Lara (Reynolds Ranch)

Chapter Three

Lara

Sweat beads down my back as we head up to the party. I’m in one of the sexiest outfits I’ve ever worn, and it’s way too short for my own taste. I tug at the backside because I can feel a slight breeze on the back of my thighs.

“Girl, this dress is too freaking small for me,” Kelly mutters, grabbing her top and pulling it up. She’s wearing a strapless, dark gray satin dress that’s snug around her breasts and flares out just a tad at the waist.

“It’s not. You’re just not used to wearing something that revealing, but if we want to get inside, we have to look the part.” She’s like me, and our style is definitely not this. We prefer jeans and a tee or maybe some yoga pants.

We arrive at the entrance where there are two prominent men checking invitations. My heart races double time, but I take a deep breath and calm myself. There’s no way to pull it off if I look nervous.

“Good evening, gentlemen,” I say, softening my tone with a flirtatious lilt. Neither man in black reacts to my attempt, and I remember that I’m not in Montana. Men here aren’t going to just drop at my feet when I bat my eyelashes at them.

“Hello, ladies. May we see some identification?” one of the brutes asks.

“Absolutely,” I answer immediately while Kelly stiffens and gasps. I want to nudge her ass to relax, but it’ll make us look even more guilty. No one is behind us so we’re not holding up the line, but still, I want to get this over with. Hopefully, he lets us in and doesn’t call the cops. I watch him scan our IDs and then hesitate, saying something in his mic, but it’s too low to make out. Shit. We’re going to be caught.

“Here you go, ladies. Have a good evening.” Tension flees my body in a mad rush, and I almost feel weak with relief. Maintaining my composure, I return their polite comment and lead Kelly into the party.

“Dude, we almost got busted.”

“We didn’t. I think he just happened to get a call on his earpiece at the same time. If they suspected they were fake, we’d already be out on our asses.”

“I suppose you have a point.” She nods nervously.

“I do. Now let’s have some fun,” I insist, smiling at my new bestie while I pretend that I wasn’t just as scared as she was.

I know I shouldn’t even be at this party, but what’s the point of being the sister of a professional football player if I can’t attend these events? Granted, Tobias isn’t even here, but that’s beside the point. “I can’t believe you got us in here,” Kelly says, clinging to my arm, looking anxiously at everyone and making sure we stick out like a sore thumb. Seriously, she’s going to get us kicked out of here and into a world of trouble.

“Whatever. Just act cool, and they won’t know we don’t belong,” I hiss through clenched teeth. I grip her hand and slowly unwrap her talons from my forearm. It’s just then that a waiter passes by.

“Ladies, would you care for a glass of wine?”

“Absolutely,” I answer with all the manners I’ve learned and honed over the years. My parents may be country folk, but we’re wealthy ones and that means attending fancy parties up in Billings. I hand Kelly a glass, but she’s shaking so much that I snatch it right back.

“Girl, relax. You’d think someone who has lived here her whole life would know how to handle a party.”

“Yeah, a house party with people my age and not people who could have me sent to jail.”

“Calm down,” I say, taking a sip of wine that I snatched from her. “Now—drink to settle your nerves, or I’ll have to call you a cab.”

“Girl, you’re something else.”

“I know,” I say, smiling up at my roommate, Kelly. She’s been my godsend since I arrived. I thought I was ready to get away from home, but I hadn’t taken into account how many people were in the city. It’s so massive and busy that I’m nearly trampled every day. It’s like being in a damn stampede. I’ve grown accustomed to it over the past couple of weeks, and I definitely enjoy the chaos a lot more than back home where I was perpetually bored. My parents weren’t thrilled because I’ve always been quite a bit of a troublemaker, but what can I say? I’m a country girl with nothing to do, and it’s never really hurt anyone before.

My stomach rumbles a bit, so I suggest that we walk around to the buffet table full of finger food. We make our way there with another glass of wine for me while she nurses hers. I fill a small plate for us to share and then we walk over to one of the high-top cocktail tables.

We watch all the people around the large room. It’s a massive party with celebrities galore, but I’m not trying to gain any attention because then my brother might find out and I’ll be in some serious trouble.

“What do we plan on doing here?”

I swallow a bite of strawberry and say, “Let’s just stick together. I hadn’t thought that far. Besides.” I wave my hand up and down between us. “We look good, so let’s just enjoy the free food and booze.”

“That I can agree with.” That’s the first time I’ve seen her smile since we arrived. We both have killer bodies that could rival most of the women in this room, although we don’t have the same level of sophistication. These women definitely make me feel less than adequate. Back home, men fell over themselves to talk to me, but now I’m surrounded by women who make themselves seen. I guess it’s good because then we won’t create any buzz and my brother won’t find out.

Kelly and I cling to each other for the majority of the next hour, although on several occasions, men come up and ask us to dance. I’ve passed up the offers, but I let her go with one hot guy, hoping she doesn’t spill the beans on who we are and the fact that we’re barely eighteen and most definitely don’t belong here.

I’m just in the middle of swallowing down another glass of wine when I catch the eye of a man I recognize, and there’s no mistaking he remembers me.