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Panic took over my tongue. “What? Of course I don’t. He’s—he’s vapid. And, like…completely unlikable.”

Wow. Could that sound any more like a lie? I was an idiot.

“It was a joke, Shay. Calm down.” She grabbed my arm. “I have to pee.”

Not five minutes later, as we were walking back to the ballroom, male voices caught our attention from an off-limits room with the door ajar. Grinning madly, Maribel slowed us to eavesdrop.

“Ivy says she’s finally giving it up tonight,” one boy said—probably Luke Carter, Ivy’s boyfriend.

A chorus of boos and cheers followed.

“Did you see Cory McElyea?” asked a voice I didn’t recognize when it died down. “He’s drunk as Cooter Brown. Ms. Berry’ll kill him.”

“Ms. Berry needs someone to yank the stick out of her ass,” said a third boy.

“It’s too far up there,” Luke said with a snort. “Right, Cam?”

Cam gave no verbal response, but they all laughed.

“Hey, did any of you get a look at Shay Honeycutt?” another voice asked. “Honey is poor as dirt, but she is fine. I’m thinking of asking her out.”

Maribel and I exchanged wide-eyed glances.

“Seriously?” Cam said with mocking laughter. “If you’re that hard up, I think Penny’s looking to score tonight.”

“Come on,” said someone else. “You’re saying if you had Shay somewhere alone, you wouldn’t hit that?”

Cam’s tone filled with sharp judgment. “I mean, she’s hot, sure, but she’s still just trailer trash in a dress.”

An icicle stabbed straight through my heart.

The boys guffawed, and one voice said, “Okay, okay. You’re right.”

Maribel pulled me away, and my disoriented feet tripped on the flat floor. She helped steady me, dragging me toward a more private area.

Pressure crescendoed behind my eyes. I’d just… Did he…

I thought he liked me. I’d let him kiss me. I would have let him do more.

All these years. All those looks.

Just trailer trash in a dress.

That glint in his eyes as his dad called his name sprang fresh to my mind. In one blistering second, I recognized it for what it was.

Shame.

Mari wiped at the tears I didn’t know were dripping down my face. Ravi happened upon us, and I wound up down a dark hallway in his warm arms, sobbing.

“What happened?” he asked, bewildered.

Maribel relayed the story, then rushed off to get me tissues to save my dignity. Ravi’s supportive silence helped pacify me, and I was barely hiccupping when a voice struck through my misery.

“Is everything all right?” Cam asked from halfway down the hall, eyeing us with both concern and suspicion.

Ravi let go of me enough to turn toward Cam. “Did ruining her evening make you feel good or something? You don’t have enough, so you had to take her pride, too? This girl is worth more than you’ll ever be. It’s too bad you can’t use all that money to buy some class.”

As the words echoed against the tile floor, Cam’s body stilled and his stricken face went white. “I didn’t mean— I— I’m so sorry,” he murmured before turning on his heel and leaving us alone.