Last Christmas (Private 0.60)

perfect. She just needed to buy it and get the hell out of there. She needed to get back to Billings. Better yet,

she needed to get away, period. As she exited into the night, she barely felt the icy wind whip her hair around

her face.

"What exactly were you doing in there?" Noelle hooked her arm through Ariana's and nodded toward the

front of the North Face store. Ariana's blood ran cold. Why wasn't Noelle in Sweet Nothings? Why was she

waiting for her on the street? Had she seen Thomas leave? But following Noelle's gaze, Ariana realized

Noelle was pointing at Sergei, who was strolling across the street, a small North Face shopping bag swinging

from his wrist. He must have walked out right before Ariana had. How had she not noticed him inside ?

"Looks like your little Latvian admirer has upgraded to stalker." Noelle smirked. She gave Sergei a mocking

little wave. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and upped his pace. "How cute," she said sardonically.

"Noelle, that is not cute. I cannot have a stalker."

Especially not if he saw me with Thomas. Ariana clenched her fists as Sergei glanced back at her with his

cold, flat eyes. Had he been in the store the whole time? Had he witnessed her panic attack? And-even

worse-had he seen what she and Thomas had almost done? Ariana's pulse started racing again. "Oh, please.

He's totally harmless," Noelle said with a dismissive flick of the wrist. "So he has a little crush. Who the hell

cares?" I do, Ariana thought as Noelle dragged her down the sidewalk. Because if Sergei had seen her with

Thomas-had seen them almost kiss-then she cared very much.

INVITE

***"What do you mean you can't leave for Vermont?" Daniel's eyes blazed.

Morning light poured through the large windows on the far side of Easton's dining hall. As the room started

to fill with students, the sounds of laughter, clinking silverware, and scraping chairs bubbled up around

Ariana. She shifted in her wooden seat, glancing around to see if anyone was watching. Of course, they were.

But luckily, most of the Billings Girls had yet to arrive. "It's just that I have to finish this paper," she said

quietly.Or, more accurately, start this paper. Ariana had stayed up all night trying to put her thoughts on

paper, but unfortunately the only thoughts in her mind were about sex. She kept trying to picture losing her

virginity to Daniel, kept trying to map it out in her mind so she'd be prepared when it happened. All night

long she had been imagining her and Daniel in the posh lodge bedroom with candles all around. She was

wearing her favorite white silk nightgown; he was wearing a T-shirt and striped pajama pants. He started to

kiss her. They slowly undressed. The whole thing was fine. Perfect even. But then, when she arrived at the

pivotal moment in her daydream, Daniel always morphed into Thomas. Every time. And then she would