Flirting with Boys (15 page)

Finally, Celeste turned the light off and went into the bathroom. The bright yellow light of the little room seemed calm and sane after the craziness of the evening. All her bottles and jars were neat and straight on the clean counter, and her own fluffy towels hung on the towel rack. She turned on the taps of the bathtub full blast and dumped in some bath powder. Fragrant, foamy water started rising in the tub.

She stripped off the creased, sweaty silk dress and climbed into the warm water. She lay back and spread a washcloth over her eyes. Maybe if she just relaxed, she wouldn't have to face the fact that she had trusted Nick and he had completely betrayed her. She clenched her fists on the side of the tub as this thought flooded over her and shook her head. How could he have done this?

She cringed as she thought of everything she'd told Nick about her writing, and the resort, and her parents. She'd thought that he was more than just an arrogant pretty boy, but obviously she should have trusted her first instincts. All he cared about was amusing himself and making trouble between her and Travis. Celeste closed her eyes and let the warm bathwater lap over her body. The festival had just begun, but it didn't matter. Her summer was already over.

T
he rest of the festival was uneventful. Celeste played the role of owners' daughter perfectly, seeing to guest requests and smiling politely for hours at a time. She hadn't seen Travis since leaving him to sleep off his hangover in her bed while she returned to work four days ago. She assumed Nick was under house arrest in his parents' villa, since she hadn't seen him since he left her father's office. Despite not having to face him, she hadn't been able to shake a near-constant headache.

The day after the festival's closing party, Celeste woke up at ten. Her head was pounding and the sight of her crumpled pink silk dress still sitting in the corner of her room didn't help. Devon's plane was set to arrive at
eleven. Celeste briefly considered texting and telling her to get a cab. She didn't really feel like talking to anyone. But maybe a ride to the airport would clear her head. Celeste rolled off the bed and threw on the first jeans and T-shirt her hand touched.

Outside, the light morning breeze played over her skin and the sun was touching the red azaleas lining the path. Celeste glanced at her watch and walked a little faster. Suddenly, she bumped straight into Nick, who was struggling down the path, laden with two big suitcases.

Celeste gasped in surprise and jumped back. Nick stopped short. His face was creased and puffy. “You look terrible,” Celeste said involuntarily.

“My parents are sending me back to L.A.,” he said woodenly. “The car's waiting for me.”

Celeste felt anger boiling up inside her. “Good,” she said harshly. Nick winced. Celeste brushed past him. She could feel his forlorn gaze between her shoulder blades but she refused to turn around. She had no desire to waste one more second on someone who had played her all summer and then wasted her time and hard work on something he'd never cared about anyway.

At the airport, Celeste stood on her tiptoes, trying to see past the crowd waiting by the baggage claim. A lot of people were coming up the escalator, but there was still no sign of Devon. It seemed like two years since she'd
left, instead of a few weeks. Suddenly, she heard her name.

“Celeste!” Devon yelled, and flung her arms around her friend.

“Oh my God! I can't believe you're back!” Celeste said. “I missed you.” Devon was wearing a tank top with the Scottish flag on it tucked into skintight black jeans, and stiletto ankle boots. “You look like a member of the Clash.”

“I can't believe I'm back either,” Devon replied, turning to survey the baggage carousel, now jammed with luggage. “I need a Diet Coke, like, right now. Scotland is amazing, but they're way too into tea. Hey, there's mine!” She muscled her way through the crowd and snared an enormous black duffel bag.

“So,” Devon said a few minutes later, as the girls wound their way through a concrete maze of sidewalks and blast barriers on their way to the parking garage. “I'm dying to know how the film festival went. Did you meet any celebrities?” She cast a sideways glance at Celeste.

“Oh, um, I can't remember.” Celeste managed to avoid looking at her friend by scanning the aisles of parked cars. “So, uh, what was the food like there?”

“Celeste! What is going on? I can tell something's up,” Devon said. She tossed her bag into the backseat of the Civic before climbing into the front and settling
back on the cracked leather. Celeste got in and slammed the door. She turned the ignition and then sat for a minute, her hand on the gearshift, staring through the windshield. Devon tactfully gazed out the window at the side of the car parked next to them. Then Celeste threw the car into reverse and started maneuvering out of the parking space. She heaved a giant sigh. “You know, the whole thing makes me want to puke when I even think about it, Dev,” she said.

