The Risk (4 page)

              My eyes feel like they are burning though both of my lids are tightly shut. The sun is beaming through the window, and awakening me from my slumber. My head feels heavy; too heavy to lift. A slight throb signals in my temples as I stir, lazily, inside of the sheets.

             
What’s happening
? I wonder. Oh, right, I drank last night. However, I don’t feel that it was a lot. Perhaps my tolerance is low after it being my first time drinking that much alcohol. I move my shoulder, but it feels even heavier than my head. I turn again until I hear someone groaning next to me.
Who is that
?

              My eyes pop open, and I turn my head to see Blaine’s handsome face pressed against my back. He stirs ever so slightly in a reaction to my movement. How in the heck did I forget that he was here? Last night, we fucked– and it was
incredibly
hot.

              I close my weighted eyes and give back into the pillow. I’m a little too sick feeling to move and having Blaine’s warm body next to me settles my nerves. I take a deep breath, inhaling his delicious musk before pressing my naked body further into his. Blaine’s arm moves forward and curls under me. I feel safer than I ever have in my entire life.

              “
Shit
,” I whisper as my eyes burst open again. I just slept with my
cousin
! If anyone passed by the window, they could see us from the backyard. What if my Aunt saw? No, I don’t think that she did. It seems still too early for her to be awake.

              “Hey,” I hear Blaine’s scratchy voice say behind me. Then he nuzzles against my neck, sending tingles down my spine. I groan just a little and, suddenly, I don’t care if anyone has seen us. He just feels too good to resist.

              “Hi,” I whisper back before turning around to face him. Blaine’s eyes open, glowing in the fresh sunlight.

              “You look so beautiful,” he says, softly. Instantly, I feel my cheeks flush with color as his fingers comb through my hair.

              “I probably look like a mess,” I say as I think about all of the other girls that he’s brought home. They likely all have much more experience than I do, and fucking me was boring for him.

              “No,” says Blaine as his hand comes back to my chin. “I don’t just hand out compliments to anyone for the fun of it; no bullshit.”

              “Thanks,” I respond. I want to say something nice about him, too, but he turns away and crawls from the bed. His meaty body looks perfect in the morning light as I watch him step naked through the room. He picks up his swimming trunks and slides them over his hanging cock. “Where are you going?”

              “Out,” he says, coolly. “I have a few guys that I’m meeting up with tonight.”

              “Oh, cool,” I say, hoping that he’ll invite me along even though I think that his friends are a little scary. However, Blaine doesn’t seem to have that plan in mind. I expect a good-bye kiss, but he just steps tot he edge of the room and stretches his fit body with a yawn.

              “Meet me tonight,” says Blaine. “Let’s grab dinner.”

              “Dinner?” I ask, hopeful. “Sounds good to me.”

              “Cool,” he casually replies. “Meet me here tonight at seven. Wear something
sexy
for when the car comes to pick you up.”

              “Perfect,” I agree as he opens the door.

“Make sure you shave that pussy of yours again so its nice and soft like last night.”

              “Okay,” I say, blushing again. Then, Blaine leaves the room, closing the door behind him. He doesn’t seem the least bit worried that my Aunt or any of the cleaning staff could see him walking half naked out of his cousin’s room. It must be part of his arrogant charm that for some reason I seem draws me toward him.

              Suddenly, I realize that don’t have any appropriate clothes other than the dresses he’s already seen me wear. As I climb out of the bed, I search my thoughts and then my wallet for shopping in an expensive town. Will I ever be able to keep up with Kim, Blaine, and the rest of the people who suddenly surround me? Perhaps I’ve gotten in over my head.

              “What did I tell you?” asks Kim as we walk down the street of the shopping district that afternoon. “
I’ll
buy you some clothes.”

              “I feel bad,” I say. “I don’t want to take advantage.” Kim stops us in our tracks and turns to face me with a serious expression.

              “Sweetie, when
you
marry a billionaire,
then
you can pay me back. Sounds like a deal?”

              “Fine,” I say with a smile.

