by J. S. Cooper
Still, I was ready to leave this gorgeous house. Lucas’s family was amazing, but I just felt weird being here. I couldn’t be my true, authentic self because I couldn’t tell anyone everything about myself.
I was single, and I was poor, and I lived in the city, and Lucas and I were best friends. I couldn’t talk about any of that stuff. I just had to play this role that I wasn’t really made for playing. Thank God I never decided to try and be an actress, because I suddenly realized that I’d make a shitty one. I wasn’t the sort of person who could pretend well. I always thought that I could, but now I knew that I couldn’t. I had much more of a conscience than I had ever realized, which I suppose was a good thing. It meant that I couldn’t just lie on command. But that didn’t really help me now. I had to remind myself I was doing this for Lucas. I was doing it for Lucas, and that’s all that mattered.
I wasn’t a bad person; I just had found myself in a bad situation.
“Wow. You look absolutely gorgeous.” Lucas stared at me in awe. I beamed at him. His three cousins had done my hair and my makeup, and I was wearing a Versace gown, something that I’d never be able to afford in my life, but I was so grateful that Becky had lent it to me.
“Thank you.”
“I mean, you look really sexy. Really, really sexy.” Lucas stared me up and down.
“Wow. Um, okay. Thank you.”
“I’ve never seen you showing so much cleavage before.”
I looked down at my bosom, which threatened to overflow the dress. “Do you think I’m showing too much? Do you think your grandparents won’t approve?”
“It’s fine. It’s a party. Everyone’s going to be exposing leg and showing boob. You’re fine.” He was sold. “Beautiful.”
“Wow. Now you’re starting to make me feel a little bit self-conscious,” I laughed. “What do I normally look like?”
“I mean, you’re definitely a beautiful girl, Isabella. Let’s not get it twisted, but you look out of this world tonight.”
“Thanks. Shall we head down? It sounds like the party’s really happening.”
“Yeah, it is really happening,” he laughed. “I think there must be two hundred people there already.”
“Oh, wow. And your grandparents are okay with that?”
“I’m pretty sure Edith and Edward have gone to bed already. They like to mingle, but not with this many young people.”
“They’re so cool.”
“Yeah. I love them.” He smiled fondly
“Lucas.” I grabbed ahold of his shoulder.
He peered at me “What? You look really serious right now, Isabella. What’s going on?”
“Don’t you think you should tell them the truth?”
“Oh, no, not again.”
“I mean, I had a wonderful afternoon with Edith, and I know she loves you, and I just feel like maybe you should talk to them. It’s making me feel really uncomfortable being here, lying.”
“Maybe I will one day, but today’s not the day. Can you please just go along with this for the rest of the weekend, please?”
“Fine,” I sighed, “but you’re going to tell them the truth, right? I really think that they’d understand. And now that you’re getting the money, it’s almost pointless.”
“It’s not pointless, it’s just …” He shrugged. “You wouldn’t understand. You’ve never had to keep a secret like this.”
“Yeah, but I don’t know that you have to keep this secret,” I said softly. “Granted, I don’t know your family that well, but they all seem really cool, really loving. Your grandma, well, she reminds me of my grandma, and I feel like if I were gay or had something to come out about, she’d understand, you know?”
“Really, your grandma would understand? Your Italian grandma would understand?”
“Yeah, I think she would. She loves me and she just wants the best for me. I mean, I know it’s hard, and I’m not lecturing you to do something you don’t want to do. Obviously, you’ve thought about this for a long amount of time, but I guess I just feel weird, you know? I didn’t expect to feel this way. I thought it would just be fun and we’d come up here and we’d fool them into thinking we were together and you’d get your money. And we’d open this coffee shop and I’d get to showcase my art, but it feels icky. Not pretending to be your girlfriend,” I said quickly, “because you’re amazing, but just the lie itself, you know?”
“I know.” He nodded. “I feel a little bit bad as well. I’ll tell them at some point, and I’ll let them know that it’s not your fault.”
