“Nice to meet you. Here, this is for you.” I offer Monica the small box. “Happy birthday.”
“Oh, thank you, sweetie.”
Robbie hooks his arm with mine. “All right. Introductions were made. I’m going to show Chiara around now.”
He steers me away from his mothers faster than a speeding train, surprising me.
“Where’s the fire?” I ask.
“I had to get away from them. They were getting on my nerves.”
“About what?”
“Stuff.” He waves his hand dismissively. “Let’s find the rest of the DuBose gang.”
“We saw Phillip, Harold, and Josh earlier,” Valerie pipes up, trailing behind us.
A raven-haired girl steps in our way with a bright smile on her face. Robbie has to stop suddenly to avoid barreling into her.
“Hi, Robbie,” she says in an overly sweet tone.
“Hey, Jillian. What’s up?”
There’s no mistaking the coldness in his voice. She’s our age, but I haven’t seen her at DuBose.
“Not much. I just got here.” She glances at me and Valerie. “I see you invited some people from school. I’m raging mad that you didn’t invite me.”
She says it with a grin on her face, but her eyes are shining with annoyance.
God. Who the hell is this chick?
“You’re here, aren’t you?”
She pouts. “Yeah, I came with Dad.”
He shrugs. “I figured I didn’t need to bother inviting you since Principal Forrester was on the guest list.”
Her phony smile wilts, and then she turns to me. “You’re the new student from Italy, right?”
“Yep. That’s me.”
“Good job catching the eye of our QB. I could have sworn he was gay because I’ve never seen him with anyone. I mean, with any girl.”
What the hell is she implying? If Phillip is gay, so what? I just met this girl, and I already don’t like her.
Robbie scoffs. “Really, Jillian? You’ve been at this party for five seconds and you’re already talking shit. And you wonder why I didn’t invite you. Come on, Chiara. Let’s continue the tour.”
He walks around her, taking me with him.
“That was so rude, Robbie,” Jillian complains behind us.
“So, that’s the principal’s daughter?” I ask after we’re out of earshot.
“Yep. The biggest gossipy bitch in school. I hate her.”
“I just met her and I’m with you on that.”
“No one really likes her, not even her friends. They stay close out of fear. The bitch has destroyed more lives with her forked tongue than Daenerys Targaryen with her dragon.”
We finally find the guys, who greet us with overexaggerated cheers. They look drunk already, even Josh. And here I thought he was so serious and responsible.
With a goofy smile, he hugs me. “Chiara, glad you made it.”
I hug him back while looking wide-eyed at Robbie over Josh’s shoulder. He gives me a boyish shrug and then whispers something in Phillip’s ear. The guy throws his head back and laughs. Josh is still glued to me, so I have to push him back to break free. He staggers, and I notice his eyes are bloodshot. Is he drunk or high? Or maybe both? After getting judged by him when I accidentally ate Harold’s brownie, I’m annoyed to see him in this state.
“Ooh, look who’s here, Chiara,” Robbie says, looking over my head. “Our favorite teacher.”
My chest becomes tight suddenly. No, Alistair can’t possibly be here.
I turn around slowly, and sure as shit, there he is, across the swimming pool talking to Robbie’s parents.
“I didn’t know he was friends with your mothers,” I say.
“Oh yeah, through my uncle Caio, my mother’s younger brother. He and Alistair are tight, went to college together.”
“Small world,” I mumble.
“LA is a village. Come on, let me get you something to drink.”
I should pry my gaze from Alistair. If I stare at him too long, I’ll give away that I’m hot for teacher. But knowing I should and doing it are completely different things.
As if sensing my stare, Alistair turns to me and, in a plot twist, curls his lips into a crooked grin. I didn’t tell him I’d be here tonight, but he probably guessed since I’m friends with Robbie. Why the hell didn’t he tell me he was coming too so I’d be prepared?
“Chiara? What are you staring at?” Valerie asks me.
I shake my head. “Nothing.”
