“I’ll be fine, Evs. Promise.” He gave her a sweet kiss on the forehead that was an actual friend kiss and not a fake boyfriend kiss.
Evan walked to the edge of the patio, hung her arms over the railing and closed her eyes, zoning out from the chatter, which was either about Brinley Madison’s brush with death or Taryn Reyes’s new reign as queen of G.A. She didn’t want to hear any more voices.
“I thought I saw you come out here.”
Except that one. Hunter’s voice. Evan opened her eyes and he was standing next to her, his arms now dangling over the railing, too.
“You look…” He looked like he was searching for the right words, then he finally came out with, “…really beautiful.”
For once, she wished he hadn’t spoken to her at all. It was cruel for him to say something so amazing when there was nothing she could do about it.
“So everything okay in there?” she asked lamely. She couldn’t care less about the Brinley drama, but she couldn’t handle him giving her another compliment like that.
“The paramedics showed up and are checking her out.”
Evan nodded. They stared out at the D.C. streets, the cars whizzing by with no rhyme or reason, kind of like Evan’s life.
“So…you and Ellie,” she finally said. Might as well state the obvious and get it over with.
“Yeah, we, uh, got back together before the party. Everything you said really made me think.”
Evan paled. “Everything I said?”
“That everybody makes mistakes,” he replied, putting his hands in his pockets.
They got back together because she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. Evan was officially on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
“Well, it wasn’t just that. I had a long talk with my dad and he pointed out, you know, since I did miss being with Ellie anyway, that getting back together was a good thing for everybody.”
“And by everybody, you mean…” Evan was in disbelief and she was going to make him say it.
“Her mom looks really bad right now between Strippergate and Mike Lim, and that makes all the Dems look bad…” Hunter trailed off, for once not abounding with confidence.
“Does Ellie know that you got back together with her because it helps the party’s image?”
“I said that’s not the only reason,” he snapped, specks of anger peppering his voice. “We’ve been together two years. I love her.” Evan couldn’t tell if he was trying to convince himself or Evan.
She cheated on you in a room full of vodka bottles at a rookie party! Evan wanted to shout. Not like it would matter, though. In Hunter’s mind, he and Evan had done the exact same thing last night to Luke.
“I’m really happy for you,” Evan mumbled, then ran as fast as she could in those stupid heels so she could go to the bathroom and bawl her eyes out.
***
Ellie stood shivering outside the St. Regis, standing off to the side as a young paramedic monitored Brinley’s heart rate. Brooks walked out of the hotel and immediately handed Ellie his jacket.
“I got the rest of her things. They want to take her to the hospital to run a few tests. I’ll call my parents so they can meet us there.”
Ellie did not envy that phone call. “Can I do anything?”
“I’ll call you later and let you know how she is. You should go back inside, though, enjoy the party. They’re only going to let family in at the hospital anyway.” Brooks glanced over at Brinley, a sad look on his face. “I knew this was going to happen.”
“You couldn’t have done anything, Brooks.” Brooks had given Ellie a quick recap of Brinley’s addiction. At least it explained Brinley’s erratic behavior lately, not to mention the Washington Post article. She wished Brinley had come to her, but it’s not like she could blame her. Ellie still hadn’t told her anything about her history with Gabe.
“Maybe I would’ve gotten through to Brin if I hadn’t run out of Clintons to compare her to,” Brooks quipped, slightly back to his old, sarcastic self. “If only Chelsea wasn’t so goddamn straight-laced.”
Ellie returned his coat and walked back through the foyer of the hotel. She saw a ladies room at the end of the hallway and suddenly felt the need to splash some water on her face. This night kept getting more surreal by the second.
She pushed open the bathroom door and stopped in her tracks when she saw Evan standing at the sink, wiping her face with a paper towel. She looked like she had been crying, but Ellie didn’t care. She gave Evan a withering look.
“What?” Evan asked, innocently, halting her pity party long enough to look at Ellie.
“You’re really going to pretend that you didn’t kiss Hunter?” Ellie asked, the venom easily sliding off her tongue and the familiar feelings of anger rushing through her body.
Evan was too shocked to answer for a moment, then finally said numbly, “I’m sorry, Ellie. It just happened—”
“How could you do that? I thought we were friends!”
Evan looked down, but when she looked up again, animosity darkened her blue eyes. “Why do you even care? You guys got back together!”
The fact that she was acting so indignant when she was the one who threw herself at Ellie’s boyfriend enraged Ellie even more. “Has this all been some bitter plan of yours the whole time? To try to swoop in on Hunter and get me back for what happened two years ago?”
“I wasn’t trying to swoop in!” Evan shouted.
“Then what were you doing? Putting in a good word for me?” Ellie yelled back, the sarcasm powerful enough to reach out and grab Evan. Thankfully, there was no one else in the bathroom to witness this.
“What does it even matter? You got what you wanted, Ellie! You got Hunter!”
“Don’t even act like you didn’t kiss him just to spite me. You and Luke have been mauling in every freaking corner of the ballroom all night!”
Whatever Ellie said catapulted Evan into another galaxy of outrage.
“Not everything is what it looks like,” Evan retorted, her words laced with anger. “Just ask Hunter.”
Ellie froze. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just ask Hunter. The only reason he got back together with you is because his father told him to!”
