The International Kissing Club (12 page)

“What’s up?” Izzy asked, sitting on the edge of the bed beside Mei. “What’s the big emergency?” She hadn’t yet told them her news. Her throat tightened just thinking about it, and she was glad she’d been able to talk without her voice sounding all funny.

“Piper’s having wardrobe malfunctions,” Mei said dryly.

“It’s a disaster! I have no idea what to pack.” Piper gestured to the hanger on one side of her and then to the other. “What do you think—the flutter cardigan or the silk-screened hoodie?”

“That’s your big emergency?” Izzy stood up. “You don’t know what to bring?”

“It can’t all be about saving the world, you know.” Clearly Piper heard the annoyance in Izzy’s voice and just chose to ignore it.

Ever since devising IKC, Piper had been inhabiting her own little universe. Not that Izzy blamed her. It wasn’t like she’d want to be a pig-kissing Internet sensation, either. But really, right now, there was only so much giddy joy she could take.

“I mean, it’s Paris!” Piper was saying. “Probably the most fashionable place on earth. Nothing I own is going to look right.” She crossed to the bed and flopped down backward on it, barely noticing that Mei had to roll out of the way to avoid being squashed. “I’m doomed.”

Izzy shoved her hands into her back pockets. “You get to go to Paris. I seriously doubt anyone’s going to notice what you’re wearing.”

Mei looked up from her magazine and cocked her head to the side as she studied Izzy.

Izzy didn’t meet her gaze but paced over to the closet, trying—really trying—to consider her friend’s clothing options past the haze of her own resentment. So far, not happening.

“You’re right,” Piper muttered. “Nothing I own is cool enough for Paris—it all shouts small-town reject. Mom said she was going to give me a spending allowance. Maybe I can shop there.”

The spending allowance pushed Izzy right over the edge. She whirled around and glared at Piper, and her words came out in an angry rush. “I can’t believe you expected us to drop everything and run over here for this big
emergency
and all you’re worried about is what to pack. Why are we supposed to even care what color beret you wear?”

As soon as the sentence left her mouth, Izzy clamped her lips shut, wishing she could take it back.

Cassidy’s head snapped up. Mei’s gaze became more interested. Slowly Piper raised herself up onto her elbows.

“Wow,” Piper whispered, her eyes wide. “Where did that come from?”

“I—” But, damn it, how could she explain? “I’ve just been in a rotten mood lately.”

Piper smiled brightly. “I know what’ll cheer you up. This morning on Facebook, I noticed that a certain sexy eco-guy has posted new pictures on his page.”

“Oh, Piper, I really don’t think …”

Piper didn’t even hear Izzy’s protests. She swept over to her laptop and popped it open before Izzy could even finish the sentence.

“You know River and I broke up, right?”

“So?” Piper looked over her shoulder with a quirky grin as she quickly navigated through the maze that was Facebook.

“So, I unfriended him.” She’d done it eight days after the kegger, right about the time he left for Lubbock. By then, it was obvious he wasn’t going to call her. “I’m not interested in what he’s doing.”

“That’s just because you haven’t seen how pathetic and sad he looks without you.”

“He looks pathetic and sad without me?” She nearly cringed at the note of hope in her voice. Pathetic indeed.

“Why wouldn’t he? He doesn’t have you anymore, right? Okay, here’s his—”

Mei put her hand over Piper’s mouse just before she could click. “Maybe you should let it go. If Izzy unfriended him, then she doesn’t want to see the pictures.”

“Of course she does.” Piper clicked.

“No really, I don’t—”

Piper clicked again. A second later, the first of the photos loaded. Silence fell over the room.

It was a picture of a shiny white Cadillac Escalade. Leaning against the bumper was some blond chick with big hair, big boobs, daisy dukes, bikini on top.

The image was labeled, “New college, new toys, new major.”

Izzy felt like the world was telescoping down to just that photo. Her peripheral vision faded out, and she could hear Mei, Cassidy, and Piper talking as if from far away.

“Holy crap,” Cassidy muttered.

“The bastard!” Piper cried.

After a moment, Mei asked, “Does that sign behind him say, The Department of Petroleum Engineering?”