Robbie snorts. “Yeah, right. I think Chiara has a major crush on Mr. Walsh.”
Heat creeps up my cheeks. “I do not! You’re the one who’s always drooling over the man.”
Phillip steps closer and throws his arm over my shoulders. “Of course she’s not crushing on old Mr. Walsh when she has me, her golden knight, by her side.”
My instinct is to push Phillip away, but I don’t. It’s in my best interest to get Robbie off my case. I do, however, roll my eyes.
“You’re just saying that because I broke the curse,” I say.
“That was just a perk.”
Robbie is the one who comes between us and pries me away from Phillip. “Get off her, you goon. You’re wrinkling her pretty dress.”
“Hey, no I’m not. Tell him, oh fair maiden.”
I laugh at their antics, immediately feeling less nervous about Alistair’s presence here. If I just hang out with my friends, there’s zero chance I’ll mess up and reveal my secret.
Robbie hands me a caipirinha—a typical Brazilian cocktail that’s super strong. I take one sip, and it immediately goes to my head.
“Whoa. What are you trying to do to me, Robbie?” I ask, then take another large sip.
This stuff is good.
“What?” He widens his eyes innocently as he laughs. But suddenly his amusement vanishes. He squints and curses, “Son of a bitch. What is she doing here?”
I turn around to follow his gaze. It takes me a moment to find the person he’s staring at. When I do, my blood runs cold.
Nadine Perez, Alistair’s ex-wife, is here.
30
Alistair
Enzo would kill me if he knew I came to Monica’s birthday party knowing Chiara would be here. To be fair, I wasn’t completely sure, and that’s what I’m going to say when he calls to bite my head off. I could have given Monica an excuse to bail, even though I’d already said I’d come, but I couldn’t resist seeing Chiara at a social event even though I have to stay away from her.
Idiot that I am, I didn’t count on succumbing to jealous rage from witnessing Chiara have fun with her male classmates. Josh Flannigan and Phillip Harrison are getting too close to her for my liking.
“Earth to Alistair.” Caio snaps his fingers in front of my face. “Where the hell have you been?”
“What?” I bark.
“I’ve been talking to myself for the past minute.”
I shake my head. “Sorry. I spaced out for a moment.”
“Divorce shit?”
“Yeah. What’s new?” I take a sip of my drink to mask the lie.
His spine goes taut suddenly as his eyes narrow. “Things are about to get worse. Fucking Nadine is here.”
I almost choke on my beer. “What?”
I look over my shoulder and see the viper in the arms of an older guy I don’t recognize.
“I can’t believe she had the balls to show up here,” Caio says, his voice tight with anger.
“I can. It fits her MO.”
I drain the rest of my beer and wish I could drink something stronger, but that’d be a mistake considering Chiara is also at this party. I have to keep my head straight to avoid a disaster.
Tessa, Caio’s sister-in-law, walks over. “I’m sorry, Alistair. We didn’t invite Nadine. I didn’t even know Greggory knew her.”
“Don’t worry.”
I notice Nadine and her date are coming our way. I stay put, even though my desire is to keep my distance from her venom. There’s no
chance in hell I’d give her the satisfaction of leaving the party because of her.
Greggory exchanges pleasantries with Tessa and Monica while Nadine smiles triumphantly at me. I don’t know what she’s so smug about. Fucking an old fart to stay afloat? Hardly an accomplishment.
Greggory turns to me. “Alistair Walsh, I hope you don’t mind that I’m escorting Nadine tonight.”
I snicker. “Mind? Not at all.”
“Alistair is not the type to show his emotions, Greg dear. He may look as calm as a cucumber, but he could be simmering with anger.”
“This is not my calm mask, Nadine. It’s my indifferent look.”
I walk away before she can twist my words around and truly make me mad. Manipulation is her game, but she can’t play it alone.
On my way to the restroom, I stop a waiter carrying a tray of shots and grab one. I mistakenly thought it was tequila, realizing too late it’s cachaça, a Brazilian spirit that burns ten times hotter down my throat. I should have known.
