Across the pong table, Katie snickered. She and Paige were beating us so badly that she’d taken to drinking a non-gameplay glass of rosé. It was her move. “It ends here,” she said. “Right here, rightnow.”
She sunk the ball at center court.
I picked up the plastic glass and let the bubbles burn down my throat, then fizzle in my stomach. Yasmin hugged me for my service.
Katie made eye contact with me. “Next round?”
“Totally.” I nodded, then pointed at Paige. “Partners?”
The Bride folded her arms over her chest, but didn’t say anything.
Once Amanda had been crowned Prosecco Pong Champion of the Lake, it was time for Katie to guess whose panties were whose. “Hey.” Meredith lightly touched my arm as the others moved toward the clothesline. “How are you?”
“Thriving,” I told her. “Why?”
She gave me a look. “I know I’m not Harry or Lee,” she said quietly, “and I know I’m not Austin.” She paused. “But Iamlooking out for you, Mads, and I think you should call it a night.”
I stared at her, incredulous. “Call it a night? Like, go to bed?”
“No, I mean with the drinking.” She gestured to the frozendaiquiri Reese had handed me. Courtney had the blender going in the kitchen. “You’ve hada lotto drink.”
“Yeah, so has everyone,” I said, the back of my neck warming. “Katie’s drunk like ten times her weight in Whispering Angel and Summer Water and Bouquet of Roses and whatever other rosé we have.”
“I know,” Meredith said calmly. “But you’re—”
“God, what is the problem?” someone asked, and I turned to see Katie behind us. Her face was bright pink and her lips pursed; she looked pissed.
“Mads and I were just talking, Katie,” Meredith answered smoothly. “There’s no problem.”
“Yes, there is,” she said, but was looking at me instead of Meredith. Orglaringat me, more like. “What iswrongwith you?”
“Me?” My eyebrows knitted together. Maybe Meredith was right; maybe itwastime to tap out, because I had no idea what Katie was referencing. Had I been too intense during Prosecco Pong?
“This ismybachelorette,” Katie said, a catch in her voice. “And you are talking to literally everyone except me.”
Oh my god, I thought.She’s jealous I’m stealing her spotlight?
I knew the right thing to do was apologize. “Okay, I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize I was being an attention whore.”
“No, it’s not that.” She shook her head, and her expression twisted like she couldn’t articulate what she meant. I glanced at Meredith, but not only had she backed away; she’d alsoshuttled the other bridesmaids into the kitchen, knowing they didn’t belong in whatever this “conversation” was. “These are my friends,” Katie said. “And you’re bonding with them.”
“I’m trying my best, yeah,” I told her. “Being a high schooler in a group of twentysomethings isn’t my natural environment, but I’m trying, Katie.”
“Well, you’re not trying hard enough!” Katie screeched, and it felt like she’d slapped me in the fucking face.
So I bit back; in fact, I might’ve even sunken my teeth into her. “I could say the same about you,” I said, trying to keep my voice somewhat level. “You don’t make me feel welcome or included at all—you barely spoke to me on the drive up here, you spoke to me even less today—even though you asked me to be your freaking bridesmaid!”
Tears swam in Katie’s eyes, but her lips didn’t quiver. They curled into a sneer. “I don’t regret asking you to be a bridesmaid,” she said. “You’re Austin’s sister.”
“And I don’t regret accepting,” I said, even though I totally did right now. “It was the right thing to do, but I never should’ve let myself sink so deep to please you.” I folded my arms across my chest. “I agreed to Ready-Set-Date because I naively thought that even if no guy grew to like me, the bride would.” I forced myself to laugh. “My mistake.”
“And mine,” Katie said, her face as white as her nightdress. “Because I thought asking Marco to keep an eye on you would have a happier ending.”
Wait, what?I froze.Did Katie ask Marco tochaperoneme this summer?
She’d seemed shocked yesterday when I’d told her about his guest appearances in my dating life.
But it was too late to clarify; in the span of five seconds, Katie had dry-heaved before spinning around and fleeing for the bathroom.