Izzy ripped her gaze away from Bikini Barbie and found the granite sign River’s Escalade was parked in front of. Sure enough.
That
was his new major. Freakin’ Petroleum Engineering.

Three weeks ago, she’d had a boyfriend who was completely devoted to her, who she believed valued all the things she held most dear. Yes, he’d been leaving for college nine hours away. And yes, he’d told her they should break up now rather than try to do the longdistance thing. But she’d never—not in a million years—have dreamed he’d run off to Lubbock and do crazy shit like this.

Nausea hit the back of her throat like a ninja. He’d betrayed her. The blonde wasn’t even the worst part. He’d lied about everything—about who he was. About everything he believed.

Sleeping with a guy who’d just broken up with you, but who you
loved and admired … that was almost like saying good-bye. Sleeping with a liar, and an oil-sucking one at that, well, that was just … incredibly stupid.

Izzy felt like she couldn’t breathe. Unable to swallow the emotion building in her chest, she stormed out of Piper’s room and tromped down the stairs, making a beeline for the sliding glass doors leading onto the patio.

The Douglases’ backyard was landscaped like a tropical paradise. The kidney-shaped pool dominated the oasis, a rock waterfall tinkling away at one end. Near the back door, potted palms and oversized umbrellas shaded the elegant furniture. On a table sat a tray with three pillar candles nestled into a base of smooth river rocks.

Her muscles itching to throw something, lzzy palmed several of the rocks and moved to the edge of the pool. For a second she just stood there, staring into the pristine aqua depths. Then she pulled back her arm, let loose one of the rocks, and watched it skip across the surface before sinking into the pool’s depths. One for her friends, who hadn’t even noticed she was upset. One for her parents, who were always putting her needs dead last. One for the trip she couldn’t take. One for the job she’d have to get. One for the guys she wouldn’t be kissing.

She was out of rocks. But not out of anger. She slipped her hand into the pocket of her favorite cargo pants. Her fingertips touched smooth plastic—her earrings. The delicate leaves of some Amazonian plant that had been encased in epoxy. The present River had brought back for her from his trip to the Brazilian rain forest last year. For weeks now, she’d been carrying the earrings around, unable to wear them—’cause they kind of made her want to puke now—but also unable to just get rid of them.

Now she wrapped her fist around them, pulled them out of her pocket, and hurled them into the water.

Where they floated.

Ah, crap.

Behind her, she heard the door slide open. Mei, Cassidy, and Piper had made it out just in time to see the last of her temper tantrum.

Double crap.

If they’d been here ninety seconds ago, she wouldn’t have thrown the earrings. After all, she’d worn them nearly every day for almost a year. If they knew she’d thrown them into the pool, they’d freak out and demand answers. More in-depth answers than River’s stupid Facebook post could explain.

Sink, damn it!
But they didn’t sink. They’d always been suspiciously light. He probably ordered them in bulk on eBay and gave them to all his girlfriends. The jerk.

Not giving herself time to think it through, she toed off her shoes, yanked her shirt over her head, and then shucked her pants. Fury gave spring to her muscles as she dove cleanly into the pool.

Her body sliced through the cool water, washing away the heat of her anger, soothing the prickling irritation of her skin. She swam to the bottom, the chlorine stinging her eyes as she searched for the stones she’d thrown. One by one, she plucked them off the bottom of the pool until her lungs were burning. Looking up at the surface, she saw the earrings floating just above her head. She kicked off, her empty left hand stretched above her. She snatched the earrings out of the water just before she broke the surface.

Heavy with rocks and disappointment, she swam awkwardly to the steps, climbed out, and sat on the edge of the pool. The limestone pavers were hot through the damp cotton of her underwear. Despite the late afternoon sun beating down on her, an icy shiver chased across her skin. She pulled her legs in to her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees, curling up like a baby chick still in its shell.

Keeping the earrings in her palm, she let the rocks fall from her hand to the ground beside her.

“I didn’t want them to clog up the system,” she said into the stunned silence.

Someone, Mei probably, draped a towel across her shoulder. She grabbed the ends and pulled it tight, then stood. She could just imagine what they must be thinking:
Oh, crap. Here she goes again.

Jeez, it was what
she
was thinking, too.

And she could hear them whispering behind her.

“What do you think she’s going to do?” Cassidy spoke in a whispered hiss.