“Thanks.”
“But this is really serious for the evening,” he said. “Let us go and have some fun.”
“Yes, let’s dance the night away,” I said.
There was a DJ playing music in the great hall and the room was packed. Everyone was dancing and having fun, and Lucas and I were part of the crowd of people moving along to the beat and drinking. I was glad that I was here with these people. They were a completely different class from me, but they didn’t make me feel excluded. It was amazing.
As Lucas and I danced, I could see Jack staring at me from the corner of the room. His eyes followed me across the dance floor, and I wondered what he was thinking. He looked handsome in his suit, far more handsome than should be legal, but I was going to ignore him. I was not going to let him know that I thought that he was a hot piece of meat.
“You’re staring at my cousin again,” Lucas said dryly.
I looked at him guiltily. “What? No, I wasn’t.”
“Yeah, you were. But it’s fine.” He shrugged. “He was staring at you, too.”
“He was?”
“Really? Come on now, Isabella. You know he was staring at you. You know every man in here was staring at you.”
“Well, I don’t know about that.”
“You want to go outside?”
“Sure,” I said. “To do what?”
“There’s a group of people outside, I think, playing a game. We can see what’s going on.”
“Sounds good to me.” We grabbed our champagne flutes and headed outside. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Jack and another man following behind us.
“Good evening, Lucas, Isabella.” Jack nodded at us. “Haven’t spoken to you guys all night.”
“Hey, cuz.” Lucas grinned. “What’s going on? Hey, Max.”
“Hi, good to see you, Lucas.” The guy Max stared at me with dazzling blue eyes. He held his hand out. “These two are being rude, but I’ll introduce myself. I’m Max. Nice to meet you.”
“Hi, I’m Isabella.”
“Isabella. Beautiful name.” He smiled at me.
“Now, now, no flirting,” Lucas laughed and then turned to me. “Max works with Jack at the company.”
“That I do.” Max nodded.
“That sounds like it must be fun,” I said, making a face and then looking at Jack.
“Well, you know, it is what it is,” Max laughed. “So you know Jack as well as Lucas? How do you know them both?” he asked.
“She’s a really good friend,” Lucas replied.
I was surprised he didn’t lie, but maybe he realized that it was just making me look and feel even worse with every person he told I was his girlfriend.
“Ah, good friends?”
“We’re best friends from college.” I nodded.
“Well, any friend of Lucas’s is a friend of mine.”
I smiled back. “Why, thank you.”
Jack snarled, and I looked at him in shock. “What’s your problem?”
“Do you really think you should be flirting up a storm here, Isabella? Really?”
“Excuse me?” I stared at him. “What are you talking about? I’m being friendly to your friend.”
“My coworker.”
“Ouch,” Max said, looking chagrined. “I’m just a coworker now?”
“You know what I mean,” Jack grumbled. “Lucas, what’s going on here?”
“Um, what are you talking
about?” Lucas responded with a sly smile.
“Nothing,” Jack huffed. “Where are you guys going, anyway?”
“We’re going outside to hang out. See what’s going on. What about you two?”
“We’re doing the same,” Jack said.
“Well, then I guess we’re all going together,” Lucas said.
“So, Isabella,” Max said, “are you having fun?”
“Yeah, this is really cool. I’ve never been to a fancy to-do like this.”
He looked me up and down. “But you certainly have the right attire.”
“Oh, this isn’t my dress. Becky lent it to me.”
“Oh, well it’s beautiful. It fits you like a glove.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” I laughed and then look down at my cleavage. “It’s a bit more revealing than I would normally go for, but—”
“Seems like it suits you,” Jack said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What do you think?” he said.
“Ignore him,” Lucas laughed. “He’s just a grumpy old man. Isn’t it past your bedtime, Jack?”
“I don’t think so, Lucas. Very funny.”
“Very funny,” Lucas mocked him. “Come on. Let’s go and have some fun.”
“Hey, Isabella?” Jack grabbed ahold of my arm.