              “Perfect,” she says, turning back around and leading us into a store. “You are going to
love
this boutique. The staff here is amazing, and the clothes are even better.”

              We enter the place, and Kim couldn’t have been more right. The staff are all over me, pulling in racks of clothes, styling my hair, and suggesting makeup to go with every dress. If this is the life of a rich person, then I want to be on board for the rest of my days.

              We leave the place with heaps of bags pouring over our shoulders. I can’t pull myself to look at the bill though I’m sure it’s more money than I’ve ever seen in my entire life. To me, it’s all too much– but that’s how Kim has always been. She loves extravagance and being her niece means that I’ll have that around me as well.

              “How do you like Paradise Hills so far?” Kim asks with a smile. We are sitting in a small French-style cafe. Nothing on the menu is less than fifty dollars. Our table is so tiny on the outdoor patio that our plates nearly hang from the edges.

              “I love it,” I say with a fresh expression. “You’ve been far too kind to me, Aunt Kim.”

              “I think that the fun is just beginning,” she says before taking a sip of her cocktail.

              “What do you mean?” I ask as I lean over the table, piercing my crapes with my fork.

              “For starters, we need to get you a boyfriend,” she says.

              “A
boyfriend
?” I ask, nearly spitting out my food.

              “Of course!” she says. “A
rich
one who can splurge on you and keep you in this city with me.”

              “Oh, I don’t know,” I say while thinking about Blaine and our amazing night together. Not that she would approve. “Where would I even meet one?”

              “Hello!” Kim says sitting up straight in her chair and pointing at herself. “Call me the matchmaker!”

              “You’re too funny,” I giggle, nervously.

              “I’m serious!” she exclaims. “Tonight, there’s a party in the hills. I want you to come with me and meet some of the eligible bachelors around your age.”

              “Oh, I don’t know,” I say, thinking about my secret date with Blaine.

              “It’s not like you have anything else to do!”

              Little did she know of my rendezvous with her stepson. It’s the type of thing that would get sent me back to my parents’ home in shame. That, above all things, is the last place I want to find myself. Still, I can’t just stand up Blaine, even if our attraction is forbidden.

              “Are you sure that I should go?”

              “Honey, what if I told you that it’s at Liza Newsome’s house?” she says, coyly before returning to her drink.

              “What did you say?” I ask, nearly dropping my fork. “
The
Liza Newsome?”

              “The one and only–
and
you’re invited as my guest.”

              How can I pass this up? Meeting a celebrity like Liza Newsome would be a dream come true. Going to her house would be a completely new level of excitement. Plus, Kim is luring me with the promise of rich boys.

              My thoughts flash back to Blaine. Will he be disappointed if I cancel on him? He always seems so cocky that I’m sure another girl for him to fuck will show up with the snap of his fingers. In fact, I’m likely to be in the middle of a long list of hookups.

              “Okay!” I agree with my eyes full of hope. Still, there’s a feeling of dread inside of me that won’t go away. It’s that I have to, somehow, call things off with Blaine.

              For the rest of the lunch, it’s nearly impossible for me to pay attention. Kim continues to talk about Marc and the traveling they plan to do. However, I keep thinking about what I’m going to say to Blaine.

              After an hour, I decide that the best thing to do is write him a note. It won’t be anything too specific so that we won’t get in trouble if someone else ever discovers it. However, it will tell him the truth in a few words.

              We return home, and I find a small piece of paper and a pen inside of my bags. It takes me a few drafts to get it right, but eventually I decide that simplicity is key.

             
Blaine,

So sorry, but I can’t hang out tonight. Kim is taking me to a party in the hills. Let’s do something soon!

              -Hailey

              I fold the paper and leave it on a pillow of his bed. Then I leave back for my room, wondering what the effects might be of my note. Will he be angry? Blaine seems pretty possessive. Then again, probably not. I’m so out of tune with everyone in this rich life, I probably can’t see how little any of this will mean to him. What we did was forbidden and both of us know it. Likely, I’m just a fool for believing that he cares at all.

              After slipping on a black cocktail dress with a halter-top cut, Kim has a stylist come to the house and help us with our makeup. It takes more than two hours to get ready, but by the end, I’m stunned with how amazing we look.

