“Yes. These stairs lead to mine and the twins’ suites. The front stairs are to the master bedroom and a few of the recreation rooms.” She turned and pointed to another hallway. “There’s another hidden stairway at the end of that hall. They lead to staff housing.”
“You have staff?” I asked loudly. There hadn’t had any servants when we were living by the beach. Already being here was much different than I’d expected.
Justine just shrugged. “Only a few of the staff are live-in, just a couple of maids and the twins’ nanny. Others come whenever we need help. Like Chef Mona.” She started to walk up the stairs and I followed her.
When she got to the top, she pointed to a few doors on the left. “Those are the twins’ bedrooms, and that’s their play room,” she said, pointing to the door in front of us. The twins were twelve years old, but when I’d moved away they had been two. It was strange to think that I had only seen them through the family portraits in their annual Christmas cards.
Justine walked around to a row of doors on the right. “This is my room, and over there is the guest room that you can use for the night,” she said.
When she opened the door, I let out an audible gasp. The room was so much bigger than my space at home. It had a large bed in the middle, with a dresser on one side and a desk on the other.
“We actually share this bathroom,” Justine said, as she closed the door behind her and turned towards another door on the left. “So my room is through that door,” she added as she pointed to the archway on the opposite end of the biggest bathroom I had ever seen.
I was too shocked to realize she had taken my duffle from my shoulder and laid the bag on the bed. She opened it up and started to rifdle through my clothes. “Oh wow, you really don’t have much to work with.”
Breaking out of my trance, I walked over to her. I tried to grab the bag to close it. “What do you mean?” I asked, defensiveness slipping into my voice.
“Oh no, I didn’t mean to offend. I just mean, these aren’t really clothes that are going to give you the best summer of your life.”
I tilted my head, feeling confused. “But these are the only clothes I have.”
“Well, tonight you can borrow my clothes, and then tomorrow we can go shopping.”
I sucked in a breath. I didn’t bring much with me – only a few hundred dollars I had saved from my job back at home. I was hoping to spread out the money for as long as I could, but it would seem that my cousin had other ideas. “Um, I appreciate it, but I don’t really think it would be such a good idea.”
“What do you mean? I think it’s an excellent idea.”
“Well, I just think it’s not the best time.”
“Is this about money?” she asked, as if she could read my mind.
I stared at the floor. “No,” I stammered out, even though that was a lie. Of course it was all about money.
Justine rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry about cash,” she said. “If it makes you feel any better, it’s not even my mine.”
“That does not make me feel better,” I said, as heat crept up my neck.
“When your mother agreed to let you stay over the summer, my mother said you wouldn’t have to worry about anything.” When she could tell I wasn’t budging, she added “Honestly, Dani. Just relax!”
“But,” I tried to counter.
Justine threw her hands up. “No, I don’t want to hear anything about it. Besides, my favorite thing in the world is doing makeovers. So really, this is as much for me as it is for you,” she said as she went back to pulling out my clothes from the duffle bag.
I knew there wasn’t any use in arguing, so I sat on the bed. “Why would I need to borrow your clothes for tonight?” I said, as I looked down at my outfit. I still hadn’t changed out of my sweater and jeans, but I couldn’t what was wrong with them.
Justine looked at my outfit, from the collar to the hem of my jeans.
“Yeah, it’s cute enough for dinner, but not for what I have planned tonight.”
“And what do you have planned for tonight?”
Her eyes sparkled with mischief, the same way her lips had curled up when I’d first seen her at the bus station. “You don’t want to ruin the surprise do you?”
Anxiety and excitement tumbled through my system as I helped Justine unpack my pajamas and toiletries. My adventurous summer was just getting started.
***
At dinner that night, I knew I was out of my league for sure.
“So Melanie tells me that you are interested in becoming a lawyer,” said Uncle Craig as he cut his salmon into neat cubes.
“Yes,” I said, as I set my fork down. “I’m thinking about being a public defender.”
