by Cassie James
Instead, the vast majority of the parents use the long weekend as an excuse to travel to exotic vacation destinations. As Sadie describes it, it’s their chance to do a practice trip before their real trip comes during the winter school break.
Perhaps the strangest part for me is the realization that not all of these trips actually include the whole family. The Harringtons leave their kids at home, and they’re not the only ones. So, the morning of Thanksgiving it’s not Pearl I’m prepping for Thanksgiving with, but Sadie.
“It’s Friendsgiving, but fancier,” she keeps telling me, a mantra she’s been repeating like some magical spell that will erase the fact that everyone coming today is coming because their families don’t want to spend the time together.
I can’t pretend to understand it, but I go along for the ride. It wasn’t like Pearl has seemed too interested when I tried to discuss Thanksgiving plans with her, so I’m in the same boat as everyone else. Though to be completely fair, Pearl did offer to have a meal catered, after which she proceeded to tell me she hated basically every staple food of a Thanksgiving meal. It wasn’t exactly the enthusiastic family dinner I’d been hoping for.
Sadie reaches over the taste the mashed potatoes I’ve been mixing. “Oh my God those are amazing. What did you do to them?” I stare uncertainly down at the bowl, trying to remember what I’ve been doing while I was distracted.
“I don’t know, I just added seasoning and, uh, butter?” I’ve been so distracted by reminiscing of failed holidays past that I wasn’t paying that close attention to the cooking I’m supposed to be helping with. “Sorry, I honestly have no idea what I did. I just adding everything to taste.”
“You didn’t use a recipe for this?” She stares at me like I’ve grown a second head. They’re just mashed potatoes. Even my poor ass family could afford to have those once in a while. It’s not like you have to be a chef to make them, you just doctor them up until they taste good.
I shrug. “Nope.” Her eyes flicker down to my phone, which has been planted on the counter top right next to me ever since I arrived. She looks back at me suspiciously like maybe I’m lying, though I can’t for the life of me think of any reason why anyone would like about something so inconsequential. “Jake’s been texting,” I explain. I leave out the details, like the fact that his texts haven’t been so nice today. He tried to convince me to drive down to spend Thanksgiving with him since I have a car. It didn’t go over so well when I told him I’d already agreed to spend the day with the Harrington twins.
The doorbell rings, interrupting before our conversation can carry on any further. Sadie leaves to answer it, much to my relief. I don’t want to ruin the day with my boy drama. Jake’s been getting weirder and weirder with me the longer we’re apart. It’s like he didn’t actually expect me to follow through with staying here after the photo leak, and that rubs me the wrong way. He’s my friend. He shouldn’t be rooting for me to fail, which is a little bit how it feels right now.
“Jules! Can you come help for a second?” Sadie calls to me from elsewhere in the house. I wipe my hands on a kitchen towel and step out into the entryway.
Sadie is loaded down with shopping bags, looking helplessly towards me when I step into view. Smith and Patrick joint carry a large fancy covered dish past me, grazing the wall slightly and then groaning as Kathryn starts ranting for them to be more careful or they’re going to chip the dish. She’s dressed in a blood red cocktail dress and sunglasses, smirking as she follows the guys without carrying anything herself. Cece steps through the still-open front door, a guy I don’t recognize with her. The two of them are carrying whole boxes full of alcohol.
“Here.” I hurry forward and take some of the bags weighing Sadie down and then follow her to the kitchen with them.
Kathryn is pushing her sunglasses up on top of her head when we enter. “The turkey, as promised.” She reaches over the counter and lifts the lid on the dish the guys carried in. There are two turkeys side by side in the pan. We all look at her confused, and she lets out a big sigh. “The first one was ugly, so I made Anya make a second one—for pictures.” It doesn’t surprise me at all that Kathryn had someone else do her cooking for her. I’m also not surprised that she’s more worried about aesthetic than taste. I make a mental note to only eat off the turkey she’s deemed ugly.