“Should we check her for new piercings?” Piper asked.

That had been just over a year ago. She still had a faint scar just to the left of her belly button. That one had hurt like hell. And gotten infected. Which was
so
not sexy.

“Duh,” Cassidy muttered. “She’s not going to do the same thing twice.”

Piper sat down beside her and rubbed a hand across her shoulder in a way meant to be soothing. “Iz, you can stay at my house if you want to run away again. I bet my mom wouldn’t notice for—”

“Shut up, Pipes,” Cassidy said, cutting her off.

“I’m sure your parents would notice this time,” Mei said, but her voice lacked conviction.

Izzy stood up. “I’m fine.” Her friends looked at her with serious doubt in their eyes. “Really, I’m fine.” She gave her body a quick onceover with the towel and then reached for her pants. As she pulled them on, she slipped the earrings back into her pocket.

“Iz, you just stripped naked and jumped into my pool.” Piper, always there to state the obvious. “I don’t think you’re fine.”

The earrings would have been so much easier to explain than jumping into the pool naked. Clearly, she had not thought this through.

“I’m not upset about River.”

“Yeah, right,” Cassidy said doubtfully.

“I knew it was over when he left for Texas Tech. We broke up weeks ago.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Piper demanded.

“She did,” Cassidy pointed out.

“But they hooked up again at the party. If they broke up after that, she should have said so.”

“Why?” Cassidy demanded of Piper. “We’re her friends. Not her therapist. She can break up with whoever she wants.”

“Yo!” Izzy waved her hands between them. “That isn’t what I’m upset about!”

They stopped, both turning to stare at her. Then Piper asked the question Izzy had been dreading. “Then what the hell is wrong with you?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Mei asked. “She can’t go on her trip.”

“What?” Piper leaped to her feet. “That can’t be true.”

“Huh?” Cassidy’s mouth hung open in obvious shock.

Izzy could only nod as she choked back the tears that had been pressed against her eyes for the past week. She met Mei’s gaze. “How did—”

“I overheard Mr. Szachowicz saying that if your brother didn’t play this fall, there’s no way UT is going to give him a scholarship, regardless of who your father knows. I didn’t think much of it, but then—” Mei shrugged. “You stopped responding to texts. You never posted on the IKC page. I figured something had to be up.”

“What does her brother playing football for UT have to do with her trip?” Piper’s voice was thick with indignation.

Mei leveled her practical gaze at Piper. “If her parents were counting on a football scholarship, then this ruined everything. His grades aren’t good enough for him to get into one of the top-tier colleges. And maybe they can’t afford to send him at all. They have to think about Linc’s future.”

Leave it to Mei to put the pieces together so succinctly. “She’s right,” Izzy said. “Without the scholarship, Linc might not be able to go to college at all, even if he could get in.”

“It’s not fair!” Piper protested.

“You don’t have to tell me that.” Not fair was pretty much the rules
of the road in her house. For her father, football was everything. For her mother, it was Shane. And there she was, trapped in the middle. The only unexceptional member of the family. With her nimble-footed dolt of an older brother scoring touchdowns and her nimble-fingered baby brother storming the competition circuit, there was more than enough talent in the family to satisfy both her parents. Unfortunately, none of it was hers. As a result, anything that had to do with her came in last. She’d thought she was used to it.

Cassidy was shaking her head. “It doesn’t make any sense. You live in one of those big old houses near the square. I thought you guys were loaded.”

And they should have been. When her dad had left the University of Texas, he’d walked away with a lot of money. The Paris Independent School District had lured her father there with visions of building a state championship team. Her parents had sold their old house in Austin and bought a 1920s foursquare in the historic district of Paris. Even without her mom’s salary as a lawyer, they should have been okay. But it wasn’t cheap for her mother to cart Shane around to all those competitions, and the price tag would only inch up as he got older.

Still, they might have been fine, if her father hadn’t gone and bought the ranch outside of town and started running cattle on it.
Our nest egg
, her father called it. But under her breath, Izzy’s mom always called it
the money pit
. Not that Shane’s baby grand had been precisely cheap. Still, if her parents were having trouble scraping together money for college, Izzy suspected that damn ranch was to blame. Turned out, beef was bad for more than just the environment.