Evan bit her lip the second the words were out of her mouth, but they had already hit Ellie like a ton of bricks.
“You’re lying,” Ellie said, but at the same time she was starting to believe it. The whole night had seemed too good to be true. Maybe that’s because it was.
“I shouldn’t have said anything,” Evan muttered, then brushed past her and out of the door.
Ellie looked in the mirror at her despondent reflection. The fairy tale of four hours ago was crashing down in flames almost as quickly as it had swept her off her feet. She didn’t even want to see Hunter right now. She just wanted to go home.
She left the bathroom and paused at the double doors to the ballroom. She needed to grab her stuff, then she could sneak out. She smoothed her hair down and plastered on a smile for the photographers, who would be clamoring for a photo-op on the other side of those doors.
Ellie inhaled a gulp of fresh air, then entered the ballroom.
But no photographers were waiting for her on the other side. In fact, they were all crowded around the dance floor snapping away at something Ellie couldn’t see. She moved closer, her heart pounding, almost knowing what it was before she even saw it.
And then she did. Gabe and Taryn were in the middle of the dance floor kissing with complete abandon, oblivious to the photographers who were illuminating them with their fluorescent bulbs as the newly anointed golden couple.
Ellie felt like she was going to throw up as the realization hit her. She had made a terrible mistake. This entire week she had thought Gabe was the bad guy and Hunter was the good guy.
But she had it all wrong.
Gabe loved her for all the right reasons and she had rejected him under the false belief that Hunter was the one she shoul
d be with. The belief that Gabe was her escape and Hunter was her safety net. But it was the exact opposite. Hunter had gotten back together with her because his father told him to. Gabe had been fighting to be with her, despite what his father thought.
She walked toward the exit in a fog, but couldn’t resist one last look at the dance floor. There was nothing she could do now. Gabe had made it clear that he thought nothing could ever truly work with them and now he was with Taryn.
Guys always were more interested in Marilyn than Jackie.
THE END
Enjoyed Georgetown Academy Book One and Two? Want to find out what happens next? Click here to buy the next book in the series, Georgetown Academy, Season One!
Acknowledgements
Besides thanking whoever invented Skype for allowing us to work everyday without having to get out of our pajamas, there are a ton of other people who made this book happen.
Holly Root at the Waxman Agency, our unbelievable book agent. You believed in this book from Day One and we are so appreciative. Thank you for sending us the gifs of frolicking puppies on the bad days.
Melanie Downing, our insightful editor, thank you for helping us transform this book into what it is today. Seriously. We couldn’t have done it without you. P.S., we love that you love these characters as much as we do.
Lisa and the team at Coliloquy, thank you for getting us and our vision...and for the continued support and enthusiasm throughout the process.
Shout-outs to Jon Cassir and Russell Hollander for getting the ball rolling, and to Patti Felker and Chris Abramson, attorneys extraordinaire.
Though all the characters and storylines are works for fiction, we would like to thank the following people for providing us with extra D.C. authentic flavor: Randy Wellington, Tom Wellington, Sandra Fox and Jessie Schneiderman.
Finally, we couldn’t have done this without our families who loved and cheered us on from both coasts (even when we were being bratty). Thank you.
On Jessica’s side: My Favorite Boys, Josh Etting, Oliver Etting and Sawyer Etting; my parents, Terry and Gentille Koosed; my siblings Mandy Koosed, Phil and Tamar Koosed; my other family, Linda and Gary Etting, Brian Etting, Spencer and Dina Torgan; and of course, the extended (and crazy) Nelson and Koosed clans.
On Alyssa’s side: My amazing husband, Dan Schwartz. My parents, David and Nancy Embree; my siblings, Brad and Alyssa Embree. My other family, The Schwartzes, Steve, Honey, Josh, Jill, Stella, Katie and Brad.
And thank you to Annie and Magoo, the original Ellie and Gabe.
About Coliloquy
Coliloquy is the first digital publisher to focus on active and interactive storytelling, leveraging advances in technology to create groundbreaking new forms of digital content. Originally developed as part of the Kindle Developer Program, Coliloquy’s books and apps are now available across all tablet, phone, and e-reading platforms, including iOS, Android, Kindle, NOOK, and Kobo. Based in Palo Alto, CA, the company was founded by Lisa Rutherford, an AlwaysON “Top Women to Watch” award winner, and Waynn Lue in 2011. For more information, please visit www.coliloquy.com.
About the Author
Jessica Koosed Etting and Alyssa Embree Schwartz met the first day of freshman year at the University of Southern California and instantly bonded over their obsessions with Brenda Walsh, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and The Babysitters Club books they read growing up. After spending a full year mourning the end of college, they began writing television and feature scripts together. They have set up pilots at ABC, NBC, Fox and CW, and sold films to The Weinstein Company, Happy Madison, Paramount, New Regency, MGM and Alloy Entertainment. They love writing female-centric stories, especially for teen and tween audiences, mainly because they still think they are the 18-year-old girls they were when they first met at USC.
Copyright
© 2012 by ALYSSA EMBREE SCHWARTZ AND JESSICA KOOSED ETTING
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Coliloquy, LLC
www.coliloquy.com
www.twitter.com/coliloquy
First eBook Edition: October 2012
The Coliloquy name and logo are trademarks of Coliloquy, LLC.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-1-937804-13-8
Georgetown Academy 1 and 2 Page 24