Private 09 - Paradise Lost (10 page)

"I'm so sorry," Upton said immediately, pulling me into his arms. I closed my eyes and pressed my cheek against his chest. The warmth of his body chased away the last of the shivers. "They said you'd gone back to the Langes'. That you'd come down with a headache."

"I figured," I said, glancing over at Sienna, whose arms were crossed over her chest as she looked imperiously out at the ocean, as if she owned it. Amberly, Paige, and Poppy weren't there. I wondered how Sienna had ended up taking the blame solo, but honestly, I didn't care.

"I believe Sienna has something to say to you," Upton said, loosening his grip on me.

Sienna glanced at my angry face and rolled her eyes. "We're sorry," she said, with no sincerity whatsoever. "We were just having some fun." She offered me her hand and arched her perfectly waxed eyebrows. "Friends?"

Anger clenched my chest and I pulled away from Upton completely, stepping toward her.

"You and I were never friends, and we're never going to be friends," I said, causing her face to fall. "In fact, you and your little posse can stay away from me for the rest of the trip. Far, far away. And I suggest, for your own sake, that you do."

Sienna's thin lips parted in indignation as I turned on my bare heel and stormed off toward the pool and the restaurant behind it. The sun was just dipping behind the hotel. I needed to find my friends and vent before I exploded.

"Reed! Wait!"

Upton caught up to me near the shallow end of the pool and grabbed my arm.

"Thanks for finding me and everything, but I really need to talk to Noelle right now," I said, wresting myself from his grasp.

"Wait. I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Upton told me, his eyes pleading. "Sienna's just being a spoiled child. She doesn't know how to handle jealousy, you see--"

"Jealousy? Wait a minute. I thought she was new here too. What's she jealous of?" I asked, a niggling feeling of ignorance gnawing at the back of my neck. Upton bit his lip and looked away. "Yes, well... we kind of had a thing last term when she and Poppy came to visit me at school. ..."

An incredulous laugh escaped my throat and I backed away from him. "Oh my God! You are a total man-whore!"

"Reed--"

"Is there any female on this planet you haven't had a thing with? " I asked, lifting my palms to the sky. "Maybe it would be simpler for you to list your non-hookups than your hookups."

"Reed, none of that matters," Upton said, reaching for my hands. He held them both in his and looked into my eyes. "You're the one I want to be with now. Only you. I swear it. All of that is in the past. It doesn't matter anymore."

I was amazed at how sincere he made it sound. For a second I almost believed him. And maybe a year ago I would have. But I wasn't that naive anymore. Reed Brennan had gone through some changes.

"It kind of does matter when I spend over an hour freezing my ass off in a dark shower stall," I told him, yanking away my hands. "This was supposed to be a fun little vacation fling. And the fun just officially ended. I have to go."

This time, when he called after me, I didn't look back.

CHAPTER 16 DROPOUTS

"I should have just stuck with the original plan and stayed out of the Upton Game," I ranted to Noelle, Kiran, Taylor, and Tiffany as they followed me down the hall to the Langes' guest room, past all the indigenous pottery displayed on glass tables along the wall. "Clearly I was not cut out for this particular sport. And does he really think I believe that he's only into me now? After however many years of being England's number one player?" I threw open the double doors to my room and stopped in my tracks. Noelle barreled right into me, and Kiran tripped over Taylor, knocking into the wall and taking down a potted plant. Tiffany caught the vase just before it hit the floor.

"Can you warn us when you're going to do that?" Kiran asked, straightening her top. I couldn't respond. I was too stunned. Every inch of my room was covered in flowers. Huge pots lined the floor. Vases bursting with white and orange blooms were arranged on the bedside tables and atop the dresser. Long glass boxes overflowing with gorgeous tropical buds had overtaken the windowsills. Loose petals were strewn all over the floor and on the bed. A handwritten note sat propped up on my pillow.

"My mother is so going to fire Maritza when she sees this mess," Noelle said, nudging some petals with her foot. "Dammit. There goes her good espresso!"

"Who're they from?" Taylor asked, her eyes bright.

My first thought was of Josh. Had Josh talked to Ivy and explained that he still loved me?

My heart beat wildly with curiosity as I picked up the card, not daring to imagine what it might say. The handwriting was unfamiliar, and my eyes went directly to the signature. I forced a smile. "They're from Upton," I said, silently scolding myself for letting my thoughts turn to Josh. That was over. I was moving on. And clearly Upton was more than willing to help me speed up the process.