“Did anyone think to get ice?” Sadie suddenly asks. I look over to see her with her head buried in the freezer as if a bag of ice might magically appear. We all take turns looking at each other, the answer obvious from the silence. “Dean, do you think maybe you could run and get some?”
The guy that walked in with Cece nods. “Yeah, sure.” He takes his keys out of his pocket, and Cece takes a step forward as if to go with him. She stops short when Kathryn sidles up to him first.
“I’ll ride with you if you want,” Kathryn purrs, glancing over at Cece as she says it. Cece watches, biting her lip harder than is probably good for her, as Dean casually shakes his head and disentangles himself from her.
“Nah, I’ll just be right back. Thanks.” I’m glad for Cece’s sake that he doesn’t let Kathryn tag along, but I’m sad for her that he didn’t have her come instead. They walked in hand to hand, so I really thought they had actually come together as a couple. Now I’m not so sure. Poor Cece gets walked all over by Kathryn. I can’t imagine what she gets out of that friendship that makes it worth it. From what I can tell, Kathryn is a shark—and unfortunately, Cece is only a guppy by comparison.
Not one to take a rejection and just roll over, Kathryn acts like it didn’t even happen. As Dean leaves, she turns her attention to the food instead. She doesn’t care about the last minute cooking that’s going on, but she does care about setting the table for maximum photo appeal. As everyone settles back into finishing things up, I rope Cece into helping me finish arranging the dinner rolls on an oversized platter. It’s really not a two-person job, but it seems like I can never stop myself from getting involved where Cece is concerned. I just always feel so bad for her, seeing her taken advantage of just because she’s obviously desperate to fit in with the group.
On the other side of the kitchen island, Patrick helps Sadie finish up the pies that still need to go in the oven. He’s being so over the top about it, wrapping his arms around her as if he needs to show her how to properly load up the pie filling—which isn’t even remotely a two-person job. She elbows him, but it’s all in good fun as she leans into him, the two of them flirting openly in front of the rest of us. Their flirting is actually a staple of this friend group I’ve learned, despite no one besides me apparently taking it seriously.
Jax is crazy for thinking Patrick ever had any interest in me, when this is how hard he flirts with Sadie. I tell myself I’m not jealous, but it’s hard not to be. The only attention I’ve gotten from guys around here is hot and cold, and here’s Patrick making Sadie giggle like he always does. She might pretend she’s unaffected and sometimes even annoyed by his attention, but moments like this make me really think there might be something there between them. Something more than casual flirting and her good-natured rebuffing of his naughtier suggestions.
The door bell rings again, and this time Patrick and Sadie go together to answer it, their laughter still carrying into the room until they finally make it out of earshot. Cece uses her hand to fan herself dramatically.
“God, that boy is so fine, isn’t he?” I glance over at her, surprised how bold of a statement that is. I have to admit she’s right, though, even with all his bullshit, I still think Patrick is just as hot as the first time I met him.
“Yeah,” I murmur, my face heating slightly. “He is something, isn’t he?” Even to my own ears, I sound more rueful than I mean to. I clear my throat, not wanting to give too much away about the small crush I can’t help but to still have for Patrick. I want to keep it buried deep down inside of me, but somehow seeing how sweet he can be with Sadie only makes the ache grow stronger. “I haven’t met Headmaster D
upont in person, but I have seen pictures. He’s pretty damn fine himself. Do you think it’s possible Patrick might even get better with age?”
Cece groans. “Impossible. The world can’t handle that kind of inferno.”
I murmur my agreement just as a warm body presses up against mine. I turn my head and see Smith standing behind me, trapping me between him and the counter. “Hi.” I can feel my cheeks getting even redder. Smith barely said hello to me when I showed up, so I’m surprised to see him being so forward now. Cece shoots me a knowing look that I try desperately to ignore.
Smith speaks straight into my ear. “Please shut the fuck up.” I bristle at first, but then he wraps his arms around me and I melt against him a little. “I can’t listen to you talk about Dupont for another goddamned second.”
