THE BLOCK ESTATE
EX-GLU HEADQUARTERS THE SPA
Saturday, October 24th
5:45 P.M.
“Bean, my fingertips are starting to get wrinklier than your face,” Massie observed, inhaling the steamy, lavender-infused air that hovered over the Jacuzzi. She sank lower and lower into the heated water, hundreds of surface bubbles popping just beneath her diamond-studded earlobes.
Bean yapped in agreement from the tiny, inflatable doggie raft that was dipping and rolling over the jet spray–fueled rapids.
Massie had sworn to herself that she wouldn’t get out of the hot tub until every last bit of stress and disappointment had been kneaded, steamed, soaked, or aromatherapied from her body. But even she knew that was impossible. How could she relax? Sure, she had a twenty-foot ceiling over her head, but she was completely alone. Even the homeless had friends.
Massie replayed Friday night’s events over and over in her mind. The cracking runway, the screaming models, the live reporting, and Crane flying the coop.
“Bean, didn’t you think Landon was into me?” Massie sighed.
Bean yipped in agreement, jumping to her feet. Her raft shook unsteadily underneath her round body.
“Me too.” Was her guydar busted? All signs pointed to completely.
Ninth grade or not, Landon Crane was no different from all the other boys she’d known. He’d led her on, then deserted her in her hour of need. He was Tom Brady to her Bridget Moynahan. Only without the unplanned pregnancy, or the younger, hotter Victoria’s Secret model waiting on the other side of the split.
Massie closed her eyes, feeling bubbles burst beneath her earlobes. What would happen if she spent the rest of her days in the spa? It wouldn’t matter how wrinkled she got, anyway. She was swearing off boys for the rest of her life. If she’d had anybody there to pinky-swear with, she would’ve done it in a heartbeat.
The familiar clinking of fresh ice cubes on crystal rose over the hum of the jets. Finally. Inez had brought the chilled cucumber water she’d asked for an hour ago. Or was it five minutes? Who knew anymore? Time traveled at the speed of an uncharged golf cart when one was living with heartache.
“Thanks,” she moaned, her eyes still closed. “Can you just put it over there by the towels?”
“We thought we might find you in here,” Kendra said.
Massie’s eyes snapped open. Her mom and dad were standing next to the hot tub in jeans and matching white oxfords, looking like they were winding up for a good lecture. Kendra had her thin, Pilates-toned arms crossed over her chest, while William just looked exhausted. Massie knew exactly how he felt.
“Oh. Hey. I thought you were Inez.” Massie braved a smile.
“How long have you been hiding out in here?” Kendra said softly.
It was the opposite of what Massie expected from her mom. In a weird way, Massie would have preferred that Kendra yell at her and get it over with. The softness in her voice made Massie’s stomach churn with sadness.
She bit her lip and shrugged.
Kendra tsked. “You know, you can’t stay in here forever,” she said, sitting on the edge of the hot tub. A few splashes of lavender-scented water soaked her jeans, leaving teardrop-shaped stains. William settled into one of the lounge chairs nearby.
“Try me,” Massie snapped. She instantly wished she could take it back. She knew her mom was only trying to help.
“I know last night was tough,” Kendra continued without skipping a beat. “But believe me, a month from now nobody will remember what happened. Life goes on, and you have to, too.” She leaned down to kiss Massie on the top of the head. The flowery notes of her perfume mixed with the lavender scent in the spa, surrounding Massie in a thick sweetness.
“But I can’t go on,” she said, her voice cracking a little. “It’s impossible.” She couldn’t tell if the tiny beads of water on her cheeks came from her eyes, or the hot tub.
“Why not?” The lines in William’s forehead deepened as he leaned forward in his chair.
“Because.” Massie exhaled an unsteady breath. “My old friends hate me ’cause I ditched them for the models, and after last night, the models hate me too.”
“Why did you ditch your old friends?” Kendra asked quietly.
“Because,” Massie said again. “They kept trying to take over.” She almost told her parents about Dempsey, but decided at the last minute it was too embarrassing. “They were driving me crazy.”
Kendra rested her hand on Massie’s slippery shoulder. It was enough to make the tears that had been gathering in her eyes spill down her cheeks.
“Massie, friends can be like employees,” William offered.
Even through her tears, Massie laughed and rolled her eyes. If only her dad knew what a terrible analogy that was.
“From time to time, they don’t perform the way you’d like them to. They may even have a bad month. But that doesn’t erase all the good things they’ve done. And when things start to go wrong, a good boss doesn’t just fire everybody and start over.”
“She doesn’t?” Massie asked, confused. She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hands.
William shook his head. “A good boss asks what part she could have played in the problem. And then she asks herself what she can do better next time.”
Massie frowned, letting her father’s words sink in. Maybe he was right. Maybe there was something she could do better next time. If she ever had to hire friends again, she could give them more bathroom breaks… and even friends she didn’t hire… she could probably treat them better, too. But what good would that do now? Her real friends would probably never speak to her again after she got them kicked out of her party.
Kendra seemed to sense her despair. “It’s never too late to fix things with people you love, Massie,” she said.
“That’s true,” William agreed.
Massie sighed, hoping they were right.
Kendra’s BlackBerry buzzed in the croc-embossed holster fastened to her hip. She whipped out her phone as though it were a pistol and glared at the screen.
“It’s the board president.” She groaned. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”
She pressed the phone to her ear.
“Kaaaren!” She beamed into the receiver. She rolled her eyes at Massie before standing and exiting the spa. William winked at Massie and Bean, and followed his wife.
As if taking a hint from Kendra’s phone, Massie’s vibrated.
But who could it be?
She glanced at the screen.
LAYNE ABELEY.
