The Girlfriend Shield

by S. A. Hunter

  “And Vincent?”

  “He’s fine,” she ground out.

  “We’re going to have a party! I’ve already booked a band. Caterers will be arriving in a few hours to begin setting up. Sarah, I hope you don’t mind, but I had the staff move your things to an upstairs bedroom. The master bedroom is specially set up for Mr. West.”

  I mutely nodded. Of course, everything was now under their control. Whatever they wanted, they’d get.

  “This is why I didn’t want either of you here! You’re ruining it!” Damien yelled and stormed out.

  “But it’s New Year’s Eve,” Mrs. West said in confusion. She turned to my family. “Did you already have plans?”

  “No, ma’am. I think the plan was to stay in for the night,” Dad said.

  “Nonsense! I swear my son. He can’t do anything properly. Imagine not having a celebration for New Year’s. It’s ridiculous.”

  “You’re right. I’m too old to not hoot and holler at seeing a New Year,” Cora said.

  “Exactly! Oh, I’m so glad you’re here...”

  I couldn’t really be upset that Mrs. West didn’t remember Cora’s name, but as she looked at her, I began to wonder if she remembered meeting her at all.

  Cora smiled. “I can’t remember your name either.”

  I couldn’t tell if she was being kind or cruel when she said that.

  “If you need us to do anything, just tell us what to do,” Dad said. Mom shot him a nasty look. That was exactly what she was afraid was going to happen with the Wests. She was worried that they’d suddenly be delegated to staff and their vacation would be over.

  “Oh goodness, no, I have it all in hand. I’ve done hundreds of these. Many here at this house. Please continue to enjoy yourselves.”

  “Sounds good. We’ll get out of your hair for a few hours so you can plan in peace. We were planning to go check out some shops anyway.”

  Mrs. West’s eyes lit up. “Oh, I wish I could go with you! There are some absolute darling shops here. C’est la vie. Maybe another time.”

  Noah had come up to my side and slipped his hand into mine. I held onto it, but I wasn’t sure if having him by my side made me feel safer or more vulnerable in Patricia’s presence.

  Patricia coolly turned to us with a smile. “I don’t wish to be in the way either. May I join your shopping excursion?”

  “We won’t be going to shops that you like,” I said.

  “I don’t mind slumming it,” she replied.

  “Aren’t you something,” Cora said.

  “Where are my manners? I’m Patricia Nash, Noah’s mother. You must be Sarah’s parents and her—“ She trailed off as she looked at Cora.

  “I’m her cool grandmother. Call me Cora.”

  “Of course you are. I’m so glad I get to meet you. When I heard our children were dating, I’d hoped to get acquainted.”

  I didn’t like the way Patricia looked at my parents. She looked condescending and judgmental.

  “Mom, did Dad call you about the chalet?”

  “What about it?”

  “He was surprised to hear you thought it was yours.”

  A vein in Patricia’s forehead began to twitch. “I don’t know why he would be surprised. It was very clear in—“

  “Patricia, let me show you to your room,” Mrs. West said.

  Mrs. West beckoned her to the stairs. I was surprised when Noah squeezed my hand and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. “I’ll stay behind and help her settle in. Get me some macadamia nuts.”

  The three disappeared up the stairs.

  “We should go now if we want to get any shopping done,” Dad said.

  “Yeah, sounds good.”

  “Please use the Lincoln out front,” Mr. West said, holding out a key ring.

  I’d almost forgotten he was there.

  “Thank you, that’s very kind,” Mom said. Dad took the keys.

  “Damien, could you stay back, please?” Mr. West said.

  He stopped and looked back at his father. “Why?”

  “I want to talk to you.”

  They stared at each other. There was some sort of silent battle of wills going on.

  Angela cautiously slipped up beside him. “Do you want me to pick you up anything?”

  He didn’t respond. I was worried about why Mr. West might want to hold him back, but my family headed out, and I couldn’t linger any longer.

