Ariana’s stomach twisted tightly. She toyed with her water glass, spinning it in a circle, and tried to look casual. She knew what was coming next.
“Have you had a chance to talk to him yet?” Soomie asked.
“Not yet,” Ariana said, wincing.
Soomie’s face fell, and she sat back hard in her chair. “Oh.”
“I’m sorry, Soomie. It’s just been a crazy few days with my grandmother and dealing with the car delivery people this morning and everything,” Ariana said in a rush. “I feel like I’ve barely even been in class.”
“It’s okay,” Soomie said. “It’s just . . . the ball is next weekend.”
“I know,” Ariana said, guilt weighing down on her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I’ll talk to him, I promise.”
As the other girls turned the conversation back to their many purchases, Ariana leaned back in her chair and sipped her water, trying to figure out why, exactly, she was so hesitant to talk to Jasper for Soomie. She didn’t begrudge Soomie a boyfriend. It was just . . . if Jasper started going out with one of her best friends, the casual flirting would stop. It would have to. Which would kind of suck.
Stop it, Ariana. You can’t keep all the boys for yourself, she told herself, shaking her head slightly.
The bell over the door pinged, and Ariana automatically looked up. Walking through the door were three girls in Georgetown windbreakers, their hair back in sporty ponytails. For a whole ten seconds Ariana’s heart stopped. Stopped until she could see the face on the third girl, which was blocked by her friends. Finally, one of them laughed, turning to the side to whack her friend on the arm, and the third girl was revealed.
Revealed to not be Reed Brennan.
Ariana breathed in, long and slow.
“Maybe I should ask him to be my date for the ball,” Soomie was saying, when Ariana tuned in again. “Not that we need dates, but still—”
And just like that, Ariana couldn’t wait to get the hell out of the café.
Maybe she wasn’t a linger-all-night type of girl after all.
For the welcoming dinner that Friday night, the vast ballroom in Pryce Hall was tastefully decorated with floral arrangements in autumn colors, and a welcome banner was strung across the widest part of the room, reading simply, welcome, parents! in silver glitter. A string quartet played in the corner farthest from the tables, and waiters in shirts and ties circulated the room, offering traditional hors d’oeuvres like salmon en croute and mini spring rolls. Ariana sighed, her arms folded behind her blue wrap dress as she attempted to focus on the conversation between Palmer’s mother and Lexa’s father. But she was too busy wondering why Lexa was so late. Earlier that afternoon she’d told Ariana she had an errand to run and would meet them here at seven, but it was now almost eight o’clock.
Just to make matters worse, the subject of the conversation couldn’t have been more boring. If Ariana heard the words “filibuster” or “amendment” one more time, she was going to start yawning unattractively. In fact, across the circle, Maria was doing just that as Soomie checked her watch. Both their parents were late.
“Sorry,” Palmer whispered in her ear, touching his fingertips to the small of her back in a very pleasant way. “Sometimes these two get carried away, being from opposite sides of the aisle and all.”
“It’s okay,” Ariana whispered back with a smile. He looked incredibly handsome in his gray suit and blue tie, much like a young senator himself. “Keep your hand there and all is forgiven.”
Palmer grinned and moved his hand up and down her back in a soothing circle. Ariana stepped a bit closer to him, relishing the fact that he was displaying their relationship so boldly in front of both his parents and Lexa’s. At least something good was coming out of this yawn-fest of a gathering.
A burst of sudden, raucous laughter nearly knocked Ariana over in her new Louboutins. She turned and glanced over her shoulder. Standing near the wall under the glittering banner was Jasper, who was doubled over laughing with his hand on the shoulder of an older man, clearly his father. The man was rotund and balding, but perfectly coiffed in a dark suit and red tie. He looked exactly as Jasper would have looked if someone had hooked up an air pump to him and gone to work. Standing near the wall on Jasper’s other side, talking quietly with a few suited ladies, was a diminutive woman with blond
e curls, an angular face, and a sharp eye. Clearly, Jasper’s mother.
Jasper’s dad cracked another joke, and the growing crowd around him burst out in another round of laughter. Mr. Montgomery reminded her of her own dad, who was always the center of attention at any gathering.
Suddenly Jasper looked up and caught her staring. He smirked and lifted his glass, and Ariana snapped her head around to face forward, her cheeks red with embarrassment.
What is wrong with me? she berated herself. Palmer. Focus on Palmer.
“Lexa! There you are!” Mrs. Greene said suddenly.
Everyone in the little group turned. Lexa paused and slowly faced them, her eyes narrowed as if she didn’t recognize her own mother.
“Oh. Hi,” she said.
Lexa looked slightly unkempt in her black pencil skirt and wrinkled white top. Her skin was waxy, and although she’d applied eyeliner, she’d spaced on the mascara, which gave her a sort of frightened aspect. Her ankle wobbled as she stepped toward them. Ariana saw Mr. and Mrs. Liriano exchange an alarmed glance. She knew the feeling. What was up with Lexa now?
“Where have you been?” Her mother looked her up and down in a disapproving way as Lexa planted a perfunctory kiss on her cheek.