"How did he pull this off?" Tiffany asked, lowering her nose to the nearest arrangement.

"We just left him. Does he have the florist on speed dial?"

"Dear Reed," I read. "Please accept these flowers as my sincere apology. I promise that tonight, you will have my full and undivided attention, if you so choose to allow it. Love, Upton." My heart fluttered.

"Wow. He really likes you," Taylor said, fingering the soft petals of a huge white lily. She took a deep breath and let her hands slap against her thighs. "Well, that's it. I'm officially dropping out of the Upton Game."

"Really?" I said.

"What's the point?" Taylor asked, lifting her arms to take in the entire room. "You have his full and undivided attention."

Kiran sighed audibly. She took a lipstick out of her clutch and leaned toward the mirror on the dressing table. "Guess it's Graham Hathaway for me."

"Poor guy has no idea what he's in for," Noelle joked.

"No, he does not," Kiran agreed, pressing her lips together. The flutter in my heart took on a whole new excited rhythm. My competitive side couldn't help but feel a bit proud. Apparently I had won. Upton, the most coveted and sought-after guy in their group, was all but mine.

Unless, of course, Poppy had anything to say about it.

But in the past few hours, I had taken Tiffany, Kiran, and Taylor out of the game. Three very worthy contenders. If I could intimidate them, I could intimidate anyone. Even Poppy Simon. Suddenly, I couldn't wait until tonight.

CHAPTER 17 YIN AND YANG

Upton wasn't kidding. All night he danced with me, sat down with me when I needed a break, ran to get me drinks the second I mentioned I was thirsty, and got me chips to munch on when I was hungry. All night I ignored the hostile stares of Sienna and Amberly and Paige. It was like I was Cinderella, and they were the ugly stepsisters watching me steal the prince's attention. It was perfect. But not just because I had won some stupid game. That felt good, of course. But it wasn't about that. It was about Upton. Me and Upton. It was as if we were in our own little world where no one else could touch us.

That is, until Poppy arrived.

Upton and I were on the outskirts of the dance floor--basically a lacquer platform set atop the sand and surrounded by pillow-topped benches--when Poppy walked in, turning heads. She wore nothing but a skimpy white bathing suit under a see-through gauze miniskirt, and the thin woven straps of her heeled sandals wound all the way up her toned calves. Her first stop was at the DJ booth, where she whispered something to the shirtless spinner, then grabbed his microphone.

"Where're my girls? " she shouted at the top of her lungs, throwing her arm in the air. Sienna, Paige, Amberly, Kiran, Taylor, Noelle, and Tiffany--all of whom were in the center of the dance floor--hollered in response, throwing their arms up as well. "Ladies! It's time we show the rest of these slags how to party!"

Poppy jumped down from the DJ booth and danced her way through the crowd, pressing up against every hot guy as she made her way over to her friends. Girls danced with her, and guys eyed her appreciatively. Clearly Poppy knew everyone on this island, and everyone was stoked to see her. Everyone but me.

"Noelle wasn't kidding. Poppy definitely knows how to make an entrance," I said. My black mini-dress suddenly felt like a garbage bag in comparison to her outfit. Upton glanced over his shoulder at her. "Yes, but we don't care about her, remember?" Perfect response. My heart turned to goo. I grinned and reached up to wrap my arms around his neck. "Oh, I remember."

Upton smiled and gave me a questioning glance, as if he were afraid to misread the obvious signal I was broadcasting: Kiss me! Kiss me! Kiss me!

Then he finally leaned in and touched his lips to mine. Every one of my limbs went limp, and I momentarily forgot where I was. Normally I'm not one for huge, prolonged public displays of affection, but we stood there on the dance floor and just kissed for a long, long time. When Upton finally broke away, he kept his arms wound tightly around me. "I've been thinking about that all night."

"Me too," I said, resting my cheek on his chest and sighing happily. So not caring about Poppy. So not caring...

But it was total crap. Of course I cared about her. I cast a sidelong glance in Poppy's direction and saw that, sure enough, Sienna was whispering in her ear and glancing pointedly at Upton and me. Poppy's eyes narrowed as she spotted us.