  My family plus Angela headed to Waikiki.

  We went to various gift shops, being total tourists.

  While we were looking at t-shirts, I asked Angela, “Do you know what Mr. West wanted to talk to Damien about?”

  “No clue. Christmas was fine. He was kind of quiet during the dinner, but I think it was because he was a little worried about you.”

  Remembering my minor freak out on Christmas day embarrassed me.

  “Did they know about the trip?” I asked, wondering if that’s why they’d showed up. If he hadn’t okayed the trip with them, I wouldn’t blame them for coming here to see him.

  Angela lifted her shoulders.

  WHEN WE GOT BACK, THE mansion had been transformed. Black and silver decorations were everywhere. We went into the foyer laden with plastic bags and gawked at all of the catering staff buzzing around. Streamers, balloons, ribbons were going everywhere.

  Damien appeared to have been waiting for us. He stood when we entered.

  “Have to give it to your mother, Damien, she doesn’t half-ass these things,” Cora said.

  Mom frowned at Cora’s use of profanity, but even she looked at the lights and banners with disbelief.

  “How many people do you think will be coming?” she asked.

  “Mother always operates in the hundreds,” he said.

  “We didn’t pack any evening wear.”

  “Do you think she’ll do like last time and buy us dresses and have stylists do us up?” Cora asked.

  I could tell Mom and Dad were not comfortable with the idea of being given makeovers.

  “The party isn’t black tie,” he said.

  “Still, our best shoes are flip-flops,” Mom said.

  “It’ll be fine. I know I’m going to have fun,” Cora said.

  “I guess we should freshen up at least,” Mom said.

  I’D TAKEN A SHOWER and was blow drying my hair when Noah appeared in the doorway to my bathroom, scaring the crap out of me.

  “Jesus Christ! Noah, what the hell!” I snapped off the hair dryer and waited for my heart to calm down.

  “I did knock.”

  “What if I hadn’t been dressed?”

  He leered at me. “What if indeed.”

  “Gross. Why are you here?”

  “Just checking on you. You are going to attend the party, right?”

  “For a little while. Why?”

  “You’re gonna get a New Year’s present.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “You’ll see.” He backed out of the doorway and started to leave.

  “I don’t like surprises, Noah. What do you have planned?”

  He wasn’t going to answer me. He opened my bedroom door and crossed paths with Damien.

  “What are you doing in Sarah’s room?” he asked.

  “A better question would be why are you at her door?”

  “I’m checking on her.”

  “So was I. She’s fine. You can go now.”

  “Or he could hold you until you tell us what it is you’re planning tonight,” I said.

  Damien’s face lit up. “I could!”

  Noah held his hands up. “I’m on your two’s side. I promise.”

  “Since when?” Damien asked.

  “Since the beginning. And after tonight, everything will be good again.”

  “Noah, what are you—“ but he slipped past Damien before I could finish my question. I tried to chase after him, but Damien hooked an arm around my waist.

  “He’s plotting something,” I said, trying to brea
k free.

  “And nothing we do will change that.”

  That sounded far too sanguine for Damien. “What’s with you?”

  He pulled me into my room and closed the door. He pulled me to my bed and sat down pulling me down beside him.

  “Nothing. I’m just happy.”

  I tilted my head to consider him. He had a goofy smile on his face. “Okay, spit it out. What’s made you so chipper?”

  He looked down at our joined hands and played with my fingers. “I may have been gifted with a car to keep at Noble.”

  My eyes widened. That was a huge perk. Only a few students were allowed to have vehicles at Noble.

  “Wait, you have your license?”

  “Not yet. But I will.”

  “How old are you?”

  I knew Damien had been held back a year. I’d assumed he was fifteen, but if he was being given a car now that would mean...

  “I’ll be fifteen in February.”

