We lounged on Sophie’s bed while we waited for her to finish. I told her how much I adored my new dress, and then we went over our plans for tonight. Cassie was meeting us at the restaurant, so Courtney called and let her know we were leaving in ten minutes. We were going to drive downtown in Sophie’s jeep and then leave it in the ramp overnight, going back for it tomorrow. So that none of us had to forgo drinking, Cassie’s brother agreed to pick us up at bar time.
We left the apartment and got into the elevator. As soon as the doors closed, my mind began to wander. I was with my two girls, and I was going to live it up tonight no matter what. Even my recent drama wasn’t going to affect me. Heck, I went all day without thinking about Adam, except for that one slipup when I was looking at my dress in the mirror. Only one time is a really good sign . . . Wait. It was two times since I was thinking about how I wasn’t thinking about him right now. Whatever. Two times is also a really good sign.
Chapter Seventeen
“So, then I was, like, totally flattered and all, but, I mean, really?” Cassie rolled her eyes dramatically before continuing on with what I hoped was the conclusion of her story. “Who falls in love with someone over a summer and actually expects it to last? It’s called a summer fling for a reason. Duh! Then I was, like, ‘Listen, don’t confuse out-of-this-universe sex for love, and maybe we can hookup again when I come home for Thanksgiving.’ He told me it was all or nothing, so I chose nothing.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Anyway, that’s my summer in a nutshell.” Nutshell, my ass! You’ve been talking for twenty minutes straight.
Cassie had gotten to the restaurant shortly after we arrived and had screeched in excitement when she spotted us. The sound was so high pitched that I was sure every dog in a three-block radius winced in pain.
Her normally bleach-blond hair now had lowlights, which was a vast improvement from the last time I saw her. What hadn’t changed was the amount of caked-on makeup she wore. Her huge boobs were pretty much popping out of her bustier style emerald-green shirt, which she paired with tight, black leather pants. Although I wouldn’t be caught dead in her outfit, I was admittedly jealous of her emerald-green high heels.
Courtney seemed happy to have Cassie around, so that made me happy too, albeit somewhat annoyed. Sophie, however, downed two margaritas during dinner, which either meant Cassie was grating on her nerves more than mine, or she was simply getting started on her night early. The rest of us drank soda with dinner, not wanting to get too drunk too fast. It was around ten o’clock when we left the restaurant and walked to our first bar of the night, The Green Light.
The bar was well known for their superb martinis, so we all took that route. There wasn’t a dance floor, so we got our drinks, found a table to sit at, and talked. My appletini was out of this world, but because martinis always went straight to my head, I ordered an amaretto sour once I finished. On the flipside, The Green Light was also known for serving weak mixed drinks, and mine was super weak. It was also filled to the brim with ice, and soon became a watered down mess. Yuck. After a few sips, I pushed it aside.
Courtney finally filled us in on her summer, explaining how she spent most of it dodging her ex-boyfriend from high school. It was hysterical to hear the lengths he went through trying to see her, including my favorite, which was tossing rocks at her window and breaking it in the process. Her dad had heard the shatter and ran outside wearing only his boxers and waiving around a shotgun. Courtney said she’d finally called his current girlfriend and told her to keep her boyfriend in check.”
“He’s a loser, like, especially if he already has a girlfriend. I’m glad you told her. Maybe she’ll dump him now too,” Cassie said, rolling her eyes for the hundredth time tonight. “I mean, it’s like . . . um, I don’t know. Guys can just be so stupid.” Even though her delivery wasn’t the most eloquent, she did have a valid point.
“My guy isn’t stupid,” Sophie said with a slight slur. “Mine’s frickin’ amazeballs.” She double fist pumped, which was never a good sign. She’d already finished two martinis, on top of her two margaritas with dinner and was officially buzzed. Since it was only eleven o’clock, I felt that it was time to slow her down. “Let’s go dance,” Sophie suddenly said very loudly. Not a bad idea. At least she won’t drink while she dances.
“How about we blow this joint and go across the street to Shakers?” I suggested.