“What? What happened? You're driving me crazy with all of this drama.” Devon waved her arms around her head.

“It was a complete failure,” Celeste said, looking over her shoulder to merge onto the highway. Briefly, she filled Devon on the party details, the Rotterdam pepper prank, and the Nick-Travis blowout at the screening party. “And so his parents canceled his screening and are sending him back to L.A.,” she finished.

“Wow.” Devon let out her breath in a deep exhale. “So he totally confessed, huh? Like said he did it right out?”

“Well, yeah! I was sitting right there,” Celeste exclaimed. The car's speedometer crept up to seventy.

“Okay, don't kill us,” Devon said, eyeing the dashboard. “I'm just really surprised Nick would do something like that.”

Celeste snorted. “I'm not,” she said shortly. “I was
such an idiot to think he actually cared about the screening and the resort. It turned out that all he cared about was screwing with me and trying to destroy my relationship, for his own sick fun.”

“Yeah…” Devon replied slowly. “I guess so.” She fell silent and drummed her Chanel Vamp–painted nails on the window. Celeste slowed down and stared straight ahead at the clogged highway in front of her. Devon fidgeted with the strap on her bag. She crossed and uncrossed her legs. Finally, Celeste couldn't stand it anymore.

“Devon!” she burst out. “What is it? You're driving me crazy. What? Did you bring home some secret husband from Scotland or something?”

Her friend forced a laugh. “Uh, yeah, very funny.” She cleared her throat. “I, uh, well, I'm just really surprised that Nick would do that at the party, because he was really crushing on you all summer.”

Celeste looked over at her friend. Devon was staring at her lap.

“I mean, all that time Nick and I were hanging out, before I left, all he ever did was talk about you,” she said. “I tried to hook up with him a bunch of times, but he just wasn't interested. I didn't tell you because I thought you'd be annoyed that he was all hung up on you. I mean, you had Travis.” She glanced at Celeste nervously. “It was weird…. I felt like I was cheating with him or something.”

“No! Of course you weren't,” Celeste said automatically. Nick was hung up on her…but he'd ruined the party. And he'd gotten Travis drunk just to make trouble. Celeste shook her head. “He was probably just saying all that to mess with your mind,” she told Devon.

“Maybe,” Devon said doubtfully. She was quiet for a minute. “So, is everything cool with you and Travis now?”

“Mostly.” Celeste shrugged as she pulled into Devon's driveway. “Honestly, I've barely seen him since the whole mess at the festival. Just a couple of texts. We're still driving to Tempe tomorrow though. Maybe we just need some time alone together. By the way, he and the guys are having a barbecue over at Kevin's later. You want to go over with me?”

“Sure! Let me jump in the shower.”

When the girls arrived several hours later, the guys were already ensconced on the back deck. The sun was just going down over the desert horizon. Kevin was anxiously hovering over some hamburger patties and skewers of onion and peppers sizzling on a DCS Professional grill, which stretched almost the entire back length of the deck. The rest of the guys were immersed in what looked like an intense game of water polo in the pool. As Celeste and Devon approached, Travis scored a goal and let out a wild yell of triumph, raising both fists in the air.

“Hey, guys!” Devon caroled. Everyone looked up.

“Hey there,” Travis greeted them, his eyes on Celeste.
She gave him a small smile but couldn't muster up more than that. She was starting to feel tired of the guys.
You just need to get away
, she told herself.
You've been trapped here all summer.

The girls dropped their bags on one of the deck chairs and stripped off their sundresses. Celeste adjusted her black bikini top and climbed onto another chair. She sighed and lay back. The evening sun felt wonderful. Then a shadow blocked the sunlight and cold drips of water fell on her bare stomach. She opened her eyes. Travis was standing over her, panting and grinning. All of other guys had climbed from the pool too and were wiping themselves with towels and digging around in the little portable fridge on the deck for beers.

“So, what's up with you, Devon?” Brent asked, emptying half his beer at one gulp. “Weren't you in Ireland or something?”

“Scotland,” Devon corrected. “It was awesome. I missed home though.”

“Well, don't worry. You didn't miss anything here,” Brent said. “This summer has been completely lame as far as excitement.”

