I don’t have time to reply before one of his teammates pulls him into the throng of whooping high school students.
“It looks like someone was happy to see you,” Mia teases.
“Shut up,” I say, unable to keep the smile out of my tone. “Holy shit…”
My jaw drops at the sheer scale of the first floor. It makes my house look like a trailer. The entire downstairs is open plan and modern in design, with vast glass windows that flow around the sides. A sleek white staircase in its center splits into two, leading to different wings.
“Pretty amazing, right?” Mia says. “This place has ten bedrooms, and the basement has a cinema, indoor pool, and spa. There’s even a basketball court. Oliver’s dad had everything custom-made.”
“It’s insane,” I say. “Doesn’t his dad mind having the whole senior class over?”
It’s damage waiting to happen in a building that cost him millions of dollars.
“He works away a lot, and Oliver’s mom is staying in France with her sister.” Mia shrugs. “Rumor has it they’re getting divorced, but Oliver doesn’t care as long as he gets the place to himself most of the time. Let me show you around…”
It resembles a night club more than a family home, with strobe lights bouncing off the walls. Rows of wineglasses and shots in every color cover the surface of an ornate bar. A U-shaped velvet sofa, large enough to seat at least twenty people, is directly in front of us, and a DJ booth playing house music is to its left. Beyond that, a sliding glass door opens onto an outdoor pool area where people are dancing.
“Mia!” Oliver, the man of the hour, greets us. Judging from his slurred speech, he’s already hit the liquor hard. “You made it. You look…” His eyes trail up and down her body, and his Adam’s apple bobs in longing. “Incredible.”
I shift my weight from one foot to the other awkwardly, trying to ignore the simmering sexual tension between them, when Oliver notices me.
“Erin?” He blinks hard. “Is that you?”
“Who else would it be, asshole?” Mia cocks her hip. Despite her sassy attitude, I can tell she’s pleased her outfit got the reception it deserved. Oliver’s not the only guy to have noticed her arrival; the hockey team is shamelessly checking her out too. Who can blame them? “Excuse us, we’re getting a drink.”
She barges past, leaving him staring after us.
“Everyone’s staring at you,” I mumble.
She laughs. “They’re not looking at me.”
My skin prickles as we move through the crowd of dancing bodies. I mimic Mia, holding my head high and smiling, but I’m freaking out on the inside. I’m not used to the attention. I’d prefer to watch from the shadows than be an active participant.
A guy I don’t recognize wolf-whistles. “Looking good, Erin.”
“Who is he?” I whisper.
“Some jerk from the football team,” Mia replies. “Although he’s definitely not the only guy thinking that. You’re on fucking fire tonight.”
While most guys seem incapable of looking at our faces, the girls have a less favorable reaction. Stonybridge Academy is full of cliques, and neither of us fit into them. While Mia could have been part of whichever she wanted, she avoids affiliating herself with any one group. The girls can’t disguise their surprise when they see me, scanning my outfit like they’re looking for a defect.
“Who are all these people?” I ask.
As well as the familiar faces I see around Stonybridge’s corridors, there are many I don’t recognize.
“A bunch of people from Rydell Prep are here,” she says. “I don’t know why Ol bothers asking them, especially the football players. They’re sleazebags.”
Rydell Prep is the rival school in the next town and is full of equally wealthy assholes.
We slot into a gap that’s opened at the bar.
“Shot?” Mia holds up a fluorescent green liquid and sniffs it. “Mm, apple.”
“I’m not sure.”
Aside from a few sips of champagne at a wedding, I’ve never drank alcohol before.
“You don’t have to,” she says. “But it might help take the edge off.”