Cassie squealed in delight and rapidly clapped her hands in front of her chest. “I’m, like, totally down for dancing.”
“Okay, let’s get out of here. I’m sick of sitting on this barstool!” Sophie practically shouted. She hated it when girls did the tiny clap thing. Combine that with the squeal, and no wonder she used the code word.
I choked back a laugh. “Yep, my butt’s getting numb sitting on this barstool. Let’s go.”
Shakers was a vast improvement. The four of us danced together, except for the few times Cassie allowed some random guy to grind up on her. It was a bit disgusting to see her let a complete stranger grope her—but to each her own, I guess.
Courtney was hilarious, breaking out dance moves like The Robot, The Sprinkler, and The Shopping Cart. When she broke out The Fishing Pole move, and Sophie played the part of the fish, I almost busted a gut. I loved how we were just there to have fun, regardless of what others might think of us.
Needing a break, we made it to the bar to order our first drinks since arriving. Cassie said she would buy the round, adding some brownie points in my book. While waiting for a bartender to come our way, her phone went off, buzzing and ringing. Cassie put one finger in her ear and put the phone to the other.
“Hi . . . Talk louder . . . Louder! . . . What?” She was basically screaming into her phone. “Are you, like, kidding me? . . . You’re such an asshole, Derek! . . . I can’t hear you again . . . I guess I’ll have to figure it out . . . I said, ‘I guess I’ll have to figure it out!!’ . . . Bye.” She disconnected the call with a huff and looked as if she was ready to kill. We stared at her, waiting for an explanation. She didn’t take long in providing one. “That was my dumbass brother. He went to a house party and got, like, totally bombed. He promised me he wouldn’t be drinking tonight. I’m so totally mad! Now we, like, don’t have a ride.” She rolled her eyes again.
This sucked, but it really wasn’t that big of a deal. “Don’t worry about it,” I assured her. “We can still have a great time tonight and just call a cab when we’re done. No biggie. You can sleep on our couch, or we can have the cab drop you off first.”
Cassie’s eyes glassed over with barely contained tears. Courtney reassured her that I was right, and Cassie visibly calmed down. I didn’t see why she got so worked up in the first place. Then again, sometimes emotions ran wild when drinking was involved.
Sophie had sobered up quite a bit, and she appeared to be deep in thought. “I may have a better solution. Cabs can take forever around bar time. How about we have Conner drive us.”
“Do you think he’s at home on a Friday night?” Courtney asked.
“He’s actually at work right now. They were short an evening bartender, so they asked him to fill in. He wants me to come to his place after we are done since he’s only working until one o’clock, instead of bar time. I told him I couldn’t, but now I kind of want to.” She bit her lip and hesitated. “Should I call him?”
We all agreed it was a good idea, so Sophie tried to get a hold of him. “It went straight to voicemail. It must be off.” She looked deflated. “I guess it’s a cab after all.”
“We could walk there and ask him in person,” I said before thinking it through. I quickly amended my suggestion by adding, “That is if you think that person won’t be there. I’m not in the mood to see that person tonight.” It wasn’t the most covert way of saying it, but I was thinking on my toes.
Cassie looked at me as if I’d just let the cat out of the bag. “Who are you talking about?”
I stammered incoherently.
Courtney
came to my aid with a smooth white lie. “Just this girl who works at The Turning Point who’s a bitch to Sienna and Sophie.”
“Oooh, why?” Cassie further inquired, sticking her nose where it didn’t belong.
Courtney was in charge of this lie, so I let her continue. “No reason. She’s just a bitch for the sake of being a bitch.” Wow, even I could’ve come up with something better than that. Luckily, Cassie seemed appeased with the feeble answer and didn’t press further.
Now that Cassie was taken care of, Sophie was free to answer my question. “No. That girl’s not going to be there tonight. She’s going to a party with her friend, um . . . Zacharina.” Zacharina? Seriously? Sophie’s worse than Courtney and I put together.
Learning that Adam would be with Zach, instead of at The Turning Point, filled me with relief. However, following close on relief’s heels came disappointment. Disappointment? I need to get my head checked.