Adrenaline filled my veins, bubbling hot as lava. I held Upton tighter as we danced. Two seconds later, I felt a sharp finger jabbing repeatedly into my back.

"Excuse me."

I checked Upton's face before I turned around. He looked rather ill. Not a good sign. I steeled myself and faced Poppy.

"Yes?" I said.

"I thought we had an understanding," she said, with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Or were you not paying attention?"

"Oh, I got the message," I said coolly. "I just chose to ignore it." Then I turned my back on her and reached for Upton. Her hand gripped my shoulder, her bony fingers digging into my skin.

"May I cut in?" she asked through her teeth.

The music pounded inside my head as I waited for Upton to say something. Anything. I waited a good sixteen bars. Upton just stood there behind me, silent, while my body temperature climbed steadily with each driving beat.

"Is she deaf or just slow?" Poppy joked, glancing past me toward her "boyfriend." "I said, may. I. Gut. In?"

"I don't know," I replied. "It's up to Upton." I looked into his eyes. It was now or never. Time to see what the Up-man was made of. If he blew me off, I would walk away. Even though I so didn't want to walk away. Upton took a deep breath and sighed, looking at the ground and scratching his eyebrow with his index finger before facing her.

"Poppy, we need to talk," he began.

He took her hand and walked her off the dance floor, just a few feet away from where we'd been standing. Unsure of what to do, I glanced around and saw Daniel exchange an inter-ested glance with Paige. They both made their way over, hanging back a respectable distance, but definitely within eavesdropping range. Soon enough, most of the crew was gathered in the same way, pretending not to be listening in. Pretending quite badly.

"What is it, poodle?" Poppy asked, putting her arms around his waist. Upton took her wrists and placed them back at her sides. She blinked, obviously upset, and glanced around. She noticed a few people watching and lifted her chin, trying to mask her surprise.

"This has to stop," Upton said, firmly but not unkindly. "I'm sorry, but I don't know how much clearer I can be. We've never been together--and we never will be together. We're friends. And as your friend, I'm telling you to stop embarrassing yourself." Poppy took a step backward, heartbreak written all over her face. A few girls nearby laughed behind their hands. Poppy looked at them, confused. Clearly she was not accustomed to being the object of laughter. I glanced over at Noelle and the others, and every last one of them looked like they wanted to flee. Like they'd rather be doing anything other than witnessing this. Which I supposed I understood. It was even hard for me to watch, and they actually were friends with Poppy. No one liked to see their friend get dissed.

"Is this because of her?" Poppy asked.

"Not entirely, no, "Upton said, putting his hands in his pockets. "I just don't feel that way about you. I'm sorry."

Paige and Sienna stepped forward, but Poppy whirled around, searching the club for someone.

Oh, crap. Me.

The girl crossed the few feet between us in about half a second, knocking over an oblivious partier in the process, sending her margarita flying. Poppy got so up in my face that I could count the pores on her nose. My heart pounded with trepidation, and I could only hope it didn't show on my face.

Never let your rival see you sweat.

"I've been meaning to ask you. How does it feel to be a one-person natural disaster?" Poppy spat. Literally spat. Her saliva pelted me just below my left eye.

"What are you talking about?" I replied, quickly wiping away the spittle.

"You! Hurricane Reed. You leave a wake of destruction everywhere you go," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Broken relationships, crushed hearts . . . death." Tears stung my eyes as I stared back at her. I so wanted to be unruffled by her attack, but how could anyone remain unaffected in the face of that sort of characterization? Was this actually what people were saying about me? Was this really what people thought? Every inch of my skin burned with anger, humiliation, and hurt.

"Don't think I don't know what happened to Thomas, to that girl in your dorm," she went on. "People talk--and somehow, they always talk about you. You're dangerous." I was so stunned, I didn't know how to respond.

"Poppy. That's enough," Upton said, coming up behind her.

"Screw you," she said, whirling on him. "Screw the both of you. Good luck trying to survive the storm."

Then she turned and ran out of the club. Daniel tried to follow, but she was too quick. She hopped in her white BMW and peeled away so fast that she almost spun out and crashed into a sand dune. Everyone in the place gasped, but she managed to backup and race off. Hertail-lights disappeared around a bend, and the crowd slowly returned to its partying. I simply stood there, staring after her. No one had ever said anything that cruel outright to me. I couldn't keep her words from repeating themselves in my mind.