My embarrassment multiplies yet again as I realize Smith was listening to all of that. I guess I just assumed everyone was too busy doing their own thing. I was wrong, though. Very wrong. Because when I look over, Kathryn is standing aimlessly in front of the cabinet where Celia’s good silverware is stored. Her eyes are on the doorway Patrick and Sadie disappeared out of, and I have a perfect view of her face from this angle. She looks crestfallen. It looks like Smith isn’t the only one jealous of Patrick.
“Come with me?” Smith asks, taking my hand and gently tugging me away.
I almost say no, but then I look at his face and those baby blues of his look so hopeful that I don’t have it in me to deny him such a simple request. I glance at Cece, worried about leaving her alone. She shoos me. “Go, I’ve got this.” She gives me a tight smile that isn’t actually all that reassuring, but I can’t be this girl’s keeper. I’ve already saved her once at the expense of myself.
“Okay.” I let Smith lead me out of the room. “Where are we going?” I ask almost immediately as we turn down a side hallway I hadn’t seen before. It’s tucked away in the corner, out of earshot and out of view of the others.
He stops. “Here.”
“Uh, okay. What is here?” He leans his back against the wall and reaches for my hand. I let him take it, confused about what exactly we’re doing in an empty hallway. I don’t have to wonder for long. He tugs me closer, his legs wide so that he’s able to pull me between them. I fight the flashback to Jax between my own legs. This doesn’t seem like the right moment to be thinking about it. Especially not when I know Jax is probably still around here somewhere since he was hanging out with Smith when I first got here.
Smith puts one hand around my neck and the other on the side of my face, his fingers teasing my hairline as he rubs his thumb over my tingling lips. He replaces his thumb with his own mouth, kissing me like I’m Snow White and he needs to breathe the life back into me. It feels like that’s exactly what he’s doing. He kisses me slowly, like we’ve got all the time in the world, and I forget all about Thanksgiving and the fact that all our friends are only a room away. When he does finally pull away, I feel like I’ve lost a part of me. It’s crazy how one kiss can feel so big that it takes on a life of its own.
“I like you a lot, Juliet.” He wraps his arms loosely around my waist, holding me to him, but not so tight that I couldn’t pull away if I wanted. He’s giving me the choice, which feels like a lot of progress from how things started at the beginning of the semester. “I might not be the only one, but I was the first one. I think that should count for something.”
“It does,” I whisper. Because as much as I hate to admit it, no matter who else I’ve kissed, I’ve still compared it to that first kiss I shared with Smith. I still remember how it felt for that split second to think there was something real between us—before Jax showed up and ruined it. I can’t deny it feels good to have someone like Smith like me. He looks like an angel, and he’s sweet as hell when he wants to be.
“I could be good to you. I know I don’t have the best track record, but I think you’ve earned your place here fair and square.” It’s true he hasn’t given me a hard time in a while. Of course, I’ve had my own suspicions about that.
“I don’t want to be the middleman between you and my grandfather’s secret.” I pull back slightly, trying to shake the foggy feeling in my brain that Smith’s causing by saying all the right things.
He frowns at me. “That’s not what I’m doing. Why would you even bring that up right now?” He looks genuinely hurt by the accusation as he disentangles himself from me, squaring up like we’re about to do battle. Hell, maybe we are. Because that’s not the only thing that’s stopping me from saying yes to anything he asks for.
“And what about Jax? Because from what I’ve heard, the two of you are quite the team.” He’s not shocked by these words at all. Jax probably told him all about his early morning teasing, sharing every detail. That’s what they do, right? They share. Smith isn’t trying to deny any of it, but he does look disappointed in me in a way that makes my chest ache.
He reaches for me like it’s a bad habit he can’t kick, his hand resting on my hip. “I can’t take back anything I’ve done, Juliet. It wouldn’t be fair for you to expect me to. You of all people should know better than to judge someone’s past.” He raises an eyebrow at me, daring me to contradict him. Logically I know he’s right of course, but that doesn’t change how I feel about it.