  He was still fourteen? That surprised me and made me feel a little better. Thinking he was already sixteen had given me a weird sense of vertigo as if he was someone I shouldn’t know yet like he should’ve been two feet taller than me and know things I didn’t. “Why are your parents giving you a car now?”

  “Because they love me?” he retorted sardonically.

  “No, seriously, why? What good is a car when you can’t drive it?”

  “I could drive it.”

  “Not with me in it.”

  “Don’t you want to get away from Noble sometimes?”

  “Yeah, and I’d like to be able to get back.”

  “Fine, you can drive us. Better?”

  “No, since I can’t drive either.”

  “We’ll figure it out.”

  “Was that what your dad wanted to talk to you about?”

  “Partly. Sort of. It was a reward.”

  “For acing your classes?”

  “That and for the business stuff.”

  “Oh.” I remembered the glimpse I’d gotten of his email. It had seemed to have some important things in it.

  “Are you ready to go down?” he asked.

  “Not yet.”

  My hair was still damp, and I hadn’t put on any makeup. I went back to the bathroom to continue getting ready. Damien wandered back with me and leaned against the counter. Having him back there with me made me feel a little nervous. Even though there was a foot of space between us, being in the bathroom together was intimate.

  I started putting foundation on with a sponge and he frowned at me. “You don’t need to put all that on.”

  “Thanks, but I feel better if I have it on.”

  “Why? You’re already pretty.”

  I cut him a quick glance to see if he was angling for something, but he appeared to be sincere. I’d been hanging out with Noah too much. Not everyone had an ulterior motive when they said something.

  “What do you think Noah has planned?” I asked.

  “Maybe he wants to break up with you.”

  “Yeah, right. Oh God, what if he proposes?”

  “Then he will mysteriously disappear and never be seen again.”

  “Hey,” I said, not liking the hint of violence in his voice.

  “Fine, no disappearing, but I’m not letting him marry you.”

  “He’s not going to propose. I was only joking. My parents wouldn’t allow it and his mom certainly wouldn’t either.”

  “He could try to elope.”

  “We’re not old enough and I wouldn’t go through with something like that.”

  “Good.”

  I leaned in close to the mirror to put on my mascara.

  “Do you like him?”

  “I don’t hate him, but I don’t trust him.”

  “Then why’d you agree to be his fake girlfriend?”

  “I told you—it was the only way to go on this trip without raising suspicion.”

  “Who’s suspicion? Nobody would care if you came here without a date.”

  “Not just here, but at school too. We sit together in every class. People would start to wonder why we do that if we don’t get along. Rumors would start and Angela might be exposed.”

  “Why would my “cheating” on her expose her?” He had been thinking about this, and as his grades would attest, he was no dummy.

  “You two would have to break up and then I couldn’t be friends with her anymore. She’d be all on her own. Her parents might figure out that she’s gay and send her to a reconditioning camp.”

  “We’ll never be able to openly date?”

  “Not never, but maybe not at Noble.”

  I waited tensely for a follow-up question from him. I was skirting too close to the full truth about Noah blackmailing me by threatening to expose Angela, but he didn’t say anything else. I continued to put on makeup. When I was done, he straightened from the counter. “I’ll see you at the party,” he said and left the room.

  Watching him go, I didn’t feel very festive. None of us could be ourselves anymore. We were all hiding things, and I was hiding something from everyone I cared about. I looked at myself one last time in the mirror. He was wrong. I did need the makeup. I felt ugly.

  I MET UP WITH MOM AND Dad at the entrance to the garden. We were all wearing the same clothes as what we’d worn to the luau. Silently we all braced ourselves and went outside.

  Mrs. West once again had proven what an excellent organizer she was. There was a DJ on a platform playing music. There were tables of scrumptious food. Servers carrying trays of drinks filtered through the party-goers. It was perfect and she’d arranged it in only a day. I couldn’t imagine what she would’ve done if she’d had more time. It was still early at only nine o’clock, but it looked like over fifty guests were there. Mrs. West was in the middle of a group of women laughing and talking.