Chiara suddenly crosses in my line of vision, veering toward the restroom I had been going to a moment ago. I quicken my steps and reach her before she can disappear through the door.
“Chiara,” I call out.
She stops and glances over her shoulder. I was expecting a neutral expression, not the fury burning in her eyes.
“Mr. Walsh. I didn’t expect to see you here,” she replies coldly.
“I RSVPed a while ago.”
“Sure.” She turns away to continue on her path to the restroom.
I should let her go. She’s angry at me, and now is not the time to fix things, especially with Nadine here. But I’m an idiot, and also, I can’t stand to see Chiara mad. So I reach over and grab her arm.
She pulls free from my grasp with a jerk and glares. “Don’t touch me.”
“You’re drunk.”
“So? Are you going to play the mature adult and burst my bubble?”
I pass a hand over my face in an attempt to rein in my temper. I can’t have an argument with a student in front of all these people. It’d be like waving a flag that we’re together.
“No. I’m leaving. Have fun, Miss Moretti.”
CHIARA
My heart sinks as I watch Alistair walk away. I can’t believe I let jealousy and insecurity take control like that just because his ex-wife showed up at the party—with another man, I might add. I’m an imbecile.
Tomorrow, I can blame my behavior on the two caipirinhas I had. Right now, I just want to hide in a bathroom and cry.
Someone touches my shoulder, and stupid me thinks it’s Alistair who came back.
“Are you okay, Chiara?” Robbie asks, and I’m not quick enough to hide my disappointment.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“You don’t seem fine. Did you expect someone else?”
“What? No.”
He hooks his arm with mine and begins to steer me up the stairs. “We need to talk.”
“Where are we going?”
“I promised you a tour, and I never delivered. I want to show you my room.”
I think nothing of it until I’m inside his bedroom and find Phillip lounging on Robbie’s bed like he belongs there.
“Hey, babe. What took you so—” His eyes widen when he sees me standing next to Robbie.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
Phillip sits up straighter and looks from me to Robbie in a panic. “Yeah, I’d like to know as well.”
“I’m gonna tell her,” Robbie replies.
Phillip jumps from the bed as if he’d been electrocuted. “Tell her what?”
“That we’re together.”
Dio Santo. I didn’t expect that.
Phillip laughs nervously. “In your dreams, buddy. Don’t believe a word he says, Chiara. Robbie is a jokester.”
“I can’t keep this secret anymore, Phillip. I love you, and I want to be able to tell the world that.”
Phillip’s eyes widen, shining with anguish.
Shit. So Jillian’s insinuations were true.
“I don’t care if you’re gay, Phillip,” I say.
He whips his face to mine, frowning now. “You may not care, but society does. Do you think I have a chance in hell of playing football at college level if people knew I was gay? No one would recruit me.”
Robbie pulls his hair back and begins to pace. “It’s not fair.”
“Babe, we’ve talked about this.”
“Uh, maybe I shouldn’t be here,” I chime in.
“Yeah, I don’t think you should,” Phillip retorts.
“No, I brought Chiara here because she’s the only one who would understand our situation and maybe help us.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, feeling leery now.
With a glint in his eyes, he says, “I know about you and Mr. Walsh.”
What the hell! I feel the blood drain from my face.
“Mr. Walsh and me?” I laugh nervously. “Are you for real?”
“You don’t need to lie, Chiara. I heard you in his office. It was pretty clear to me what you were doing in there.”
Oh God. I want a hole to open in the floor and swallow me whole. My cheeks are burning up from mortification.
“You were eavesdropping?” I grit out. “I can’t believe this.”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“Oh no. You did mean to do it. You followed me and then stood outside Alistair’s office.”
“Robbie, why did you do that, babe?” Phillip asks.
“Because I had a suspicion, and I wanted to be sure. Can’t you see? Chiara is having an illicit affair with a teacher. And we can’t disclose we’re together either. We can be each other’s alibis.”