“I’m not into threesomes.” The words come out easily, despite the protests drilling my brain. My body is trying to tell me something totally different, remembering how appealing Jax made it sound. I ignore the squirmy feeling I get between my legs, determined to stick with my decision. I’m pretty sure even rich kids can’t pretend teenage threesomes are a regular thing.
“You’ll never know until you try.” I try to step back, but he takes a step forward to compensate. He huffs out at a laugh at my expense. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was only joking. You don’t have to worry about Jax. He’ll back off. Everything bores him eventually, it just has to run it’s course.” I blink. Is he talking about me? Is he suggesting that Jax’s weird fascination with me is supposed to just run it’s course? Seriously?
“So… what? You want me to take you seriously but you’re still gonna let your friend grope me at will? That’s what you want?” He looks away, focusing his eyes on the bare wall next to us. “I don’t want that.” The very idea of it disturbs me. “If you’re serious about this, then you have to tell Jax to back off.”
A very long, silent moment passes. “I can’t do that.” But I know the truth is that he can do that, he just won’t. I don’t know where Jax’s hold on Smith comes from, but it’s obviously not going anywhere. And I don’t want to be the pawn in whatever game this is they’re playing.
“I need to help finish dinner.” I turn, the ache in my chest tightening when Smith makes no move to stop me. I hate hate hate myself for getting my hopes up. He lured me in with those baby blues, but it’s Jax’s dark eyes that keep haunting me. I don’t think I’ll ever get anything I want here as long as Jax is involved, and I have this feeling deep in my gut that he did this all on purpose. I’ve seen how calculated Jax can be, but now I’m thinking I still underestimated him.
I’m quiet through dinner, avoiding eye contact with Smith and Jax who both end up sitting directly across the table from me. At one point, someone’s shoe makes contact with my leg, and I jump up and excuse myself to the bathroom before their upward stroke gets further than my knee. There’s no way to know which of them did it, but I’m not interested in playing either way. Everyone else gets so loud—and drunk—that they don’t seem to notice I’m not either of those things. I keep an eye on Sadie through the night, moving bottles further away from her when she’s not paying attention. It doesn’t really stop her from drinking, but it does seem to slow her down just a little. I’m really starting to worry about her, but I’m not sure what to do. If I knew how to help an addict, I would have had a hell of an easier time growing up.
After dinner, everyone slowly starts to trickle out. When it’s down to just Sadie and me—Smith disap
pears somewhere with Jax—I step up to the sink to start in on dishes. “Oh, you don’t have to do any of that,” Sadie says when I start rinsing a plate off. “There’s a cleaning crew coming tomorrow. Just leave it, let’s go look at the stars.” She blinks sleepily at me, and I try to ignore how puffy her face looks from drinking all night.
I’m not going to dare complain about not having to clean up this mess. I let her lead me up the stairs to the second floor, and then up a second staircase to the third floor. It feels a little weird being up here, like I’m intruding by being this far into their house.
I’m not sure what I was expecting, but Sadie stopping in front of a window at the end of the hall isn’t it. I start to wonder if I should suggest going out back instead, since I can’t imagine it’ll be that much fun to stare at the stars through a window, but it turns out that’s not what Sadie has in mind at all. Instead, she tugs the window open and starts climbing through. I look away uncomfortably as she nearly flashes me everything under her dress. I’m not so sure climbing out onto the roof is such a good idea in her current state, but before I can protest she leans down from the outside of the window and smiles in at me.
“Are you coming?” She looks so earnest and almost childlike. As worried as I am for her, I don’t want to steal this moment from her. Besides, it looks like she’s done this a million times before.
I crawl through the window after her, much more careful than she was not to show anything. When I see the view, I don’t regret my decision at all. I inhale a sharp breath as I take in the whole of the night sky. It’s gorgeous, a clear night that looks like it goes on forever. The stars are even clearer from up here it seems than from the same view at ground level. I’ve never seen anything quite like this. Sadie carefully sits in the center of the roof, beckoning for me to join her, and I do. We both lean back, enjoying the view and the silence for a few minutes before we speak.