The Clique (23 page)

              Aude takes another bite. The crisp bacon pops between her teeth. “I told you, I want to feel this out. I know Gabe pretty well. If it seems like he’s not being faithful, then I’ll push him. But otherwise, I trust him.”

              “There’s trust, and then there’s stupidity.” Kate folds her arms.

              “I don’t want to argue with you, Kate. This is my decision, and I’m going to do what I think is best. Thank you for telling me, but I’m not gonna rush off and accuse Gabe of anything.”

              “Accuse? Aude, I
saw
him. This isn’t some rumor, and it isn’t something that’s gonna go away if you ignore it. Like that video of you at the party. You know I had something to do with it, but you haven’t asked me. Why?”

              Aude drops her bacon. She stares at her plate for several seconds, but in the end there’s no avoiding Kate’s question. Aude looks up to meet her eyes. “Okay, sometimes I
am
afraid of the answer.”

              “Don’t be. Ask me.”

              Aude already knows what Kate’s going to say. But she asks anyway. “Kate, do you know anything about that video that someone sent to Gabe and my parents?”

              “Yes. Yes, I took it. I thought you completely betrayed me, and I wanted to get back at you any way I could. So I took the video and sent it to Devon, and he sent it to your parents.”

              Aude dry swallows. “Okay.”

              “Do you hate me now?”

              “Of course not. No matter what, you’re still my best friend. I thought I made it clear that nothing could ever, ever change that.” She studies the floral pattern of her plate. “I know you didn’t intend for it to be as bad as it ended up... My dad called me a whore, after he saw it.”

              “Oh, Aude—“ Kate pulls her friend into a warm hug “—I’m so sorry. For everything. I’m such a terrible friend.”

              “No, you’re not. This last month has been hard, is all.” They maintain the embrace for a few minutes, and then decide to spend the rest of the day at Kate’s house.

              They rock out in Aude’s car on the way over, and at Kate’s house they play games, watch TV, joke about celebrity gossip, and remind each other why they became friends in the first place. Late afternoon arrives all too quickly; Aude doesn’t realize how late it’s getting until nearly four-thirty.

              “Oh, shoot!” she says. “Gabe’s supposed to pick me up at my house in like twenty minutes.”

              “You wanna borrow a dress or something?” Kate asks.

              “Um, yeah. I’ll put it on at home. Can I take your blue one? With the single sleeve?” Aude heads up to Kate’s room, searching in the closet.

              “Sure.” Kate helps her find it. “Shoes?”

              “I’ll just wear my ones for church. Okay, thanks, see you later!” She rushes out the door and to her car. At home, sneaking Kate’s dress in, putting on makeup, and picking out clothes to wear to hide the dress takes so long that Gabe has to wait with Aude’s father for several minutes before she’s ready.

              “Bye Mom!” she calls. “Gabe, let’s go.”

              Gabe stands up with a sigh of relief. Once they’re past Aude’s front porch he says, “Your dad seemed even colder than usual. Like, he just glared at me the whole time.”

              “Oh. Sorry.” Aude climbs into his SUV. “It’s probably just ‘cause my sister’s home.” Or he’s still mad about the video.

              “Yeah, I noticed. Why’s that?” He starts the car.

              Aude shrugs. “For my birthday, I think. This would’ve been the first one Jenna wasn’t around for. Or maybe she just wanted a break from college.”

              Gabe laughs. “Who needs a break from college? Parties, dorms, hot chicks… Why would you need to take a break from that?”

              “Baby, you’re describing a different college than the one my sister goes to. Where she goes, it’s more like homework, schoolwork, homework again, and then, if there’s a bit of time left, extra-curricular work.”

              “I bet there are still parties at her school.”

              Aude giggles. “Yeah, of course. But Jenna wouldn’t notice a party if it was thrown on her front lawn.”

              “They aren’t as fun as you.” Gabe smiles. “Speaking of which, I got us into another super exclusive restaurant, so you have to be on your best behavior.”

              “Oh? Where are we going?”

              “The Silver Palace. And I have a special surprise, after. For your birthday.”

              Aude fake-pouts. “I don’t like surprises. Just tell me.”

              “You’ll see.” The restaurant’s downtown, which means about thirty minutes of driving time, ten minutes of searching for a place to park, and ten more minutes of walking. Aude and Gabe arrive thirty minutes late for their reservation.

              “Welcome to the Silver Palace,” an uptight-looking host says. Except for a bit of hair above his ears, he’s completely bald. His black suit, complete with an obnoxiously long coat, fits in perfectly with the restaurant decor. Unfortunately.

              “Hello,” Gabe says, “I have a reservation for two. Mr. Parker.”

              The host looks at a ledger on the walnut podium in front of him. “Ah, yes, Mr. Parker. Reservation for two. You—ahem—you do not look like Mr. Parker.”

              “Excuse me?” Gabe puffs up, as if he’s expecting a fight.

              “I’m sorry, sir, but minors aren’t allowed in the restaurant without an adult present. When we made the reservation, we assumed it was for
the
Gabriel Parker. Not some young boy and his—date.”

              “Hey!” Gabe pokes a finger at the man. “I’m his son, so maybe you ought to show me some respect.”

              Aude grabs Gabe’s arm, hoping to talk him down before he causes a scene. “Baby, let’s just go somewhere else.”

              “No! I made a reservation, and I deserve to get my table!”

              The host discretely waves over a much larger man. “That may be the case, Mr. Parker, and I might be inclined to seat you, but as I said, no minors allowed. And I might also mention that you are, ahem, a little late as well. Your table has been filled.”

              “But—“ Gabe blusters. “You have an open table right there!”

