I was smoothing my hair, tugging my dress, and running my tongue over my teeth as Luke rang the doorbell. He raised an eyebrow at me and I smiled weakly. “I’m a little nervous,” I told him. “After the way we left the last meet.” Not to mention the fact that Coach Sean would be inside, maybe waiting to remove us from probationary status and give us the boot.
“No one cares about that,” Luke was saying, when Annie Whitaker swung open the huge steel door.
“Lukie, I didn’t know you were coming!” she cried, and gave him a hug. “Oh! Hi, Emily. Come on in, guys.” She waslooking at me with unabashed interest. I wanted to walk back outside, but then Macdara came running down the open riser staircase and into the—well, it seemed like a lobby, it was so big.
“Hi, Charlie! Come upstairs! We’re all in the game room!”
Charlie glanced at me and I gave him a little push. “See you in a while, pal. Remember your manners.”
Annie took my worn coat and then gave me another once-over. “I like your dress,” she said. Luke put his hand on my lower back, and her eyes widened as she watched him.
Annie looked stunning in a short, grey dress, with a kind of loose ruffle coming down from one shoulder, very simple and very elegant. It looked like it was—no, I knew it was—extremely expensive. Huge diamond drop earrings hung from her ears.
“I like yours, too,” I answered, feeling so uncomfortable I wanted to sink into the floor. Look at me in my silly borrowed clothes, in this beautiful house. What was I kidding?
“Come on in!” she said, and led the way into another enormous room dotted with low, sleek furniture. My shoes clicked on the marble floor and I tried to walk more quietly.
Thankfully, there were a lot of people already there. I had never, ever been so happy to see Tara. Luke kept his hand on my back as I walked over to see her and Diego, who looked as ill-at-ease as I felt. Ties were not his thing.
“Wow, you really are Cinderella!” Tara said, stepping forward and giving me a hug. “You’re hot! Right, Luke?” she asked him, staring at him pointedly.
“Tara, you look great too!” I said quickly, not looking at Luke. “Diego, I’ve never seen you in a tie.”
“Funerals, Christmas mass, and this party,” he informed me, shaking hands with Luke. “Me in a tie is like seeing a unicorn.”
We all laughed. “I’m going to find Milos and say hello,” Luke said. “You ok?”
I nodded, and he walked away.
Tara was staring at me. “Emily Louisa Brennan, what the hell is going on?”
“Shhh!” I admonished her. This house was too fancy for swearing. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“You come in here dressed like a Vogue model, with Luke Whitaker acting like he owns you? Emily, you better spill, fast.” She looked irate.
Diego was backing away. “I’ll get you a drink, Em.” The man knew when to make a quick exit.
I took Tara’s arm and steered her away from the crowd and toward one of the tall windows. “I’ve been, um, keeping in touch with Luke while he was in New York. And he came to the bar last night, and, um, we kissed.” I could see the words about to explode out of her mouth, and I pinched her arm. “Keep your voice down! It’s not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal.Not.A.Big.Deal.”She stared at me.
“Tara, please. That’s all that’s going on. Except…I like him.” I was blushing. I liked him a lot.
“Well, that’s obvious!”
“To everyone?” I looked around anxiously.
She shook her head and rolled her eyes, like I was a total idiot. “Let’s find Diego.” She tossed back what was left in her glass. “I need another.”
Luke was nowhere to be seen, but I had a pretty good time after I calmed down a little. A glass of white wine helped. It turned out that it was a lot more fun to hang out with the swim team parents in a nice house with hors d’oeuvres and wine, rather than in lawn chairs in a dirty gym with bad coffee. Coach Sean was there, but he had obviously had a few and was feeling, um, jovial. I felt pretty secure that he wouldn’t be booting Charlie off the team tonight, he and those nasty Board people. And no one had mentioned my ignominious exit from the meet. I relaxed a little more.
A group of parents gathered around Annie, and Tara shoved me towards them. “She’s going to give the annual house tour. You have to go, you’ll die when you see the shit they have in this joint.”
“You come too!” I hooked my arm through hers and pulled her along with me.
Annie led us through the dining room, with a giant table and colorful modern art. “Annie, what is this?” her friend Kyra demanded. “Is this new?”
It was a massive metal chandelier which reminded me of the International Space Station.