“Yeah?” I said. “What is it?”
“Um, I think we should have a little chat.”
“Now?” I raised an eyebrow. “We’re all about to have fun.”
“Yeah, now. Lucas and Max, you just go up ahead. Isabella and I will join you in a second,” Jack said.
“Okay.” Lucas continued on. Max flashed me a nice smile before leaving with Lucas. I couldn’t believe that Lucas had just gone. Couldn’t he tell that I didn’t want to be stuck talking to his cousin? Like, this was ridiculous.
“What do you want, Jack?” I snapped.
“Do you really think it’s appropriate for you to be flirting with other men when you’re here pretending to be dating my cousin?”
“What other men am I flirting with? What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the fact that you …” He paused. “Fuck it.” And then he leaned forward and kissed me. I tried to resist, but I couldn’t. I kissed him back passionately, moaning as I felt his hand on the small of my back, bringing my body into his.
“What are you doing?” I said, finally pulling away as his hand squeezed my ass.
“I was just saying hello properly.”
“You’re the one that told me that we shouldn’t even be looking at each other. You can’t kiss me like this in front of—”
“In front of who?” He looked around. “There’s no one here. There’s no one that can see us.”
“Yeah, but—”
“But what? Are you telling me you didn’t like it?”
“Jack. I don’t know what game you’re playing at, but—”
“But what? Are you interested in Max now? You’re going to go for him? First you had me, then you try to get my cousin, and now you’re going for my employee? Really?”
“What are you talking about? How am I going for your employee? I literally just met him. I— You know what? Forget about it. I don’t have time for this. You do you and I’ll do me.”
I pushed him away and stormed off after Lucas and Max. I ran over to them as soon as I saw them.
“What was that about?” Lucas looked curious.
“You don’t want to know.” I shook my head. “So Max, are you single?” I asked him flirtatiously, not even caring that I was flirting with him in front of Lucas. Lucas, as far as I was concerned, was being a shitty-ass friend. Here I was trying to help him out and he’d left me with his jackass of a cousin when he knew his cousin was being ridiculous.
“I am single, as a matter of fact.” He smiled. “Can I get you a drink?”
I finished my champagne and nodded. “Another drink would be great. Thank you.”
“Why don’t you come with me?” he said. “I think there’s a little bar at the back here.”
“Okay.” I grinned. “Is that okay, Lucas?”
“Of course.” He shrugged. “What’s it to me?”
“Well, you know what’s it to you.” I gave him a look.
“Ah, no one’s bothered with us tonight.” He shook his head. “The grandparents are in bed. Do what you want to.”
“Okay. ’Night, Lucas.”
“’Night? This is it?”
“Well, I mean, I don’t know if I’ll see you again for the rest of the night because I don’t know how much longer I’ll be out here. You know what I mean.”
“I’m not sure if I do,” he laughed, “but whatevs. Maybe I’ll see you later and maybe I won’t, huh?”
“You got it,” I laughed. I followed Max over to the bar and he grinned down at me.
“What’s going on with you and Lucas? And what’s going on with you and Jack?”
“You don’t even want to know.” I shook my head. “But what’s going on with you?” I flirted with him even though I wasn’t that interested, but I could see Jack staring at me from across the way. I could feel his eyes on me. And I wasn’t going to let him dictate how I could act or who I could flirt with.
“You want to dance after we get our drinks?”
“Sure.” I nodded. “Sounds good.” Max got me a drink and then we headed to a little area on the back patio where people were dancing. Before I knew what was happening, Jack was also there with a tall, striking woman with long, blonde hair. She was gorgeous. Absolutely beautiful. I tried to make eye contact with him so I could glare at him, but he didn’t even look at me. He just held her close to him and danced. She was pressed up against him, beaming up at him. I wondered if they knew each other intimately. Who was this bitch? And why did I care? I shook my head and turned away, dancing closer with Max.
“Well, I’m glad I came to this party after all,” he said with a soft smile.