“Really? You don’t plan on making a lot of money then,” he said, chuckling at his own non-joke. We were sitting at a long table in a massive dining room. Justine was sitting next to me, with the twins placed across from me. They were eating quietly, obviously shy in front of a stranger.
It was strange to think that so much had changed in the years since I’d last seen my cousins.
“Well, I feel passionate about being able to help the less fortunate,” I said. “And money isn’t everything.”
“That is definitely your mother in you,” Aunt Melanie replied as she took another bite.
While I thought the food was amazing, I could tell Aunt Melanie wasn’t too impressed. Her lips would pucker a bit with each bite, like she found something wrong to taste. By contrast, I thought the salmon was so tender that I eagerly agreed to seconds.
Uncle Craig chuckled again. “That’s very good of you, but I would suggest maybe thinking about going into something more lucrative, like corporate law. I might even have a place for you in my company if you pursue that career.”
“That’s very kind of you Uncle Craig, but I think right now it’s too early for me to decide anything. In all honesty, I might even change my mind in a few years and not want to do law after all.”
“I appreciate the frankness. It’s nice to see a young person who is thinking about the future.” There was an underlying tone in his words that I couldn’t place. The air crackled a bit around me and I looked over at Justine. Her face seemed to tighten as she chewed, even though she didn’t look up. I could see the tension in her body.
“Now Craig, don’t spoil our dinner,” said Aunt Melanie with a warning tone to her voice. Her long, slender fingers reached for her glass of wine.
“I’m not doing anything of the sort. I’m just saying I appreciate how Dani is thinking about herself and not planning to rely on her parents.”
I wanted to correct him and say there was no way I could rely on my mother, but Justine dropped her silverware and stood up. “Dani and I have somewhere to be, so if we could be excused?”
I stared down at my half eaten plate of food and looked over at hers. She had barely touched most of her meal. “But you haven’t finished,” Aunt Melanie said, her bafflement obvious.
“I’m not very hungry,” said Justine, as she looked over at her father meaningfully.
Uncle Craig just shrugged his shoulders. Before Aunt Melanie could continue, my cousin grabbed my arm and pulled me up from my chair. I wanted to protest – if for no other reason than leaving all of that scrumptious food! – but Justine was stronger than she looked and I winced as she dragged me up the stairs.
“What was that about?” I asked, rubbing my arm. “Ouch! That really hurt!”
“I just hate them sometimes. My father is upset because I don’t want to go to college.” Justine rolled her eyes and yanked open her closet doors. “He thinks I’m making a mistake.”
“You don’t want to go to college?”
“I’m not good at school. I think it would be such a waste,” she said, as she set a few more dresses on the bed.
“But aren’t you going to USC?”
“Yeah, but not by choice. My father is an alum, so it took next to nothing to get in. I want to be a fashion design
er. I’d rather go to fashion school, but when I mentioned it, I thought my dad was going to have a heart attack. So I haven’t brought it up again.” She took one of the dresses and brought it up to me. “I don’t want to spoil our night by talking about this depressing stuff.”
“Why, what are we doing?” I asked, as I looked at the dress she was holding up to me. It was a slinky black outfit that looked like it wouldn’t even cover my ass.
“Well, if you’re going to spend the summer with me, what better way to start it than with a party?” Justine said, as she thrust the dress at me and pushed me toward the bathroom. “Now, go change. We don’t have all night, and I still have to do your make-up.”
“I don’t really know about this dress…” I hedged, as I examined it more closely. It seemed to have only thin straps holding it up. There was no way this was going to fit me.
Justine sighed. “Look, this summer you are going to have to trust me. I’ve lived here my whole life! I know exactly what to do in order to fit in. Don’t you want to fit it?”
The idea of sticking out was not at all appealing to me. I already felt alien around my own family. I looked back at Justine, and smiled weakly.
“I promise you, I am doing this for your own well-being. Do you trust me?” she said.