Three sets of eyes were looking at me for the final decision. “Yeah, let’s walk there. If Conner says he can’t drive us, we can still call a cab when we’re ready.”
We left Shakers straight away. We didn’t want to wait because there was the possibility that Conner could get done early, and we didn’t want to miss him. As we walked, my stomach started to twist in knots, and each step caused the knots to further tighten. I stopped dead in my tracks and stared unblinkingly at the sidewalk. Alarms were going off in my head, warning me to turn around. The girls backtracked to me when they noticed I’d stopped.
“What’s wrong?” Courtney asked, sounding confused.
“Are you feeling okay?” Sophie added, sounding concerned.
“What’s the holdup?” Cassie questioned, sounding frustrated.
Get it together. You’re going to ruin the night, Sienna. “My feet are hurting, that’s all.” In an effort to back up my story, I pulled off my heels and started to walk barefoot. “Let’s keep going. We’re almost there.”
“Like, ewww.” Cassie’s face scrunched up. “You’re going to need a Tetris shot after walking around like that.”
I forced a smile. “Thanks for the concern, but I’ll be fine . . . And, by the way, it’s Tetanus, not Tetris. Tetris is a game.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “Whatever, Sienna.”
Courtney was behind her and didn’t see the eye roll, but Sophie saw it, and her eyes widened at the same time mine did.
Courtney laughed and shook her head simultaneously. “Cassie, it’s not like we’re walking on rusted nails. Let her walk barefoot if she wants.” Courtney glanced at my feet. “Actually, it’s not a bad idea.” She popped off her own shoes. “My feet are starting to hurt too.”
Cassie appeared to be utterly repulsed. “That is, like, so gross. When you slice your foot open, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Don’t worry, Cassie. When we get there, we’ll put them back on.” I mentally flipped her the bird and snidely said, “Then I can sit on a barstool.”
Sophie giggled as she said, “I think sitting on a barstool sounds like a fabulous idea after walking.”
“Like I said, whatever,” Cassie snapped. “Can we keep going now?”
We walked the few remaining blocks without further incident and stopped just outside the entrance to The Turning Point.
“Will you put your shoes back on?” Cassie requested icily, wearing a scowl.
We put them on, and Courtney said to Cassie, “There. Are you happy? You’re lucky I love you enough to put up with your crap.”
Sophie and I exchanged looks, which silently said, “Courtney’s not only aware of Cassie’s crap, but she just called her out on it!” We always thought Courtney was oblivious to it. Apparently, we were wrong.
To my astonishment, Cassie’s scowl was replaced with a very tiny smile. “Yeah. Yeah.”
Chapter Eighteen
Sophie recognized the bouncer, and he told her that Conner was working the second bar. She pushed her way through the crowd and directly to the bar, us following in her wake.
I had to admit that Conner looked super-hot behind the bar. Sophie was a lucky girl to find a boyfriend who was not only great looking but also genuinely nice. His face lit up like the Fourth of July when he noticed Sophie coming toward him.
“Hey, Babe. You look amazing! Please God, please, tell me you’re here because you changed your mind about staying with me tonight? I don’t know if I can go home alone after seeing you in that dress.”
“You can see me out of it tonight if you’ll do us a favor first,” she replied seductively.
One side of his mouth pulled into a sly grin. “Your wish is my command.”
A guy sitting a few stools down interrupted them. “Hey, Buddy, stop trying to get laid and get our drinks already.”
I was used to seeing fun, yet easy going Conner, so I was taken aback when he replied, “I’ll get your damn drinks when I’m good and ready. Keep it up, and you can find somewhere else to get your drinks, BUDDY.” Conner glared at the guy, and the guy looked as if he was ready to say more, but his friend stopped him. Smart friend. Conner turned back to Sophie, and his face instantly relaxed. “Where were we? Oh yes, your favor.”
Sophie looked as if she was ready to jump over the bar and rip off his clothes. “Wow. Bossy Conner is hot. Maybe I’ll let you order me around tonight.”
Courtney made a gagging sound. “Just ask him already, so the rest of us can go dance,” she urged.
