasn’t them. “No clue.”
He smirked. “Oh, come on. Who don’t you see?”
Sor grinned, catching on before I did. “You didn’t?”
“I did.”
My mouth fell open slightly as I looked back around the room. “You got rid of Adriana?”
If he had, I’d never liked him more.
Milo nodded, leaning forward to be heard over the music. “Happy Birthday. Mom thought she was bringing the evening down after you left the cakes, so I went over with one of the bouncers and asked her and her group politely to leave. This is a private party, and they weren’t on the list.”
“No way!” I laughed. “Milo, they were invited. Well, her parents, anyways.”
“They left after a few protests. But Mom said to tell you to enjoy your night, and we don’t have to stick around if we don’t want to. Happy Birthday.”
I couldn’t help laughing. “Let’s get a fresh round of drinks.”
Because suddenly, I was back in a celebrating mood.
Two rounds of sodas and a sip of champagne later, I was ready to go. Dad and I did a few more photos, and it looked like he and Trish had settled in to partying for the night since they were finally dancing by the DJ booth, his favorite songs being replayed. Sor and Milo were planning on hanging around for a while. I think Milo was too interested in the big midnight meal to leave before it.
“Shall we go?” I asked JT as we left the noisiest area of VIP.
“Why not?” He smiled, taking my hand. “I’ve got a few ideas where we can go.”
“Great, let’s get out of here. I could use some air.”
We walked outside the club into what looked and seemed like at least fifty flashbulbs going off. I lifted my hand to block the unnatural white flashes that kept springing in my front of my eyes like fireworks. It seemed like the number of paparazzi outside the club had multiplied since Dad and I arrived.
“JT, is this your new girlfriend?” someone shouted.
“Isn’t she—”
“How was your father’s party, Cheyenne?” someone else called.
Apparently, the only one in this crowd who had done his homework—or bothered arriving on time.
I was aware of JT grabbing my hand, and suddenly, we were off.
“Can you run in those?” He ducked his head near mine as he motioned to my brand-new heels.
“Sure.” I laughed. I hoped. Well, it was a unique way to break them in.
He flashed me a devious grin, and just like that, we were marathon runners taking off on the final stretch. I could hear a few people chasing behind us, their shoes echoing on the pavement. A rush of fiery adrenaline shot through my body, helping me pick up speed and keep up with JT. I couldn’t help laughing at the absurdity of all this. I almost risked a glance backwards, wondering how far they pla
nned on chasing us.
And for what?
I had no clue where JT was headed. I still didn’t know where we really were. If we survived this, I was going to sit down with a map of the city and really, really study it this time. No more just blindly following the GPS system for me. All I knew was I was holding onto his hand for dear life, praying I didn’t stumble over a crack in uneven sidewalk.
We ran for what seemed like forever, or at least two and a half blocks, before he pulled me into a tiny alley. We chased halfway down before going inside an open door. I blinked, startled to find us in the middle of a small restaurant.
JT smiled at a passing waiter who must have been used to crazy, out of breath celebs running from the crazed paparazzi—or at least, JT’s sudden appearance.
“Kitchen’s open,” he informed us as he carried two plates of something that smelled delicious past us.
We headed down a small hallway and through the swinging kitchen door. We weaved through the tall silver racks of pots and pans, skirted around waiters carrying plates, and emerged out of breath into another side alley. “Where are we?”
He grinned and pointed across the street. “Parking lot.”
I saw his car in clear view and smiled. “You’re insane.”
His eyes lit up, and I glanced behind me. In the far off distance, I could see a couple cars heading slowly down the alleyway, no doubt on the prowl for signs of us.
“That’d be our search party. C’mon.”
We ran for his car. Thankfully, he had a convertible, too, so he could jump over the driver’s door. With me in a dress, there was no chance of that, so he had to lean over and unlock my side. I slid in, and he pulled the roof up as the car lurched forward.
“Stay low…” he said with a boyish grin as we zoomed out of the parking lot and into traffic.
I slid down a little bit in the passenger side, double checking my seatbelt. “Does this happen often?”
I strained to see out the back window, but it was hard to look over my shoulder when JT kept turning every block or two. Finally, I gave up and decided to stare at my side mirror, watching for any signs of our followers.
He laughed, reaching over and patting my leg reassuringly for a second before putting both hands back on the wheel. “Don’t worry. I took a stunt driving class last year.”
I’m not afraid to say my heart leapt into my throat with those words.
“Did you pass?” I swear he took that last turn onto the interstate on two wheels. Two.
I just knew we were going to end up…oh, I didn’t even want to think about it, our photos on the ten o’clock news, pictures of a fiery crash in the background.
“What do you think?”
