“Do you see yourself as a senator, too?”
Tucker glanced at me sideways. “Why all the questions? Did Grayson put you up to this?”
“No. I genuinely want to know.”
He shrugged. “Maybe I’ll run for office. Don’t know yet.”
I waited, arms crossed. “Now, you’re supposed to ask me about my hopes and dreams. Not that I’m allowed to have any.”
Tucker frowned. “You’re acting weird.”
“It’s not weird to want to talk, Tucker. Talking is what boyfriends and girlfriends do. Otherwise, it isn’t a real relationship.”
“How are we not real? We’re together, aren’t we?”
“But why? What do you like about me?”
He grinned. “For one thing, you’re the hottest girl in school.”
“Try again.”
“I don’t know. You’re a good dancer, and you’re…hot.”
“You said that already.”
“What’s gotten into you, Em? You’ve changed since Ford’s been‘tutoring’ you,” he said, emphasizingtutoringwith air quotes. “Just what the hell is going on with you two?”
“Nothing’s going on, and he’s not my tutor anymore.”
“Good,” Tucker said. “Ford’s a killer stroke seat, I’ll give him that, but he’s aiming pretty fucking high if he thinks he’s good enough for you.” He frowned at me when I turned away. “Jesus, Em, that was a compliment. You’re awfully touchy about a guy who supposedly doesn’t mean anything to you.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself,I thought, and tried not to burst into tears.
Tucker pulled his truck into the lot at Bennington Farm. It was a rustically elegant estate on twelve acres that held weddings, balls, and parties of all kinds. Its expansive backyard could serve as a beautiful place for a reception or, like tonight, be transformed into a Halloween festival with hay, pumpkins, and wagon wheel decor. Lights were strung up between booths that offered popcorn, caramel apples, hot dogs, and cotton candy.
Tucker led me across the hay-strewn grounds to find our group. Along the way, he signed us up for the costume contest, and then we hit a photo booth where a professional photographer took our picture.
At the edge of the dance floor, we joined my friends along with Tucker’s athlete buddies, including some of the row crew, his water polo teammates, and a few guys from the gymnastics team. Big, blond Gideon Foster was dressed as a gladiator. Orion Mercer was elegantly handsome as a 1920s gangster. Elowen, a sexy pirate, stuck to his side like glue. He ignored her and seemed to be scanning the crowd for someone else.
I kept my eyes to myself, not wanting to see Xander and Harper together. Not wanting to see Xander at all. I could still feel his hand on my cheek, his thumb brushing away my tear. He’d wanted to kiss me; I’d felt it vibrating off of him like a current. And God, I wanted it too, and I hadn’t known how badly until it was happening. As if what had begun seven years ago was finally coming full circle.
Like coming home…
He doesn’t want to kiss me anymore. He won’t even talk to me.
If my father had been truly cruel to him, I couldn’t blame Xander for wanting nothing more to do with me. I just wasn’t prepared for how much it hurt or how much more suffocating my life had become. It felt like I could barely breathe.
“Em! Tucker!” Aria waved as she and Rhett joined us. “What do you think?” she said, showing off their costumes, which, like most Richies’, were professional quality down to the wig and makeup. He was dressed as Gomez Addams, she as a sexy Wednesday. “We just might give you and Tucker a run for Best Couple.”
“Bloody hell.” Orion snorted a laugh. “You realize Gomez is Wednesday’sfather,right?”
Aria sniffed. “They’refictional, Orion. No one’s going to care.”
“If you say so.” He shot me a privateCan you believe this shit?glance and I managed a smile in return.
I noticed Tucker and some guys already passing around a flask; he’d be wasted by ten o’clock. I felt drunk too, in my own way. A strange energy ramping up inside me, trying to break free. Like I wanted to scream or cry or run and not stop until I arrived somewhere else. Until I couldbesomeone else.
Delilah and Sierra bounced over, Sierra a white swan ballerina and Delilah her twin in black.