I thought about it, and then realized if I was going to have the best summer of my life, I had to let go a little bit. No more uptight Dani, hellbent on her studies. Instead, this was supposed to be a summer of fun and reacquainting myself with family.
So I shot a weak smile at my cousin. Because I did trust Justine. I knew she was going to take me places I had never been before. I took a deep breath and nodded my head.
“Good,” she said, that wicked smile coming back on her face. “Now go try on that dress.
***
A few hours later, I was already regretting it. I pulled my dress down for the ninth time as we walked up the steps of the second biggest house I had ever seen…at least, that day. The mansion was an enormous white monster, kind of like a cross between the White House and Buckingham Palace, if that’s possible. Music blared from the front door as colored lights flashed in the windows. I put my arms around my shoulders, already a little nervous.
Justine turned to me, cocking her head to the side. “Stop with the awkward hand movements. You look like a deer caught in the headlights. If you go in there like that, they’re going to eat you alive.”
“But this dress,” I said, as I pulled the fabric down again, trying to bring the hem to my knees. “It doesn’t fit!”
“Stop yanking at it,” Justine scolded. She swatted my hand away. “You’re going to stretch it! And besides, that dress looks freaking hot on you. You look amazing.”
I had to admit that at least I didn’t feel like myself. After only an hour, my cousin had transformed me into another person. Justine was a whiz with makeup and she’d swept blush and bronzer over my face until I actually looked like I had cheekbones. My eyes were hot and itchy with mascara and shadow but I kept my hands glued to my sides out of fear that I’d ruin her artwork.
I could admit the dress was great too. Sure, it was uncomfortable and insanely small, but it hugged my body in all the right places, making my curves look like curves and not fat lumps. But that didn’t stop the fact that I felt utterly naked in the thin piece of material. I knew I’d have been more comfortable in jeans.
Justine went to knock on the door. I could hear music blaring on the other side. “Just take a deep breath. I’ll be right next you. I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.”
I took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay,” I said finally. “But you better not ditch me.”
The door was unlocked, and my cousin swung the wood open. Loud music greeted us as the blonde led me inside. I shut the door behind me and turned around the look at my surroundings. There were people everywhere, pouring out of every room. Mostly kids around my age, holding red cups. Some people were dancing, others were just chilling and talking. It looked exactly like the parties I had seen in all the typical teen movies, before the parties got out of hand. The only difference was you could tell these kids were not your typical kids. They screamed money. Most of the girls were wearing clothes that I’d never seen the likes of before – real designer stuff, not something from Gap and Target. And the guys were dressed up in mostly preppy outfits.
They definitely weren’t the sloppy high school kids I was used to seeing back at home, dressed in hoodies and regular jeans.
A few heads turned towards me and I couldn’t help but look at the floor in embarrassment. Being the center of attention has always made me nervous. Whereas other people blossom under the limelight, I shy away from it, my natural reticence coming to the fore.
Suddenly, Justine grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the first room into another room at the side. It was a large living area with a huge stereo set up. The music grew louder and I winced as my eardrums throbbed.
The speakers were blaring rap music. Justine walked up to a couple of girls who were chatting in the corner and I trotted anxiously after her.
“Justine!” One of the girls got up and threw her arms around my cousin. “I didn’t think I’d see you here tonight! How are you?”
“And miss your annual party? I’d rather die,” Justine replied drily. “Kristi, this is my cousin Daniella.”
Kristi looked at me, almost as if she was appraising a new car. “So this is your cousin Dani?” There was skepticism in her voice.
Not knowing what else to do, I shoved my hand forward. “It’s nice to meet you,” I said.
Kristi looked down at my hand and then laughed, her straight blonde hair falling forward. “Nice to meet you,” she said, her red lips turning into a cold smile. She was pretty, but in a weird fake way – it wasn’t hard for me to see that she had clearly had plastic surgery done even though she couldn’t be much older than I was.