Truthfully? I didn’t want to think. Or open my eyes to see the cars we were leaving in the dust. I heard his laugh echo around me.
“So stunt driving is a regular part of your repertoire?” I managed to ask between taking big, hulking breaths of air. I was pretty sure I’d been panic-attack-free for nearly eighteen years, give or take twenty-seven days.
Leave it to JT to break that record.
“Jeez, Chey. Relax. You’re a little tense.”
A little? Ha!
“It’s not every day I’m being chased by paparazzi with a wanna-be stunt driver at the wheel.”
“Now who said I wanted to be a stunt man? Sure, I like driving, and I like speed, doesn’t mean I want to spend the rest of my life as stunt guy. Racing cars, maybe.”
We rounded one more corner, and my shoulder knocked into his.
I had to admit I liked his voice. Kinda soothing. Kinda, well, kinda likeable. Which was trouble. I didn’t want to like him. I didn’t care if he planned to frame our no-doubt future tabloid cover or make the paparazzi photos his lock screen. I wanted nothing to do with the biggest pain in the ass I’d met in my life—or so I kept telling myself.
Not matter how many butterflies were unleashed inside me every time he was around. Or when I heard his voice. Or how I had the silliest urge to smile every time he said my name.
“We’ll be fine soon.”
“Great.” I peeked around, seeing the unfamiliar scenery flashing by. “Where are we headed, anyways?”
“You ever been to Malibu?”
“The closest I’ve been to Malibu is Malibu Barbie, and that was almost a decade ago.”
He looked at me and broke out laughing, and I found myself smiling at the sound.
“Well, then let me be the first to introduce you to what it has to offer.”
24
JT walked us through the dark, three-story beach house, and I gratefully pulled my shoes off as we reached the back sliding doors. He slid them both open, and suddenly, we were just a few feet away from the sand and ocean.
“Wow.”
He smiled at me. “You like?”
“It’s nice.” Total understatement. Amazing wouldn’t even quite cover it, but I didn’t want to sound too in awe.
“Go grab some sand or a chair. I’ll get us some drinks.”
I stepped outside into the warm night air and set my shoes down on one of the chairs by the doors. Taking a few steps off the warm stone patio, I smiled as my feet touched the cool sand. Instinctively, my toes curled, and I sighed happily as I took a few more steps towards the water. I was tempted to wade straight out ’til the waves lapped against my legs.
I heard JT come up behind me, and I turned to see him holding out a bottle of iced tea.
“So, where are we?” I asked, hoping we weren’t exactly in the midst of a B and E.
He grinned and threw his arms out. “My place.”
“Right,” I said, taking a seat on the sand far enough away from the water to avoid getting wet and opened my drink. After that chase, my mouth was like the Sahara.
Dry as the sand that surrounded us.
Hs shrugged as he sat down beside me, opening his own drink and taking a gulp. He seemed as thirsty as I was.
“Seriously. After my last time in rehab, Mom and Dad thought I could do with a getaway from the L.A. lifestyle. They thought being away from everything would be good for me. So here I am.”
“They do know how close Malibu is to Los Angeles, right?”
I heard him laugh as I watched the waves lap at the sand. The chase seemed hours ago, although my heart still wasn’t beating its regular rhythm. I kept waiting for someone to pop out of nowhere with a camera.
“’Course. But this way, I could look like I still had my independence, and they could pop in and check up on me unexpectedly. Or send their friends to do it for them.” He pointed to the two neighboring houses that were dark. “Trust me, my first month here, I had more people showing up just to say hi than I did in L.A.”
I smiled. “My mom would do the same thing.”
He set his drink beside him in the sand and leaned back on his elbows. “Sorry about before, you know…the chase and all. You’re not exactly dressed to go running around the city.”
I brushed my hair out of my eyes as I turned to look at him. “It’s not your fault. I guess we could have left separately.”
Although I wouldn’t have ever guessed just walking outside of the club together would have caused the scene it had.
“Or out the back way.” He smiled as he looked at me. “You know, I don’t think Rico ever pictured that dress seeing the sand.”
I laughed, looking down at the fabric spread out around me, the tiny grains of sand creating patterns where it lay. “Yeah, me, either. But it’s only dry sand. Can’t do much damage, right?”
“Right.”
We sat there in silence a while, finishing off our drinks.
“You want me to take you home?”
“It’s early yet, isn’t it?”
I saw his watch light up as he checked the time.
“Almost one-thirty.”
I had a feeling Dad’s party was still going strong, which meant no one would be home to see what time I came through the door. “You mind
if we stay here a bit?”
“Cool with me. You hungry? I know the fridge is stocked.”
“Another drink, maybe?” I handed him my empty bottle as he got to his feet.
Cruel Summer Page 28
