Daddy's Rich Enemy

I nod. “Yes. I do.”

Mara purses her lips. “You know, it’s early. We could still go out.”

I groan. “And do what?” I look down at my yoga pants and comfy t-shirt. “I’m so cozy!”

“Allie, if you want to get over this guy, you have to do something about it,” Mara says in exasperation. “Come on. Get up. Get dressed. We’re going out.”

I cross my arms over my chest and stick out my lower lip like a little kid, but it does nothing to dissuade my best friend. She tugs at my hand until I reluctantly get to my feet. Mara drags me over to the closet.

“I am so jealous that you have all of these gorgeous custom outfits,” Mara says enviously. “And you never even wear them!”

I pluck an emerald green silk cocktail dress from the closet and wrinkle my nose.

“Yeah, well, when would I have a chance to wear something like this?”

Mara shrugs. “Tonight,” she says. “We can go out in the city and get some guys to buy us drinks. It’ll be harmless fun.”

My stomach turns at the thought of spending time with any man other than Dane, but I nod reluctantly. When Mara gets going on an idea, it’s hard to get her to stop.

I change out of my comfy clothes and pull on a pair of Spanx, then wiggle into the green dress. It’s already a little too tight, and I wince as Mara zips me up. I can’t let my mother see that I’ve started gaining weight again – I just know she’ll be pissed.

Nick drives us into the city in our Town Car, then drops Mara and me off at a divey-looking bar in Brooklyn. I know I should try to fake excitement, but being outside in the chill air just makes me miss the warm comfort of my bedroom.

“Come on,” Mara says. She tugs my arm and drags me inside the bar. It’s crowded and I immediately feel overdressed – everyone else is wearing trendy graphic t-shirts and fitted jeans. We worm our way through the crowd and perch on two vinyl bar stools.

“I just wish he would call me or something,” I say absentmindedly as I trace my finger over the grimy bar counter. “I wish I was worth spending time with, but Dane is too good for someone like me.”

“Stop moping,” Mara says sternly. “If I even hear the name ‘Dane’ one more time, we’re leaving.”

I look around and shrug. “This place isn’t very nice,” I say, thinking of the fancy French steakhouse where I dined with Dane. “It’s really trashy.”

Mara rolls her eyes and throws back the rest of her drink. “Yeah, well, we’re not twenty-one yet so we’ve got limited options,” she says. “Besides, those guys over there are really hot.”

Glancing over, I shrug again. “I guess.”

“God, Allie, please cheer up,” Mara says. “He’s just a guy. You’ll meet more, you know. Maybe even tonight if you snap out of it!”

“Maybe,” I say, if only to shut Mara up.

Mara tosses her hair and gives me a big smile. I blink at her in confusion until I realize the smile was clearly meant for one of the guys.

“Hey, ladies,” a male voice says. “Are you thirsty?”

“We are, aren’t we, Allie?” Mara replies.

“Yeah,” I echo lamely. “We are.”

The guy grins. “I’m Preston and this is my friend Scott,” he says.

“I’m Allie.”

Preston moves closer and grins. “I like that,” he says. “It’s pretty. So, you go to Tate?”

“I’m a journalism major,” I say awkwardly.

Preston laughs. “I’m a Theta Chi,” he says. “So, you wanna get out of here?”

“Go on, Allie,” Mara says. She flicks her wrist at us. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”