Kristi turned and pointed towards the three other girls standing around. “This is Anna,” pointing to a tall red-head with huge boobs. “And this is Sheri,” she said, pointing to the short blonde next to Anna, “And this is Misty.” Kristi pointed to a girl with black hair. Anna and Sheri smiled and waved, but Misty rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out. I frowned. Had I done something to upset her? Couldn’t be. We’d just arrived.
Kristi took me by the arm and led me to the kitchen. “Let’s get you a drink! Justine told me that you’re from Northern California?”
“Yes,” I said, trying to keep up with her pace. I tripped along behind her, trying to keep up. Blast these high heels, it was so hard to walk.
“I’ve been there a few times. My mother loves wine tasting. My stepdad bought her a vineyard, isn’t that cool? I mean, it would be cool if she wasn’t a total alcoholic,” Kristi added under her breath. She steered me to the center island of a kitchen. On it were various bottles of booze. “What do you drink?”
I had honestly never had a drink in my life. My mother never so much as let me have a bit of the wine she occasionally had with dinner. As if sensing my hesitation, Justine piped up from behind us. “Just make her a screwdriver to start.”
Before I could ask what that was, Kristi grabbed a red cup and poured some clear liquid into it before going to the refrigerator and grabbing orange juice. The cup was in my hand before I knew it. “Let me know if you need more,” Kristi said, before she disappeared back into the living room.
“So, what do you think?” Justine asked, gulping from a cup that had magically appeared in her hand.
“I don’t know what to think,” I said honestly, as I took a tentative gulp from the cup. The alcohol numbed my tongue, burning slightly as it slipped down my throat. “Is this Kristi’s house?”
Justine took another sip of her drink and nodded. “Yep. Kristi and I have been friends since the eighth grade. Same with the other girls too. We’ve formed a nice little clique.”
“And Misty too?” I asked cautiously.
“Ig
nore her,” she said, as if anticipating what I was going to ask now. “She’s insecure and gets jealous. She’s such a bitch, just forget it.”
I thought it was very interesting how cavalier Justine was being about a girl she had known for so long. But I couldn’t dwell on it. As I turned around to survey the room, I was stopped dead in my tracks as the bluest eyes I had ever seen caught mine. I held my breath when I realized they belonged to a man so handsome that every girl was looking at him … and yet, he was looking at me.
Chapter Two
Hunter
The music blared all around me, giving me a massive headache. I massaged my temples as I looked around the room. It was crowded with stupid kids, and I had no idea what had happened to my niece or nephew.
I groaned as another pimply teenager pushed past me and nearly spilled his red cup on my shirt.
“Watch it,” I snapped. “Are you even twenty-one?”
The kid snorted. “Fuck off,” he said. “What the hell are you doing here anyways, old man?”
“Go home,” I said wisely. “It’s not a good look if you get caught drinking underage.”
Usually, I don’t care if young people have fun, so my niece and nephew were welcome to host a party. But now, I was oddly irked to come home to pounding music and flashing lights. I don’t know if it’s because I’m pushing forty or because I’m tired as hell.
Besides, I wasn’t even supposed to be here today. My flight was supposed to take off yesterday, but a tropical storm blew in and fucked everything up. Believe it or not, flights to the Alsatian Islands only leave once a week, and I’d missed my chance. As a result, I was grounded here for god knows how long, and my sister swooped in on the opportunity. Priscilla took the unexpected delay as an excuse to ask me to look after her kids, as she and her third husband left for vacation on their yacht. “Quality time with Uncle Hunter,” was what Priscilla called it.
And I agreed to it because one, I had nothing to do, and two, it’s not like Kristi and Aaron are animals or anything. They’re not even that young, so I figured it’d be no problem. I moved my luggage into their house, prepared to hunker down until I could catch another flight out. Of course, it’d be just as easy to live in my own apartment two hours away, but some quality time with my niece and nephew actually sounded nice.
Dr. Travis, I Love You: A Secret Baby Medical Romance Page 11