“Oh, I don't know,” Kevin said lazily, leaning his head back and draining his beer. “We had some pretty good fun at the resort the other night.”

Celeste lifted her head. Fun? What was he talking about?

Kevin chortled. “I can't believe that rich little prick took all the blame.” He got up to dig for another beer. Celeste froze. She heard Travis's breath catch, but her eyes refused to focus on anything.

“Yeah, that was crazy,” Brent agreed. “But hell, if he wanted to say he did it, I've got no problem with Travis keeping his mouth shut.”

Celeste sat straight up in her chair. She grabbed the sides with both hands, almost scorching her palms on the hot metal. All the guys turned toward her. Devon was also sitting up, her eyes wide as she stared at her friend.

Celeste tried to control her pounding heart. “Hey, Travis,” she said in a horrible approximation of nonchalance. “Um, I'm feeling kind of slow right now. What are they talking about?”

Travis shot a warning look at his buddies. “Nothing, babe.”

Kevin was leaning over the beer cooler and didn't catch Travis's glare. “It's just weird that dude Nick said that he put the pepper in the old lady's food.”

“Why was it weird?” Celeste asked in a strangled voice.

Travis looked at her warily.

Celeste shot up from her chair, knocking it sideways onto the deck. “
You
did it!” she screeched, pointing at Travis. Brett sat motionless and Kevin's mouth dropped
open. “You did it! You put the pepper in Mila's food! You—”

Her words were cut off as a pair of slim arms wrapped around her waist.

“Sorry, guys! Phew! It's hot out here. Celeste, let's get some ice,” Devon caroled as she half carried, half dragged Celeste through the sliding glass doors and into the kitchen.

Once inside, she deposited Celeste in a heap on the floor and pulled the doors shut behind them. She snapped the blind down as Travis's anxious face appeared at the window and knelt beside her friend. Celeste lay curled up on the linoleum.

Devon stroked her hair back from her forehead. “Travis pulled the prank,” Celeste finally said in a muffled voice.

“Yeah.”

“Travis screwed up the whole evening.”

“It looks that way.” Devon got up and ran a glass of water. She sat back down on the floor. Celeste sat up and took a sip.

“Then Nick…”

“Yeah?” Devon said encouragingly.

“Nick…didn't do it. Then why did he say he did?” Celeste's mouth felt very slow.

“Celeste.” Devon propped her friend up against the cabinets. “You're being very dense, chick. Nick was
trying to bail you out! He knew that your dad would be furious if he thought it was Travis who pulled all that stuff. So he just took the blame.”

Celeste shook her head. “But Nick got in all sorts of trouble. Why would he do that to himself if he didn't do anything?”

Devon grabbed Celeste by the upper arms and shook her. “Has the sun fried your brain? He was trying to keep you from getting in trouble! He was, like—sacrificing himself.”

“Whoa,” Celeste said slowly. “And Travis—”

“Just sat there and let him do it,” Devon finished.

“Oh my God,” Celeste said. “Oh my God! But this whole time I thought he was just playing around, trying to make trouble because he was bored.”

“Guess you were wrong, huh?” Devon stood and then reached down and pulled her friend up. “We can't stay in here sitting on the floor forever. Are you ready to go out and drown Travis in the pool? I'll help you if you want.”

“Thanks for the offer.” Celeste stood thinking for a moment. She turned toward the kitchen and then turned back. “No, I'll call Nick first. Then I'll kill Travis.”

“Celeste, don't be such an idiot!” Devon practically shouted. “The guy just totally martyred himself for you and you're going to
call
him? Go find him!”

“Drive to L.A.? Now? But it's seven o'clock! And I'm
supposed to go to Tempe tomorr—wait a minute.” Celeste realized what she was saying. “I'm
not
going to Tempe tomorrow.”

Devon just stood, watching her friend.

“I think I'm going to L.A.,” Celeste said.

“Woo-hoo!” Devon flung her arms into the air. “You rock, girl. Don't waste one more second on Travis the Asshole.”

Celeste hugged Devon as hard as she could. Then she walked out the door, leaving Devon standing in the hall behind her, the world's biggest grin on her lips. As she ran down the walk to the Civic, Celeste's plan fell into place in her mind, like coins clinking into a row of slots. She glanced at her watch. If traffic was on her side, she could be in L.A. by eleven o'clock. She only hoped she wasn't too late.