Her face beams with excitement. I don’t have the heart to tell her that I only went to one class because my ex-boss was an asshole and bailed last minute on a private yoga session. I felt bad about canceling it ten minutes beforehand, so I ended up doing sixty minutes of hot yoga. Never again. Whoever invented hot yoga was some sort of evil masochist. By the end of the class, I was exhausted, pouring sweat—yeah pouring, not dripping—and my muscles felt like jelly. It took me three days to re-hydrate.
“Oh, one or two. I was pretty busy out there. That’s part of the reason I’m back home. I needed some quiet time to work on my music.”
“That’s so exciting. Come on, let’s grab a drink, and you can tell us all about LA,” she says, grabbing my arm and pulling me toward a room filled with people. She finds her sister, Heather, and introduces us before making me start spilling LA gossip. We are deep in conversation when something makes me look up; a feeling or a sense, I couldn’t say, but my eyes meet Tyson’s, and he doesn’t look happy.
Parker, on the other hand, is slapping him on the back and laughing as he walks toward our group of mostly women sitting around a fireplace.
“Ladies,” he says as he leans down to kiss Lola on the cheek. She blushes and pats the hearth next to her, offering him a cup that she pours bourbon into as he sits down.
Tyson mumbles a “hello” and sits down on the far side of Parker.
As our conversation continues, it becomes very clear that Lola is totally into Parker and vice versa, and Lola also wants Heather and Tyson to hook up, which is slightly uncomfortable. Heather uses an excuse to go get a bottle of wine. When she returns, she sits next to Tyson. He glances over at me, and I raise an eyebrow. I’m curious to see what he does. If he goes for it, then I know that whatever flicker of the past I’ve seen between us this week was imagined.
I’m ready to sit here until something does or does not happen, but all of a sudden, Harley grabs my arm.
“OMG! Cadence is here!” she says excitedly and drags me toward the kitchen which is out of view.
I sigh and follow her to the kitchen island where our friend, Cadence or Cady, is pouring herself a drink. When she hears Harley squeal, she whips around. She grins, but her grin widens when she sees me.
“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” she says as she crosses the room and pulls me into a hug.
“Hey, you,” I reply as I hug her back.
She immediately launches into a story about her last visit to Philadelphia to see her grandparents. I get sucked into Cady’s story about sneaking out of her very strict and conservative grandparent’s mansion to meet up with friends for a night of clubbing. I completely forget about Tyson as Cady has me bending over in laughter.
“Hi again,” Cole says to me as he walks into the room.
“Oh, hey,” I reply with smile.
“I didn’t know you’d be here tonight.”
I shrug. “This one may have talked me into it.” I nod toward Harley who is still busy chatting with Cady.
Cole laughs. “Harley can be persuasive. So, what are you doing later this week? We should grab drinks or something and catch up.”
I’m nodding when Harley grabs my arm.
“Come on, I hear this house has this sick pool area,” Cady announces.
“Oh… uh, OK,” I stumble over the words as I turn apologetically to Cole. “I guess I’m going to explore the house. Text me?”
“Sure thing. I’ll find you later,” he replies as Cady grabs my arm and drags me down a hallway off the kitchen.
“Whose house is this, anyhow?” I ask as I nearly trip trying to keep up with her.
“Lola and Heather Epstein, their dad is like a famous surgeon or something,” Cady says as though this is the most normal thing in the world.
It’s weird how I got in with all these rich kids. I guess because my dad ran an art gallery and my grandmother was a fairly famous artist, they think I belong in their world, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. No matter how long I hang out with “the other half,” I never get used to the opulence of their lives. This thought rattles around my brain as we walk into what I can only describe as a greenhouse-style room with a giant pool in the middle and a hot tub to one side. There are enormous outdoor sofas and chairs clustered around the room and a small bar along the wall where we entered. The pool lights are the only ones on, allowing us to gaze up through the glass roof and see the stars.
“Wow,” I whisper to no one in particular.
“Damn, I need to tell Daddy we need one of these,” Harley says.
Cady meanwhile is oblivious to this opulence. She starts stripping down to her black bra and thong and dives into the pool.
My eyes widen.
“Come on in, bitches. It’s heated!”
“Uhhhh.” I look around as though some parent is going to come yell at us.
Meanwhile, Harley starts taking off her dress. Only, she has no bra on but doesn’t seem to care as she jumps in the pool after setting her dress on a chair.
My phone pings, and I see a text from Cole.
Cole: Hey, I’m trying to find you again, but this house is huge, and I think I’m lost.
I giggle.
Me: I’m in some giant pool room.
Cole: Where’s that?
Me: No clue.
Cole: I’ll try to find it.
Me: May the odds be ever in your favor.
Cole: (laughing emoji)
“You coming in?” Harley asks as she treads water.
Now, I’m no prude, but at this moment, I’d give anything to be one. Maybe it’s all the wild parties I saw in LA, while sober. Or maybe it’s my self-consciousness about my body. Who knows, but I’m about to make up an excuse when the phone I have stuffed in my bra, because a purse doesn’t really go with this outfit, rings.
“Oh, uh, hold on,” I say to them and pull my phone out to answer it with a sigh of relief until I see my dad’s name. “Dad?”
“Kiddo, I’m so sorry to bother you, but Niko is missing. I opened the door to let him pee, and there must have been an animal because he took off before I could grab his leash. I don’t want to leave him out there. He doesn’t know this area, and not all the bears are hibernating yet.”
“I’m coming,” I say to him.
“Guys, Niko got out, and my dad needs help. Harley, I’m so sorry to bail, but can you get a ride home?” I had driven us from the resort to the party, and although I’d warned Harley I might bail early, this was sort of super early.
“Yeah, go help your dad. If it doesn’t take long, just come back, K?” Harley calls out from the pool.
I nod and head back through the house. I’m almost to the front door when I turn and see Heather leaning on Ty. I guess that’s my answer. I grab my coat and get in the car, driving back to the cabin in silence as I think about the events of the night. Fine, I fester the entire way there.
Seven
Tyson
Watching Cole flirt with Brit has me seeing red. I don’t know why I suddenly feel possessive over a woman who hasn’t been mine for nearly four years, but fuck if I don’t want to step in between them and announce that she’s with me.