Paradise Lost (Private 9)

Unfortunately, Upton was nowhere to be found. I hoped he hadn't gotten sick. Upon arrival, he had downed four beers faster than I could have consumed four root beers and proceeded to suggest the limbo.

No one had taken him up on it.

Finally, I spotted Dash wending his way back toward us from the patio area. He, at least, was slightly less drunk than the rest.

"Dash! Have you seen Upton?" I asked, jogging over to him.

"Yeah. He's right behind me," Dash said, gesturing over his shoulder.

I squinted toward the hotel and saw three people sort of lurching in my direction, their arms looped around one another. As they passed under one of the lampposts around the pool, I saw that it was, in fact, Upton, and that he had his arms around Paige on one side and Sienna on the other. They all were laughing, and Sienna's hand had worked its way under Upton's shirt and onto his bare chest. Paige was leaning her head on his shoulder, her mouth tipped toward his neck.

200

They're just drunk, Reed. They're drunk.

But it did matter. Whatever I'd been telling myself, Upton had become way more than just a fling. I couldn't handle seeing him getting all sloppy over two girls who were not me.

Then, while I stood there like a pathetic, gaping loser, Sienna grabbed Upton by the back of the neck, pulled him to her, and kissed him.. . and he didn't push her away.

Bile rose up in the back of my throat, burning like hot soup. I turned around, found Noelle's clutch purse in the sand, and fished out her keys as tears burned my eyes. I had to get out of there. Now.

"Hey, Glass-Licker, what're you doing with my stuff?" Noelle asked, slinging her arm around Dash's back as she joined us. Dash looked very pleased at this development.

"I need to go home," I told her, my voice cracking. I kept my back turned to Upton and his two gropers, not wanting to see anything more. I handed over the purse but kept the keys.

"Oh, no. You are not taking my car," Noelle said. "Dash, tell her she cannot take my car," she added, getting right up in his face--so close that their noses touched. I saw Dash glance down at her cleavage, which was half exposed by her current position, and he blushed like mad.

"Um, Reed. You can take her car," Dash said. "I'l

l drive her home."

"Yeah. I'm sure you will," I said.

""Wait a minute. I said no. You're supposed to be kissing my butt," Noelle protested.

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"Yes. And I promise I'll get right back to it tomorrow," I said, my heart pounding. Upton, Paige, and Sienna had to be getting dangerously close. Unless, of course, they had stopped to have a three-way in the sand. "Later."

I was out of there before she could argue further. I fled down the beach, taking the long route back to the parking lot so that Upton and his girl toys wouldn't spot me.

All the way back to the Langes', I forced myself not to cry. The island roads were unfamiliar and not well lit, and the last thing I needed was to go driving off the pavement. Luckily, their house wasn't too far from the Simon Hotel, and I was back within ten minutes. That was about as much as my aching tear ducts could take. As soon as I got to my room and closed the door behind me, I let the tears fly.

How had everything deteriorated so quickly? Just last night, I had been beyond happy. Upton and I had spent all that time alone together, talking about Christmas memories and silly stuff from our pasts. I had thought we were getting to know each other and that we'd come out of that library with a deeper connection. But he just couldn't stay away from the Upton Game girls, could he?

I sat down in the center of my perfectly made bed and grabbed a tissue from the box on the nightstand. It was Christmas. I shouldn't be crying. I should have been home, watching Home Alone with my brother, eating popcorn and leftover chocolate chip muffins. I missed Scott. I missed my mom and dad and my dog. I even missed snow. Who the hell spent Christmas in the islands? It was unnatural. Didn't everyone dream of a white freaking Christmas?

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I tried to stop myself, but I was having a pity party, so of course I had to invite in thoughts of Josh. I couldn't believe that he hadn't called or texted or e-mailed once since that night at the hospital. He had told me he would keep me informed about Ivy. He had practically told me he was still in love with me. Yet here it was, the biggest holiday of the year, and not so much as a MERRY XMAS! TTYL!

I got up and walked over to the window, then felt a sudden chill and immediately took a step back. What if my stalker was out there right now?

I stepped aside and stood against the wall, out of sight, trying to catch my breath. Was there really someone following me? Was it Poppy? Had she staged her own disappearance so she could watch my every move with no one suspecting? What if she was still on the island? What if she was the one who had messed with my Jet Ski? And Misty . . . was that whole thing just a coincidence, or had someone spooked her that day?

Another chill raced down my spine, and I suddenly realized how supremely idiotic it had been of me to come back here by myself. Noelle's mom and dad were out with the other parents, and they'd given the staff the night off for the holiday. If someone were trying to kill me, this would be the perfect time to do it. What kind of moron was I? A suicidal one, apparently.

I grabbed my cell phone and ran to the great room to turn on the lights, trying to make it look like I was not the only one home. Then I went into the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets until I found a wooden block full of nice, big knives. I took one out and laid it