“Can you please drive us home at bar time? Our DD bailed.”
“Sure, Babe. As long as I can stay at your place tonight then.” She instantly agreed to that stipulation, and he leaned over the bar. “And yes, I’ll order you around tonight.” He winked at her. “I have to go get that jack-hole his drinks. You girls go find a table, and I’ll bring you some shots.”
We pushed our way back from the bar and looked for an open table. Unfortunately, they were all full. However, that wasn’t an issue for Cassie. She went up to a tall table that had two middle-aged men sitting at it.
“Hey, boys,” she drawled. Boys? “Our feet are, like, killing us from dancing in these silly shoes all night.” She batted her eyes and popped out her chest. “I don’t suppose you boys would be willing to let us have your table, like, would you?”
“No problem, sweet thing,” the heavier of the two said. “Anything for a pretty girl.” They stood up, relinquishing their stools. “How about we get you ladies some drinks, and then get to know each other?”
Cassie seemed to be contemplating the idea, so I answered for us, “Thanks, but no thanks. We’re having a girls’ night.” I tried to use a regretful tone, but I didn’t think I pulled it off. “We appreciate the table though. That was really nice.”
I was happy that they didn’t press. Instead, they bid us a nice night and walked off.
Cassie glared at me. “I don’t get this whole girls’ night thing, Sienna. We’re in a bar full of guys. I think it’s time to, like, put an ixnay on the whole no boys rule because I don’t feel like going home alone tonight.”
I glared right back at her. “That’s way more gross than walking without shoes, but knock yourself out.” Oh shit. I changed my expression to a cheesy fake smile and said, “Just kidding!” She didn’t look amused. “Um . . . I have to go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back. Sophie, will you watch my barstool for me?”
Sophie giggled, “Oh yeah, I’ve got an eye on your barstool.”
“I’ll go with you,” Courtney said to me.
The line for the bathroom was a little long, making me grateful that Courtney chose to join me. That was until she bombed me by saying, “It’s barstool, isn’t it.”
Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. “How did you know?” I asked sheepishly.
She shrugged and smiled. “I’ve code worded with you and Sophie enough in the past to know when you’re doing it. I started to get suspicious when you both didn’t want to sit on barstools anymore at The Green Light. It didn’t make much sense becaus
e we were sitting on chairs. But the main give away is that you both are over-the-top emphasizing the word when you say it. I’ve got to hand it to you, normally the code words are harder to use in a sentence. Barstool was a good choice. I don’t think she’ll pick up on it.”
I felt crappy. “I’m sorry. We’ll stop. It’s a stupid thing to do anyway.”
She waved the thought away. “I don’t care if you do it.”
“Huh?” I looked at her, baffled by her words.
A goofy grin appeared on her face. “You say ‘huh’ more than any other person I know. Has anyone besides me ever told you that?”
Adam. “It’s been mentioned,” I answered dryly. “Back to the subject.”
She nudged me with her shoulder. “I know that you and Sophie don’t really like Cassie. There are lots of times I don’t like her either, but it’s usually only when she’s around other girls. She can get catty and competitive. I don’t really care if she wants to slut around; it’s not my business. When it’s just the two of us, she’s a different person. Most of the time, she’s nice and thoughtful, and she’s a pretty good dorm mate.”
“Good to know. I’ve always wondered why you liked her,” I confessed.
She smiled warmly. “Her good outweighs her bad.”
After using the bathroom, we pushed through the random people once more on the way back to our table. I hoped the shots would be waiting for us because I was way too sober. In fact, I’d only had the one martini and a few sips of that awful amaretto sour all night. Time to catch up. Courtney was leading the way while holding my hand behind her. I was just letting her pull me along, not paying too much attention, when I ran right into her back.
“Whoa. Sorry,” I apologized. “Why’d you stop?”
She didn’t say anything, just discretely pointed in the direction of our table. Sitting with Sophie and Cassie were Zach and Adam. Cassie was laughing, and I watched her put her hand on Adam’s bicep.
Believing Lies Page 17