by Minard, Tori
“Where have you been all weekend?” she whispered.
“I’ll tell you later.”
“You haven’t been around much, Caroline,” Tiffani said as she took her seat.
“I’ve been busy.”
“Too busy for your sisters?” she chirped. A snotty tone underlay her surface perkiness. Guess she didn’t appreciate my fetching the salt and pepper for her.
“Yeah, Tiffani. I’ve had a lot of studying to do.”
“I guess that’s why you haven’t been paying much attention to your boyfriend either.”
My eyes narrowed and my lips flattened. “That’s none of your business.”
She gave a little shrug. “Trent’s my friend. He’s been complaining to me.”
“Really?”
She laughed. “No, not really. He hasn’t even mentioned you, actually.”
This was interesting. Here I’d been feeling miserably guilty over cheating on Trent and breaking up with him, and it was starting to sound like he’d been cheating on me. All-out cheating, not just a single instance of kissing. And groping.
“I saw you kissing him at the Vegas party,” I said.
She didn’t even blush. “So?”
“He was still my boyfriend, Tiff.”
“It’s kind of hard to tell. You haven’t been spending much time with him, like I said.”
Apparently, she hadn’t picked up on my use of the past tense. I leaned across the table. “Are you trying to tell me something?”
The other girls were watching us with wide eyes. Paige nudged me with her elbow, but I ignored her. I’d never liked Tiffani. She was catty and mean. Trent was welcome to her.
“I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know,” she said with a smirk.
“Whatever.” I glowered at her across the table.
“That’s how to keep a boyfriend. Whatever.”
“Are you trying to save my relationship with Trent or break it up?”
She smirked again, tapping her long acrylic nail against her bottom lip. “I haven’t decided yet.”
I smiled at her. “The fact is, I broke up with him today.”
Tiffani gaped at me.
“You know, I’m just not hungry tonight,” I said, shoving my chair back and standing up.
“You can’t keep avoiding us and expect to remain in good standing with the chapter,” Tiffani said, sounding like she was reaching for any excuse to fight with me.
“Tiff—” one of the other girls said.
“No,” Tiffani said. “Seriously. She never comes around anymore. She won’t live here. She hardly shows up for any of our functions. You think you’re too good for us, don’t you, Caroline?”
“No. I just don’t think I fit in.”
“Well,” she sniffed. “You got that right.”
I sighed. “Merry Christmas, everyone. Happy Hanukkah, Holidays, Yule, whatever. I’m going home.”
I turned around and left the dining room. My coat was in the hall coat closet, so that was where I headed. In the living room, I heard the tap of heels behind me and spun to see who was following me.
“Paige. You don’t have to leave because of me.”
“I’m not. Well, I am, but that’s okay. Let’s go somewhere for dinner together.”
***
We went to The River House and had sirloin steaks. The restaurant, too, was decked out for the holidays with a large tree on one side of the room and lighted garland hung up everywhere. The lights were white, instead of blue and green. I liked that a lot better, although I could have done without the canned Christmas music.
I have to confess I was glad to get away from the sorority house. What I’d said to Tiffani—I hadn’t meant for it to slip out, but it was true. I’d made a big mistake in pledging and I just hadn’t wanted to admit it. Plus now the news about my break-up with Trent was out and everyone would want to talk about it. I could live without that particular discussion.
Paige buttered her bread with short, nervous strokes. She kept going over the same area, smearing the butter around repeatedly even though it already had enough on it for three slices.
“Paige, what are you doing?”
“Buttering my bread,” she muttered, head down. “What does it look like?”
“What’s wrong? Are you mad at me for arguing with Tiffani?”
“No. Not at all. But...I have something to tell you that you’re not going to like.” Paige glanced at me hesitantly.
“Okay.”
She shook her head, put down her slice of bread and picked up another one. “You’ll hate me.”
“Don’t be silly.”
“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “Just don’t shoot the messenger.”
“Will you tell me already?”
“Trent has been seeing Tiffani.” She winced. “There. Please don’t kill me.”
I leaned back in my chair and smiled. “Well, that explains her behavior tonight. Sort of.”
“You’re not mad?”
Actually, I felt relieved. “Not really. I already broke up with him.”
“So that was true? Wow. I really didn’t see that one coming. I thought maybe you’d said it just to throw Tiffani. Why didn’t you say anything to me about it?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been kind of distracted lately.”
She leaned forward. “I noticed. What’s going on?”
It was only fair that Paige should know first. She was my best friend, after all. Only I’d kept my feelings for Max secret for so long that it was hard to open my mouth and talk about him.
“Well...” I hesitated. “Max and I—”
Paige grinned triumphantly. “I knew it! I knew you’d hook up with him sooner or later.”
It was way more than that. “I’m not sure I’d call it a hook up.”
“Oh? What is it, then? True love?”
“I don’t know what it is. I don’t think I’m in love with him.” I couldn’t help smiling broadly. “But I like him an awful lot.”