              The car picks us up, and we travel to the party. As cheesy as it sounds, I feel like I’m going to a royal palace in a fairytale. However, all of it seems blasé to my Aunt who fervently pecks at the keyboard on her phone for the entirety of the ride.

              Liza’s house is magnificent. It’s smaller than Kim’s mansion, but the decor is more stunning than it even appears on television. There are pink roses and beautiful ivy winding up the grand entrance. Attractive men in tight, black vests serve appetizers on silver platters.

The house is filled with celebrities, and Kim seems to know them all. I try to keep my cool as I blush, wildly, when I meet the stars of Paradise Cliffs who shine around me. About thirty minutes into our arrival, Kim introduces me to Liza. It feels like a dream come true.

“Hi, darling,” says Liza as Kim and her air-kiss one another near their cheeks.

“Liza, this is my niece, Hailey,” says Kim.

“Hello,” Liza says with her famous smile. When we shake hands, I feel like I’ve touched living gold.

“Hi,” I respond. I want to say more, telling Liza how beautiful she is and how much I love her show. However, just as soon as we shake hands, she turns around and starts talking to someone else. I freeze, feeling completely rejected when Kim spots a tall, thin guy walking past us.

“Okay, sweetie,” says Kim. “This boy over here is Seth Morgan. His father is
loaded
, and I heard that he’s a nice enough kid.”

“I see,” I say as I glance at Seth. He appears to be a little older than me with misaligned teeth and a hawkish face. Though he’s dressed in a fine suit, his hair looks like a ragged mop placed over his large, awkward head.

“Seth!” Kim calls as she touches his arm.

“Hey, there,” says Seth as he begins to eye me.

“This is my niece, Hailey,” says Kim. “She’s just started living with us from the Midwest.”

“Hello,” says Seth as he reaches his arm forward to shake.

“Hey,” I reply, and we grasp and I notice how tiny his hands are. Suddenly, I look back to see that Kim is walking with Liza and her group out toward the courtyard, leaving me all alone with him.

“How do you like Paradise Hills?” asks Seth as he reaches for a spinach quiche appetizer from a plate. He bites down on it, mashing the soft crust between his twisted teeth.

“Um, it’s good,” I answer as I watch him slowly chewing.

“Girls out here are crazy,” says Seth as he eyes me up and down. “Is it the same in the Midwest?”

“I’m not sure,” I wince. A large piece of spinach catches between his teeth, dangling there for all to see.

“Aren’t you
from
there?” he asks.

“Yes, but I didn’t have a lot of friends.”

              “What about a boyfriend?” asks Seth with his eyes transfixed on my chest.

              “Not really.” I want someone to save me, but I don’t know what to do without Kim around. How could she throw me to the wolves like this?

              Suddenly, my savior comes in the form of a modelesque girl whose head almost touches the ceiling. She taps Seth on the shoulder, playfully. He turns around and gawks at her.

              “Hello, gorgeous,” he says. “Just the girl that I’ve been waiting for all night.”

              “Hello, Seth,” says the girl in a thick, European accent. Seth doesn’t acknowledge me again as he disappears into the crowd with his new lady.

I fold my arms in front of me feeling self-conscious. Everyone around is talking to someone but me. I look back to Kim, who is laughing along with Liza’s friends. They all seem comfortably part of a world that I know nothing about.

Slowly, I back away into a corner. A server finds me, offering a glass of water that I take from his tray. For the next hour, I sip it, slowly, feeling like the girl from the middle of nowhere who had her chance at a luxurious life and fucked it all up in one evening.

I think about calling a car and leaving. However, I’m still unsure how to do that with Kim’s ride service. Would she be angry if I left without her? Where would I go? How could I ever keep my head above water in this big, exclusive town?

Suddenly, someone touches my shoulder. I smell the familiar musk of a man who once made me feel safe and at home. Slowly, I turn my head to see Blaine dressed in a beautiful tuxedo. He looks down at me with a glowing smile.

“Hello, there, beautiful.”