Page 2 of Love You Like This

It’s my third high school in four years due to my mom bouncing us all over and then eloping with Xander’s dad, Stephen, over the summer. I’m not sure how long this marriage will last, but at least my tuition is paid through graduation. That’s all that matters to me.

As soon as we pull up to the front doors of the administration building, a white-gloved valet opens my door and helps me from the car. There’s a large step and repeat at the top of the stairs along with photographers I’m sure are being paid a ridiculously high fee to pretend to care about a bunch of rich teenagers. We stop to have our photo taken, posing on the red carpet like we’re at a movie premiere or something.

Jeremy is a pro, obviously not surprising considering his background. In fact, he’s really hamming it up. I, on the other hand, am ready to ditch him and get away from the flashing lights.

“That was fun,” he says, taking the lead and threading us through the chandelier-lit lobby full of staff and parents who are pretending to chaperone us.

I see Ms. Heron, my marketing teacher, and wave at her. She’s my favorite of all the staff and was pivotal in getting me early admittance to UCLA. I actually love her class so much I’m thinking of marketing as a possible major.

Before I can stop to talk with her, Jeremy is yanking me out the back door and into the most magical scene I’ve ever laid my eyes upon. It’s so much more beautiful than I was expecting. When I heard it was going to be under a tent, I expected one you would see at a country club wedding— a white tent, open sides—that type of thing. Instead, there is a wrought iron and glass structure in the center of the quad with gorgeous crystal chandeliers hanging from the center beam. Plush couches and settees line the outer walls as people have already gathered in the center dancing to music being pumped through speakers both inside and outside.

“Wow,” I whisper. “This is stunning.”

Jeremy squeezes my hand. “It doesn’t look quite as good as last year, but it’s alright.”

I ignore the dismissiveness in his tone. He can be a bit of a snob, but this is leaps and bounds above the junior prom I experienced at a public school in the valley. I’m going to enjoy every second of this incredible night.

“I’m going to go get us drinks,” Jeremy yells into my ear as we walk into Amanda’s massive mansion. The music here is even louder than it was at prom.

I squeeze his hand in response, knowing my voice won’t be heard over the cacophony of the party.

Teenagers from all over LA cram together in the center of the house. Svelte bodies writhe together while neon lights flash. A few guys sit at a poker table with stacks of cash in the center. A few girls lay draped over the laps of other guys in the corner, lines of cocaine out in front of them.

I scan the crowd looking for Shannon and Stephanie, the two girls I’ve become closest to over the past year. They both got accepted into UCLA as well, so we’re planning on living together in the dorms. As often as I’ve changed schools, it’s been hard to find lasting friendships, but this time is different. I’m in control of my life from now on.

I find them outside on the patio. The twinkling lights of the city fill the horizon behind them as they step away from the stone wall and attack me with hugs. Both of them have changed out of their dresses into normal clothes. Their style couldn’t be any more different, with Stephanie wearing a Ramones tee and skinny jeans with the same Converse sneakers she wore to prom. Shan wears a babydoll dress the same violet color as her gown from earlier, except she’s changed into Havianas.

“Hey girl,” Shan wraps me in a hug. “We brought your clothes to change into.” She motions to the duffel bag on the ground between them.

“Thanks.” I hug Stephanie. “I’ll probably wait to change. Jeremy said he wants to take this off me.”

Stephanie makes a purring sound, and we all dissolve into a fit of laughter. We start debriefing on the earlier portion of the night; all three of our dates are in different friend groups, so we didn’t really get to hang out much together before. Before I know it, an hour has gone by, and Jeremy hasn’t found me yet.

Awareness of being watched creeps up my spine, and I turn my head. I already knew it wasn’t Jeremy looking for me. If I’m being completely honest, I knew Xander was here before I even felt the weight of his stare. There’s something about his presence that never fails to demand my attention.

Maybe it’s his height. I’m not a small person at five foot nine, but he towers over me at six foot five. His eyes do another slow sweep of my body. The barbell on his tongue flashes in the light as it sweeps across his bottom lip before he cuts toward me.

“Why are you still in that dress?” he asks sharply.

“Because Jeremy hasn’t taken it off her yet,” Stephanie says with a laugh.

His lips press into a line when he looks at her. She doesn’t wither under his glare, of the three of us girls she knows him the best. Her older brother surfs with him all the time, and her ex-boyfriend was the singer of the garage band he played bass guitar in for a while.

His attention turns back to me. “You should change now. You look ridiculous.”

“Fuck off.” Shan puts herself between us, her back to him. Not that he notices since she’s over a foot shorter than he is. “You look gorgeous, but you should go find Jeremy.” She lifts the duffel and hands it to me. “We’ll come by your house tomorrow to get our dresses.”

I take the bag and shoulder check Xander as I walk past him without a word. I check the kitchen first, thinking maybe Jeremy got sidetracked in there or something. Aside from a few people mixing drinks, there’s no one. Next I check the living room where most of the party is, and after weaving through the crowd several times, I don’t see him there either.

I do run into Jeremy’s best friend, though. He’s sitting at the poker table snorting a line of coke. I wait for him to finish and then nudge his shoulder. “Have you seen Jeremy?”

“He went downstairs looking for you a while back,” he answers.

I finally find the stairs leading down to the basement, and as soon as I hit the last stair, the scent of marijuana hits me. The lights are dim, and the music is much softer down here. Several girls sit on top of the laps of guys, all in various states of undress. I cut through the room, sure that none of them are Jeremy until I near a couch in the back corner.

An unfamiliar girl with long, curly, dark hair straddles a guy with her top pulled down around her waist. One of his hands moves up her back, and my stomach drops when the low light catches the signet ring he wears on his middle finger. His face is curtained by her hair as she rocks on his lap, but there’s no mistaking who he is.

Blood roars in my ears as I stand frozen to the spot watching my first boyfriend cheat on me out in the open. The force of the betrayal hits my chest, cleaving it in two like an axe through wood.