              “Ah, not quite. That table has not been bussed yet, and is reserved by another party.”

              “We can go somewhere else,” Aude repeats.

              “We can’t! I have a room at your hotel tonight! What am I gonna do, go to bed without any dinner?”

              At the mention of the hotel room, the host’s eyes flicker to Aude. “Please calm down, sir. If you have a room booked with us, I can put an order in with the chefs and have it brought up. Will that be alright?”

              Aude can see Gabe’s chest rise and fall. “Fine.”

              The host gestures to a desk at the foot of a gold-and-black staircase. “Cecilia will help you find your room.”

              Gabe collects the key and tromps up the stairs, pouting like a small child. Aude follows, trying to ignore the judging looks from the diners below.

              “Room one-oh-seven.” Gabe inserts the key and thrusts the door open. “Well, here we are. Surprise.”

              “Um…“ Aude pauses at the threshold. “Gabe, why did you get a hotel room?”

              “It was gonna be romantic.” He picks up a package by the door. “See? I had rose petals, and candles!”

              “Okay. But, why?”

              “Because tonight is going to be the night, Aude. We have this great room, I still have the candles, and we’ll have dinner brought up.”

              Aude shuts the room door. “I really hope you’re not saying what I think you are... This was your big surprise for my birthday? ‘Hey Aude, let’s have sex in a random hotel room, even though you said you weren’t ready yet?’”

              Gabe releases a huff of frustration. “That was like two weeks ago. I waited, and now I’m asking again.” The room phone rings. “Yes?” Gabe answers. “I dunno, we don’t have menus. Just send up some spaghetti. Yeah, charge it to the room. Okay,
thank you.”
He slams the phone back into the cradle. “Asshole.”

              “So—“ Aude glares at the blue-sheeted bed. “I’m still not ready.”

              “Well, maybe
I
am.” Gabe matches Aude’s expression with an icy stare. “I’m tired of waiting, Aude. It’s been long enough. I’m putting my foot down.”

             
Wow, so romantic
.
Aude shakes her head. “No, you can’t force me into this.”

              “You know, if you really loved me, you wouldn’t torture me like this.”

              “Excuse me?”

              “You’re torturing me, because you like having power over me. But not anymore, Aude. I’m not going to let you do it. Either you put your money where your mouth is, or we’re over.”

              The ultimatum drops like a lead weight.
“You’re going to break up with me because I won’t sleep with you?”

              “Yes. Because I’m tired of waiting. It isn’t fair. I could’ve gotten with a hundred chicks in the time I’ve been with you.” The curtains cast a dark shadow on Gabe’s face, in the shape of a smirk.

              “I’m not just a ‘chick’!” Aude swallows raw bile.
And if you lose him because you trust him?
Kate’s words come unbidden to her mind. “What were you doing yesterday?”

              Gabe leans back. “Nothing. I went to practice and then worked on homework. Why?”

              Aude hesitates. She knows if she throws it in his face, there might not be any going back. “Kate saw you with Amanda.”

              “What? No, I was practicing.” The hostile expression drops from his face. “I don’t even like Amanda. Why would I hang out with her?”

              “Kate said you were kissing. So, what… Is she like one of your hundred chicks or something?”

              Gabe swings his head from side to side. “Kate’s lying. She must be mad at you still. I promise, I’ve never kissed anyone other than you.”

              “Kate wouldn’t lie about that.” Someone knocks on the door, but Aude doesn’t bother answering. She just slumps against the wood frame. “I want to believe you, but I trust Kate. She had no reason to lie.”

              “Well—uh—“ Gabe’s head drops. “Fine. I cheated on you, Aude.” His voice thickens. “I didn’t mean to, but it was just so—unintentional. Amanda saw me hit that kid who called my sister fat and ugly. I guess I just snapped. When someone does something like that to your sister—what was I supposed to do? I only meant to threaten him, make him sorry for being such an ass, but he wouldn’t apologize, and it made me
so
angry.”

              Gabe takes a steadying breath. “At first, I didn’t think anyone saw. I walked to one of those emergency exit staircases, and I cried like a fucking baby. And Amanda heard, and she came up to me and asked if I was alright. She was so nice and understanding.” He looks up at Aude. “Then later, we talked again. She took me to her house, and told me I was in the right and anyone else would’ve done the same thing. She promised to keep it a secret. Aude, I was so low, I didn’t even know what I was doing. It just sort of happened—“

              “What?” Aude asks, her voice barely above a whisper. “What happened?” There’s another knock on the door.

              “We had sex. It wasn’t my fault. I tried to say no, but she made me.”

              “She made
you.” Aude’s hands tremble as she processes the information.

              “Yeah, she made me. I thought of you the whole time, though.”

              Surprisingly, that nugget of information does nothing to lighten Aude’s mood. She sniffles. “And after all that, you weren’t going to tell me. You were just gonna—“

              “Room service,” a man announces from the other side of the door. “Please let me in.”

              “We aren’t hungry!” Aude shouts. “Just leave it on the floor or something.” She turns her attention back to Gabe. “Take me home.”

              “Yeah, okay.” He stands up from the bed, and tries to help Aude up.

              Aude can barely find the energy to glare at him. “Don’t touch me,” she spits, hot tears running down both cheeks. “Don’t you ever touch me again.”

Maddie closes her eyes. “Couldn’t you just ask Aude out or something? You know, like a normal guy?”

              Devon keeps walking down the dirt trail. “No. No, she wouldn’t take me. And besides, she has a boyfriend.”

              “Then why don’t you focus on him?”

              Devon’s smirk widens. “Madison, I
have
been
focusing on him. With every move I’ve made so far.”