“Ha. Tiffani can take her attitude and stuff it.”
I smiled even more broadly. “Yep.”
“So...wow, I still can hardly believe you broke up with him.”
“Me, too.”
“I was starting to think you guys were going to get married.” She glanced at me. “The other thing is, I think Trent’s been seeing Tiffani for a while. The other day I heard they hooked up over the summer.”
I frowned. “He told me he loved me. What BS.”
“Men.” Paige made a face. “Except for Max and Dan, of course.”
Chapter 18
Max
Since Caroline was having dinner with her sorority sisters, I drove out to Brad and Marie’s farm. Several cars occupied the space near the house because the members of our circle had decided to drive down for a visit. The lights glowed from the house windows and as I got out of my car I could hear laughter.
Too bad I couldn’t bring Caroline tonight. I would have loved for her to meet everyone. We’d have to do it some other time.
They were gathered in the living room when I came in. There were only six of us total, but we crowded the small front room of Brad and Marie’s house. Brad handed me a beer as I came into the room.
“Thanks.”
“How’s that search for truth going?” he said in a low voice.
I glanced at him sidelong. “It’s going well, actually. I’ve made major progress.”
His brows climbed into his hairline, but I didn’t linger to talk. Instead, I hovered on the edge of the living room wondering where to sit. Selene was on the couch and if I sat near her, she’d see it as encouragement. I hadn’t spoken to her since that booty call and I didn’t want her thinking I was open to another one. The problem was, the only other option was sitting on the floor, and if I did that it would be obvious I was avoiding her.
In the end, I took the seat next to Selene, who turned on the couch and gave me a lingering hug. “How are you?”<
br />
“I’m doing well. You?”
“I’m fine.” She let go of me and examined me. She wore a smile, but there was something not so happy lurking in her eyes. “I heard you’ve got a new girlfriend.”
I leaned back against the couch with studied carelessness. “Marie told you?”
“Brad, actually.”
“They have big mouths,” I said lightly.
“Isn’t it true?” Her dark eyes searched my face.
“Yeah,” I said. “It’s true. Her name is Caroline.”
“How come she isn’t with you tonight?”
“She had a prior commitment.”
Selene was wearing a thick, tunic-length sweater with a v-neck so deep I could see almost all of her cleavage. Nestled between her breasts was a silver pentacle on a long chain. Her black hair was decorated with a scattering of multiple skinny braids decorated with silver beads.
“I’ve missed you,” she said in a sultry voice.
“Uh, yeah. Me too.”
“Seattle isn’t the same without you.”
Really? She’d never had any trouble finding lovers, and I’d been only one of a string.
“I like it here,” I said.
“It’s cute,” she allowed with a slightly dismissive movement of her head.
“Yeah.”
“I might be able to get used to it myself.”
I gave her a skeptical look. “I thought you said it was full of rednecks.”
Selene shrugged artfully, the gesture briefly enhancing her display of curves. “You convinced me the last time I was here that it’s more interesting than it looks at first.”
I made a noncommittal noise. She probably wasn’t serious. There wasn’t a single compelling reason I could think of for Selene to move to Avery’s Crossing.
She inched closer. “Are you still doing ritual work?”
“Not as much as I used to. I’ve been busy with other things.”
She pushed out her lower lip. “That’s too bad. You’re so talented.”
“I’ve got a lot on my plate right now. The business, school...”
“And this girl you’re seeing. Caroline? She’s not into magic, is she?”
I frowned at the note of regret in her voice. “No. She’s new to it.”
“I see.” She smiled flirtatiously. “Well, if you ever need a partner, let me know. I’d be happy to drive down and help you out.”
“That’s really nice of you, but I don’t think it’ll be necessary.”
Another artful shrug sent her tunic sliding off her shoulder on one side. “You never know.” Her smiled deepened. “Does she know about you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Your polyamorous nature.”
I gave her a dry look. “That was your thing, not mine. If I recall, you didn’t want to give up any of your other partners to be with me.”
“Oh, come on, Max. You know you liked the threesomes.”
I didn’t answer. If I’d known she was going to behave this way, I’d have taken a spot on the floor instead of the couch.
Marie came over and knelt on the floor next to the couch. “Have you gotten in touch with Carter yet?”
In most circumstances, I would have been severely annoyed by anyone bringing up Carter. In my circle, though, it was okay. Everyone knew about him already and, as far as I could tell, they didn’t judge me for what had happened. I thought they should, but they didn’t.
“No,” I said. “Not yet.”
She scowled. “Why not? You shouldn’t wait.”
“It’s Dead Week. Once finals are over, I’ll do it.”
Marie shook her head at me. “It isn’t wise to make him wait.”
“Why not? It’s not like he’s going anywhere.”
“Because he might have something timely to tell you. What if he can’t get the information to you until it’s too late?”
“Marie, I really doubt that’s the case. And it’s only two weeks.”
“What’s this about Carter?” Selene asked.
The others perked up their ears, too. If I didn’t watch out, this would turn into a project involving the entire circle.