  Mr. West was near the entrance to greet guests. We politely nodded to him. I don’t think any of us expected him to come over, but he did. He shook Dad’s hand and nodded to Mom and me.

  “Barbara and David, I do hope we haven’t intruded too much on your vacation.”

  “Considering it’s your house, we should be apologizing for imposing on you,” Dad said.

  Mr. West waved Dad’s words away. “Nonsense. Comparing this New Year’s to the last one, well, the contrast is damn near miraculous. Your family gives Damien something we can’t.”

  Dad started to vehemently deny Mr. West’s words, “No, sir. That’s ridiculous—”

  Mr. West held up his hand for Dad to stop. “I am not a very good father. I know and struggle with this. I should be asking you for advice actually. You’ve raised an excellent daughter. What’s your secret?”

  Dad didn’t know how to respond. Having the man from the cover of Forbes tell him that he was better at something than him, had left him tongue-tied.

  Mr. West smiled. “Maybe I’ll call you sometime. Do you golf?”

  “No, never have.”

  “Excellent. I’m terrible so maybe I’ll actually win for once.”

  “Sure. Why not?”

  Mr. West smiled and left to greet more guests.

  “David, you hate golf.”

  “What else could I say? John West just asked me on a Dad date.”

  “No more dawdling. I’ll get some hors d’oeuvres. You get a bottle of champagne, and we’ll go hide in our room,” Mom said.

  “What about me?” I asked.

  “You’re too young to have champagne,” she said.

  “So I’m not invited?”

  “Nope. It’s every Smith for themselves,” Dad said.

  “What do I tell our hosts if they ask?”

  “Say we went to bed early, which will be true.”

  “We seem to be using the word “true” rather broadly at the moment.”

  “Stop asking questions and listen to your parents. Mr. West said we’re excellent. If the wealthiest man says so, it must be true.”

  “It must be,” I said dryly.<
br />
  Mom and Dad stuck to their plan. Mom stacked an impressive amount of food on two plates, and I saw Dad with a bottle shape bulge under his shirt. They disappeared back inside.

  Chapter 10

  “Sarah!” Noah called out.

  He waved at me from across the garden. He was in the middle of a group of women. They all looked to be in their twenties, and he was the center of attention. I also saw that he had a champagne flute in one hand. He was clearly underage, but the women were encouraging him to drink.

  “Sarah, come meet my new friends!”

  I approached cautiously. Noah’s face was flushed and all of the women appeared to be tipsy.

  I smiled politely at everyone.

  He slung his arm around my neck, making me stumble. I struggled to stand up straight under the weight of his arm. “This is my girlfriend Sarah. Isn’t she pretty?”

  “She’s cute, I guess,” one of the women said dismissively.

  “Noah, why don’t you come inside?” I said.

  “Why? The party’s out here! Right ladies?”

  All of the women laughed. One woman ran her hand down his arm possessively.

  I glanced around nervously, looking for help, but at the moment, everyone I knew appeared to have disappeared.

  One of the women leaned in close and whispered something in his ear. He turned his head and kissed her. It was a brief kiss, but it was more than a peck on the lips.

  “Noah!”

  I couldn’t believe he’d do that out in the open. With his arm around me even.

  The women closed in around him. I didn’t see who lifted his arm from my neck, but before I knew it, I was separated from him. The women blocked me from reaching him without shoving or pushing. They were running their hands down his arms and back. He laughed and flirted with the women. Someone begin to unbutton his dress shirt and he did nothing to stop them.

  The charade was going to be ruined if he kept this up. If his mother saw him, she’d have proof that we weren’t a couple.

  If the women thought they could keep me away from Noah, they were sadly mistaken. I had no qualms about pushing my way through the women to him. If I stepped on a designer shoe, that was just a bonus. I reached the center of the group. He had his arms around two different women. One of them was pouring champagne into his mouth.