Sweet Deceit (Privilege 4)

“Cool. Because if you think Lily wouldn’t mind, I was thinking we should do something together,” Palmer said, adjusting his arms on her hips and pulling her even closer.

Ariana, however, found herself stepping away from him. “You mean like a couples’ costume?”

Palmer’s brow creased. They heard the lock on the front door of Privilege House click and boisterous laughter followed. Ariana turned and moved further into the room toward the movie theater. She leaned back against the wall, out of sight of the lobby, trying to figure out how to turn Palmer down gently.

“Yeah, I mean a couples costume,” Palmer whispered, following her. He stood facing her, but a couple of feet away now—keeping his distance. “Why not?”

“I don’t know. Isn’t that kind of . . . public?” Ariana asked, shoving her hands into the pockets of her coat.

Palmer blew out a sigh toward his forehead, fanning out his bangs. “Is this about Lexa again? Because from what I can tell, she and Conrad are getting serious. They’re even dressing up together—as a married couple! The girl has definitely moved on.”

“I know, but . . . Palmer, I need to be careful. Especially now,” Ariana said.

“What do you mean, especially now? Because she’s president of Stone and Grave?” Palmer whispered, glancing toward the open door. In the alcove, the elevators pinged and the voices quickly disappeared. “Ana, she’s always been the president of Stone and Grave. The only difference is . . . now you know it.”

“Right. And now that I know it, I can’t stop thinking about it,” Ariana said. “If she still has any kind of feelings for you, I can’t make her mad. Not right now.”

Palmer laughed, tipping his head back. “Dude. After tonight you don’t even need to worry about that. There’s no way any of you are getting cut. Especially not you. The whole thing was your idea. You’re a lock.”

Looking down at the carpeted floor, Ariana felt the smile twitching at her lips again. But she couldn’t get complacent and rest on her laurels. She’d made that mistake in the past and it always got her in trouble. When she’d been less than vigilant back at Easton, Reed had ended up finding that stupid photo of Thomas on Kiran’s phone and before Ariana knew it she’d lost everything. Her friends, her school, her freedom—her whole identity.

Palmer stepped forward and tugged Ariana’s hand from her pocket, holding it lightly in his. “Listen, I’m going to go to the party as Frank enstein. I think it’d be cool if you dressed up as Frankenstein’s bride. We don’t even have to go together. Just come as the bride. Then I’ll know for sure that you’re into this,” he said, squeezing her palm.

Ariana swallowed hard. “And if I dress up as something else?”

He dropped her hand, stepped back, and shoved his hands into his own pockets. A chill dashed down Ariana’s spine.

“Look, Ana. This sneaking around thing isn’t working for me anymore,” he said. “All I want is to be with you.” He ducked his head, forcing her to look up into his eyes. “So just . . . be my bride . . . okay?”

Ariana stared back at him, unable to take the leap he wanted her to take. At least not yet. She needed Stone and Grave. And to get into Stone and Grave, she was sure she needed Lexa’s vote.

“I’ll see you there,” he said.

Then he turned on his heel and walked through the alcove, shoving open the door to the stairwell. Ariana heard it squeal on its hinges, then slam behind him. Her heart heavy, she walked out to the elevators and managed to get one on her own, before the next group returned. When she got back to her room, Kaitlynn was waiting for her on the edge of her bed, still wearing her black spy gear.

“What was that all about?” she asked, her eyes bright.

Ariana sighed hugely and shrugged off her coat. “He wants to dress up as a couple for the party.”

“What did you tell him?” Kaitlynn asked.

“I told him I was dressing up with you,” Ariana said, putting her coat on its hanger, then sitting down on her own bed to kick off her shoes.

“No way. You have to dress up with him,” Kaitlynn said, scooting around on the bed to face Ariana. “We haven’t come up with anything yet anyway.”

“I know, but we had a deal,” Ariana said, lying back to look up at the ceiling.

“So what? There’s always next year,” Kaitlynn said, a statement that almost brought a smile to Ariana’s lips. “I don’t mind. Really. I actually saw this Catwoman costume the other day that was totally hot. I can just get that.”

“Okay. But it’s not just you I’m worried about,” Ariana said, rolling over onto her side and propping her cheek up on her palm. “It’s—”

“Lexa,” Kaitlynn said. “Screw her. She has Conrad.”

“I know, but—”

“Ariana Osgood, this is no time to lose your spine,” Kaitlynn said, standing up.

“Shhhhh!” Ariana said, glancing at the door. Kaitlynn had shouted her real name a bit too loudly for comfort.