I curl my hands into fists, trying my best to not yell obscenities at him.
“You want me to fake date your boyfriend. Is that your plan?” I ask.
“Yeah. You can’t deny it’s a brilliant idea,” Robbie replies.
I shake my head, disgusted. “I can’t be here.”
“Chiara, where are you going?” Phillip asks.
I don’t answer as I walk out of Robbie’s room, then sprint down the hallway and the stairs. I try to find Valerie to tell her I’m leaving, but there are too many people, and I can’t see her anywhere.
Phillip calls my name from somewhere behind me. I don’t slow down. He doesn’t catch up with me until I’m outside.
“Chiara, wait.” Grabbing my arm, he turns me around.
“Let go of me, Phillip.”
“I know you’re mad at Robbie, but please don’t do anything harsh.”
“Who do you take me for? I’m not going to blabber. Now let me go.”
Suddenly Alistair is there, yanking Phillip away from me by the back of his shirt. “You heard her.”
Phillip staggers back, looking as white as a ghost. “Mr. Walsh. It’s not what it looks like.”
Alistair ignores Phillip to look at my arm, then at my face. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
His eyes are shining with barely contained rage. If I say one wrong thing, he’ll unleash that on poor Phillip.
“I’m fine,” I insist. “I just want to go home.”
“I’ll take you.”
I shouldn’t accept Alistair’s offer, but staying another minute here is not an option either.
“Okay.”
Phillip throws me a pleading glance before he heads back inside.
I meant what I said. I’d never reveal his secret to anyone, no matter how angry I am at Robbie.
But will Robbie grant me the same courtesy?
31
Alistair
I should have left the party like I said I would and not lingered in the hopes of talking to Chiara again. I don’t know what I’m doing here, acting like a fucking teenager. But I can’t help myself. Every time I’m with her, I unravel.
No matter what happens, she’ll be the ruin of me. I know that deep in my bones. And yet here I am, jumping off the edge gl
adly.
I’m in the middle of a casual conversation with acquaintances when I catch Chiara dashing through the party, followed by Phillip. She seems upset about something. I excuse myself and follow them, not thinking clearly about what I intend to do once I catch up.
Forrester spots me as I’m closing in on Phillip and waves me over. If I stop to speak to him now, it might be too late to investigate what happened to Chiara. I show him my phone and signal that I need to make a call.
When I finally step outside, the scene I witness makes my blood boil. Phillip is holding Chiara by her arm, ignoring her when she asks him to let her go.
What the actual fuck?
I’m on the son of a bitch in an instant, yanking him back by the collar of his shirt.
“You heard her,” I almost snarl like an enraged beast.
“Mr. Walsh. It’s not what it looks like,” he stammers.
I ignore him as I stare at the red mark his fingers left on her arm, then at her face. She looks frightened, but of me or the imbecile behind me?
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” I ask.
“I’m fine. I just want to go home.” She hugs her middle, looking even smaller than she is.
“I’ll take you.”
There’s no question about it. I don’t care about the risks or consequences. I can’t let Chiara go home alone. If she says no, I’ll have to insist, beg if needed.
“Okay,” she whispers.
Damn it. What the hell happened between her and Phillip to put her in this state?
I try not to let my imagination run wild. I don’t need more reason to be furious at him.
We walk in silence to my car, and when I open the door for her, she doesn’t glance at me. Once I’m behind the steering wheel, I can’t hold my tongue any longer.
“Tell me the truth, Goldi. Did Phillip hurt you?”
“No. He really didn’t.”
I rub my face, a vain attempt to regain some control.
“Explain to me what I saw, then.”
She crosses her arms and stares out the window. “There’s nothing to explain. Are you going to drive, or are you waiting for your ex-wife to catch us here and ruin your life?”
With a push of a button, my car roars to life. It works to hide the noise of my teeth grinding together. Only when Monica and Tessa’s mansion disappears from my rearview mirror do I speak again.
Blurry: A Student Teacher, Age Gap Romance Page 16