I’m not sure funny is the word, but it’s certainly remarkable how different things are from how they were before Carter. When I was nobody, when I reported Jake’s behavior, not a single person sprang to my defense. Not even my own parents. Now, Jake is a little bit unpleasant to me and I have cheerleaders and parents running to my rescue, all because now that I’m Carter’s, I matter. Now, I have a voice worth listening to—because I belong to Carter.
It’s kind of annoying, but I guess I’m not going to change the world all at once. I’ll take the reprieve, and maybe someday my voice will matter, even when he’s no longer around to make it count.
Or maybe not. Who knows?
At least I’ve survived the worst of senior year. From now until graduation, aside from jealous jerks trying to shake my trust in Carter for no reason, I have a hunch things will be calm. By the time I get used to it, it will be time for college to separate us, and I’ll begin a whole new adventure by myself.
My heart feels emptier just thinking about it. There’s no reason to let concerns about the future dull the present, though. Shoving them aside, I enjoy the feeling of Carter’s strong arms locking around my waist, his kisses peppering my mouth before he claims it in a deep, possessive kiss.
The first words out of his mouth when he breaks away are, “Why was Jake bothering you?”
“Because he has a crush on an imaginary girl who looks like me,” I inform him, winding my arms around his neck.
“Damned doppelgänger,” he says lightly, shaking his head.
“Always causing trouble,” I murmur, before stealing another kiss.
“Need me to take care of it?”
“I do not,” I tell him, firmly. “Your dad was nice to me today.”
I expect at least a hint of pleased surprise, but he merely nods confidently. “I know. I told you I’d take care of that. I got him on team Zoey.”
“Last time he was team ‘Zoey the ho,’ so good job on that turnaround.”
Smiling faintly, he kisses the end of my nose. “I have my ways.” Releasing my waist, he takes a step back and fishes his keys out of his bag. “Come on, let’s go get something to eat. I’m starving.”
Chapter 50
Saturday afternoon I’m sitting on my front porch doing some more studying and enjoying some fresh air when a shiny black limousine pulls to a stop in front of my house. It’s odd enough to see a shiny black limousine prior to prom, but to see one stopping in front of my house? No idea.
The door opens and a familiar sandal emerges. Grace has these brown sandals that are the ugliest thing anyone has ever seen, but she absolutely loves the things. She’s had them since we were 15, and ugly or not, they’re not going anywhere.
What is Grace doing in a limo, though?
With a big grin on her face, she pops out, iced coffee in hand. “Look at this!”
“I’m looking,” I say, setting my textbook aside. “What, exactly, am I looking at?”
Next out of the limo is Kasey. I have to do a double take because, while they are both my friends, I have never seen Grace and Kasey interact at all, let alone hang out together.
Before I have time to question this odd occurrence, a third head pops out of the limousine. Raven hair and good looks to spare—Carter’s older sister, Caroline.
“Hey, Zoey,” she greets.
I am so confused. Tentatively standing, I call back, “Hi…”
“Carter didn’t tell you we were coming, did he?” she realizes.
“He didn’t. He likes to surprise me,” I offer.
Grinning, she says, “I’ll bet he does. This is a good one, though.” Reaching into the front pocket of her tiny, stylish handbag, she holds up a credit card. “We’re going shopping.”
“Why?”
Caroline opens her mouth to answer me, but Grace is bursting with excitement and can’t help shrieking, “Homecoming! Carter’s buying us all dresses.”
Caroline nods and comes closer. I’m at the foot of the stairs at this point, so she leans in to tell me, “He said you might say no. If so, he said to tell you if you let him buy your dress, he’d buy their dresses, too. Your enthusiastic friend got me all discombobulated and I ended up telling her in the car, so… if he asks, you said no, then I had to bring the dress offer to the table. I’m a terrible negotiator,” she states.
Biting back a grin, I tell her, “Don’t worry, so am I.”
“Since he was open to blackmailing you into letting him buy your homecoming dress, I assume he did something terrible and deserves to buy their dresses anyway.”
I nod my head and whisper, “He kidnapped Grace’s dog.”
Caroline frowns. “Do I even want to know?”
Now I shake my head. “You don’t. The dog is home now, but yeah. Just Carter being Carter. Manipulating everyone in his life to get what he wants.”