Tell Me Pretty Lies

Valen secures her dark, silky hair into a tight, high ponytail before turning around to face me. “It’s senior year—”

“How could I forget when you remind me every thirty seconds?” I tease, interrupting her. She twists her glossy lips and stands, walking toward me, gripping my shoulders.

“You might not realize it now, but you’re going to miss this one day. Don’t let Holden and a couple of jealous assholes ruin it for you. Or me. I finally got my best friend back and I want to have some fun.”

She’s right. I know she is. And how bad could it be? It’s not like Thayer’s around anymore, and he’s the one I should be worried about.

“Fine,” I concede.

A devilish smile spreads across her face.

“What?” I ask, suspicious.

“Aiden will be there tonight,” she hedges, watching me for a reaction.

“Okay.” It comes out sounding more like a question than a statement. Aiden’s one of Thayer and Holden’s closest friends. He’s gorgeous and one of the more bearable guys to be around in this town, but we’ve never hung out one-on-one.

“He’s single now.”

“Cool.” I scrunch my nose.

Valen shoots me a look. “You’re a lost cause. You’re lucky you’re so pretty.” She pinches my cheeks, speak

ing in a voice reserved only for talking to babies and animals, then gives me a once-over.

I look down at my cut-off jean shorts, white Converse, and a tight, white, long-sleeved shirt. “What?” I ask defensively.

She tilts her head to the side, assessing. “One minor improvement,” she says, pulling my hair out of the messy bun on top of my head. My long blonde hair falls to the middle of my back, a slight wave to it since I didn’t bother to blow-dry it after my shower. Valen ushers me to sit in the chair at her vanity and I watch in the mirror as she uses her still-hot flat iron to straighten only the ends. She pumps something into the palm of her hands before rubbing it into my hair, making it shine, then finishes it off by spraying my roots with something that gives it much more volume than I have naturally.

“Voila,” she announces, using both hands to ruffle my hair. “Instant Victoria’s Secret Angel hair.”

I nod, impressed. “You have a gift.”

She curtsies, dipping her head. “Thank you. Now let’s go.”

Twenty minutes later, we’re walking along the rocky beach toward the blazing bonfires a few feet away. Music blares from somewhere, and there are clusters of people scattered everywhere, spread out from the beach to the cliff above us. There’s no way all of these people go to Sawyer Point. I don’t recognize half of them.

Valen’s boyfriend, Liam, is surrounded by a gaggle of college girls by the looks of it, and a couple guy friends when he spots us and breaks away.

“Hey, baby,” he says before promptly shoving his tongue down her throat with a hand on her ass. Liam’s at Northeastern, but you’d think he’s been on the other side of the world by the way he greets her.

Valen pulls back, breathless. “Hi.”

“Well, look who’s back from the dead,” Liam says as he wraps his arms around Valen from behind, just now noticing my presence. Valen elbows him in the ribs, sending him a disapproving glare for his poor word choice. “Shit, my bad. Welcome home, Shayne.”

“Much better,” Valen praises.

I roll my eyes, hating that she thinks people should walk on eggshells around me now. I’m not some fragile little flower. “Hey, Liam.”

“You ladies need a beverage?”

Valen nods and Liam gestures for us to follow him.

“So that’s going well, I assume,” I say, walking a few paces behind him.

“Yeah.” She shrugs.

He leads us over to a group of people surrounding a bonfire, the tall pieces of wood used to kindle the fire forming a teepee. Liam bends over, grabbing two plastic cups from a bag.