“Oh yeah?” I asked him, staring up at him, loving the fact that I could see Jack staring at us out of the corner of my eyes.
“Yeah. You’ve made my night. These things are normally so boring. I don’t normally meet cool women like you, but, hey, maybe my luck is changing.”
“Maybe it is,” I said, feeling nervous and out of place. I really didn’t want to give him the wrong idea, but I did want to make Jack jealous. I giggled loudly as he pressed his hand into my back. I looked to the side and my eyes finally caught Jack’s. He was glaring at me and shaking his head and I just raised an eyebrow and turned back away from him.
Take that, Jack Morrison. You don’t control me. You don’t own me. And I can do whatever the heck I want.
Chapter Nineteen
The crowd was starting to die down, but there were about eight couples surrounding me and Max on the dance floor. They seemed to be very loved up. One of them, directly next to us, was making out, and I was starting to feel uncomfortable. I wasn’t sure if Max thought that something was going to happen between us, but even though I found him attractive, I certainly didn’t want to make out with him. I stepped back slightly when the song ended and yawned. “It’s been such a pleasure dancing with you, Max, but I think I need to get back inside. I’m feeling quite tired.”
“Oh.” He looked disappointed. “I can walk you to your room if you’d like.”
“Oh no, no, no. Thank you though,” I said quickly. “I just need some time by myself.”
“I understand. It’s been a long night.” His blue eyes sparkled. “May I give you a kiss?” He paused, “on the cheek?”
“Sure,” I said with a sweet smile. He kissed me on the cheek I saw his eyes looking at my lips. I really hoped he wasn’t going to go for a kiss. Before he had time to do it, I quickly took another step back. “Well, it was a pleasure meeting you Max. Maybe we’ll see each other again.”
“I sure hope so,” he said.
I hurried away back towards the house. As I walked throu
gh the back door and into the hallway, I slipped my heels off. I wasn’t used to wearing high heels for so many hours, especially dancing, and my feet were absolutely killing me. I walked down the hallway barefoot, singing the Nat King Cole song that had just been playing to myself.
It’s been a nice evening, even though Jack and I had had words, and even though I felt weird about Lucas, Edith, and Edward. I turned down the corner to head to my bedroom, and then I heard footsteps behind me. I groaned inwardly. I really, really hope that it wasn’t going to be Max. I didn’t want to have to tell him that I wasn’t interested.
“Isabella.”
I paused and froze, turning my head around slightly. It wasn’t Max, but it was someone even worse.
“What’s going on, Jack?” I said quickly, my heart racing as I saw the look in his eyes. It was undiluted lust. I licked my lips nervously. Why was Jack here? Why was he doing this to me? “I’m headed to bed, so … good night.”
“You’re headed to bed?” He frowned, “but where’s your new friend?” His eyes looked at me suspiciously.
“He’s in the backyard.” I rolled my eyes back at him. “Where’s your new friend?”
“Which new friend?”
“The girl you were dancing with on the dance floor.”
“Oh,” he started laughing. “Jealous, are we?”
“Not at all.” My voice rose slightly. I knew I sounded a little bit weird and awkward, but I didn’t want him to know how pissed off and upset I’d been seeing him holding that beautiful blonde lady so tightly.
“You don’t lie very well, Isabella,” he grinned.
“I’m not lying,” I said.
“Yeah, you are.” He grabbed me and pulled me into his arms and then his lips were on mine and he was kissing me passionately. I couldn’t help myself. I kissed him back, running my hands through his hair and pulling on his tresses tightly.
“Come,” he said. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into a bedroom. He closed the door and then pulled me into his arms again. “You look really hot in that dress,” he said.
“Oh yeah? I didn’t think you noticed.”
“I noticed,” he nodded. “All the men noticed. Max noticed,” he growled as he looked down at my heaving breasts. His arms encircled my shoulders, then I felt his hand pulling down the zipper of my dress. It fell to the ground in one fell swoop.