“He’s been trying to contact Max,” Marie said. “But he’s having trouble getting through.”
“I’ve had other things going on,” I said.
“Such as Caroline?” Marie gazed at me knowingly.
“Maybe.”
“I don’t blame you for wanting to spend time with her, but you need to deal with Carter too. Especially since Caroline is involved.”
Selene’s eyes turned round as saucers. “Wait. Caroline is involved? How’s that?”
“It’s nothing.” I gestured dismissively. “She’s only peripherally involved because we’ve been seeing each other.” I sent Marie a warning glance.
“It sounds like you could use some help with this,” Selene said.
“Nope. I don’t need help.”
“But—”
“I’ll take care of it myself.” The words came out a lot more harshly than I’d intended them.
Selene gave me a hurt look. “Okay. I don’t mean to intrude.”
Good. I didn’t want the involvement of my circle in any of this. It was too private. It was something only I could deal with, and I had to do it alone.
***
The next morning, Caroline showed up at my door with her overnight bag. She smiled at me and there was both hope and uncertainty in her face. “Hi. I brought my stuff.”
I let her in. “Good. I missed you last night.”
“Me too.” She twined her arms around my neck and we kissed for so long I forgot what we were going to do.
I pulled back to nibble on the delicate skin of her neck.
“I found out last night that Trent was cheating on me,” she said.
“What a fucker.”
Caroline laughed. “It’s no worse than what we’re doing.”
“I think it is, because I can’t imagine wanting to cheat on you. What’s wrong with him, anyway?”
“What a nice thing to say.” She caught my lower lip between her teeth.
I scooped her into my arms, still kissing her, and carried her into the bedroom. She was addictive. I couldn’t get enough, no matter how many times we came together.
Chapter 19
Caroline
“Mom, I broke up with Trent,” I said into my phone. I was sitting on Max’s bed while he worked on some graphic design project in the living room.
“You did?” Mom sounded shocked. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m not. He was cheating on me.”
“How could that be? He seemed so devoted to you.”
I bit back the snort of derision that wanted to escape. “Um, no, he really wasn’t. He just put on a good show for you guys. Anyway, I have a new boyfriend.”
There came a disapproving silence. At least, I thought it was disapproving.
“That was sure fast,” Mom said. “Can you tell me his name?”
“No, I’m afraid I don’t know it,” I said without missing a beat.
Another silence. Sometimes my mom has no sense of humor.
I snickered. “I’m just kidding, Mom, Jeez. It’s Max. Max Kincaid.”
“Max? Isn’t that Trent’s stepbrother?” Now I could hear the disapproval dripping from her voice.
“Yeah, it is.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, honey.”
“I was hoping I could invite him to visit us over winter break.” Otherwise, I was going to do a lot of driving, because there was no way I was waiting three weeks to see him again.
“Visit us how? You know I don’t approve of sleepovers.”
Had she missed the part where I’d turned twenty-one? Well, it was her house and she could make the rules however she liked. But I didn’t have to like them, either, did I?
“No, I wasn’t talking about a sleepover. I just thought maybe he could have dinner with us a c
ouple of times. Maybe we could spend a day here and there together.”
“Well.” I could almost see the pursed lips and disapproving frown. “I suppose we could do that.”
“You’ll like him, Mom.” And even if she didn’t, it wouldn’t stop me from seeing him. I’d just have to sneak around, which I hated.
“I’m sure I will,” she said, but she sounded unconvinced. “What’s he like?”
“Nothing like Trent. He’s an artist. He has his own company and supports himself.”
“Really.”
There’s nothing like having your parent disbelieve everything that comes out of your mouth. “Yeah, Mom. Really. He’s very mature for his age.”
“But isn’t this the guy who thinks he can do magic?”
I sighed. “It’s not what you think. He’s not like Jo.”
“Hmm. Well, I’ll withhold judgment until I meet him.”
I guessed that was the best I could hope for at the moment, so it would have to do. “By the way, have you heard from Jo lately?” I said, making my voice all casual, like I didn’t much care one way or the other.
“No. She doesn’t have our number. We changed it, remember?”
“So she couldn’t find us?” The thought still made me angry.
“Yes. So she couldn’t find us.”
“That was a long time ago,” I said.
“Well, that’s kind of my point. It’s been so long I have no idea where she is now.”
“I wish you—I mean, we—could have kept in touch with her.”
“She was dangerous,” my mom said defensively.
“Really? How?”
“She was drinking. You know that. Drinking a lot. And talking to people who weren’t even there. I wasn’t sure what she would do next, but I knew I didn’t want you and the twins involved.”
How did my mom know those people who weren’t even there were really not there? Maybe Jo had seen ghosts, like I did.
Or maybe she was really nuts. Maybe I was, too. Insanity ran in families, after all.
“Look, I know Jo was your favorite,” my mom said. “But she wasn’t well, honey.”
“Then why did you kick her out?”
“She refused to get treatment. What else could we have done?”