Massie’s spirits lifted slightly. She’d completely forgotten about Layne! She jammed her finger into the touch screen.
“Hey!” The echo of her voice in the spa sounded almost giddy. But she didn’t care. Now that she’d had some time to recoup, she and Layne could get started assembling their new clique. And Massie would definitely work at treating her new friends better.
“Hey. Did I leave my Hello Kitty gloss in the wardrobe tent?” Layne said over a mouthful of something crunchy.
“Don’t think so,” Massie lied. She’d thrown the gloss out, but it had been for Layne’s own good. It was the kind of thing Kendra liked to call “tough love.”
“So when do you want to head back to the agency and pick our new girls?” She lifted her left foot from the water, wiggling her wrinkled toes. “Isaac could probably take us Monday after school. But don’t worry, I’m gonna do it different this time.” A rush of inspiration churned inside her brain. Ideas began frothing and bubbling like they were powered by Jacuzzi jets. “We can hire improv actors instead of the kind that need lines. And I’ll have them live on my property. Right here in the spa! They should be foreign, but from a good place like France or Italy, and I can pretend they’re fashion exchange students here to learn about—”
“Not happenin’,” Layne muttered. “Peace is pissed.”
“What?” Massie’s foot plunked back into the water, sending a giant splash over Bean’s raft and soaking the puppy. “Why?”
“She said if I wasn’t family she’d have us sued for actor endangerment,” Layne explained. “Besides, this arrangement totally didn’t work for me.”
“For you?” Massie smacked the water. Large droplets slid down the screen of her phone.
“That’s right, for me.” Layne mimicked Massie’s indignant tone. “This was supposed to be about me getting revenge on Kristen for stealing Dempsey. And Twitter update: I saw them last night and she didn’t seem too bothered.”
Massie’s mind was racing. Without Layne and Peace, she couldn’t hire new friends. Without new friends, she’d be completely and totally alone. And alone was only good for trying on bathing suits. “But it’s not too late,” she tried. “We can still get back at Kristen!”
“Over it.” Layne sighed. “I’ve got it bad for Cody from my stage combat class.”
“But what will you do without me?” The heat from the spa was starting to make Massie dizzy. “Who will you hang out with?” She knew she was asking herself more than she was asking Layne.
“Everybody, just like I used to.”
Massie rolled her eyes, then hung up. She’d always known Layne was layme. But being friends with everyone was lazy. It was like buying clothes without checking the labels. Downloading a new album without sampling it. Buying moisturizer for all skin types. It didn’t guarantee she would end up with the best. Then again, at least Layne would end up with something.
“Knock knock!” a loud whisper sounded behind her. It sounded like Lilah. Only not mad.
Massie flopped around in the Jacuzzi, craning her neck toward the doorway. Lilah, Jasmin, Kaitlyn, and Cassidy were all standing there, looking refreshed, relaxed, and dry. Huh?
“Didn’t I fire you guys?” Massie asked softly, genuinely wanting to know.
Cassidy opened her mouth, but Jasmin elbowed her. “Just because we’re not working for you anymore, that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends, right?” she cooed.
Funny. Massie had been under the impression that that was exactly what that meant. But she wasn’t in a position to be shooing girls away.
“So did you see the news coverage of the event?” Lilah rolled up the bottoms of her wool trousers and stuck her feet in the boiling water. Her fair skin flushed immediately.
“Are you kidding me?” Massie scoffed. “I wouldn’t watch Winkie Porter if I just had Lasik eye surgery and it was the only thing on in the recovery room.” Nobody needed to know that she’d DVR’d the six o’clock news and watched it on repeat while she hate-ate an entire bag of chocolate-covered almonds.
“Me neither,” agreed Kaitlyn. She squeezed onto the side of the Jacuzzi next to Lilah and blinked.
“Ditto,” said Cassidy, doing the same.
“Uhn-uhn,” said Jasmin, crowding next to the other girls.
They all leaned in at once. Massie scooted to the other side of the tub, trying not to think about how Kristen would have had a razor-sharp insult for Winkie, instead of a head nod and a blinking spasm.
These girls were pretty, sure. Pretty much total snuhoooozers.
“Owch!” Jasmin yanked her feet from the water. “Hot!”
“Uh, yeah,” Massie said. “That’s kind of the point.” Then she remembered her promise to be nicer, and smiled.
Jasmin swung her feet over the edge of the tub and headed for the lounge chair under the window. Before she could sit down, something caught her eye.
“It’s Claire!” she said, pressing her nose against the window. “And Landon.”
“What?” Massie screeched, jumping from the hot tub and sending Jacuzzi waves sloshing over the edge. Bean gripped her raft for dear life. The biting cold air nipped at Massie’s skin as she ran toward the window, but she almost didn’t feel it.
Claire and Landon were standing in plain view. Landon was straddling a black sticker-covered bike, and Claire kept resting her hand on the handlebars as they chatted easily, like they were BFFs. Every few seconds, Claire would tilt her head back and laugh like Landon had just said the most hilarious thing. Massie knew that laugh. That laugh was usually reserved for Cam’s lame-o jokes.
“Ehmagawd.” Massie’s throat tightened. Were her ex-friends just taking turns tormenting her? How could Claire do this to her, after everything she’d done to make Claire feel at home in Westchester? It was official. She couldn’t trust anyone. She wanted to pound on the window and scream at Claire all at once, but instead she just stood there, staring in disbelief.
“Looks like she stole your crush, huh?” Cassidy pouted, twirling a short lock of platinum hair around her finger.
“And your brain,” Massie snapped.
Cassidy opened her mouth like she was about to fire off a comeback and said, “Yeah, maybe.”
“We would never do that to you,” Kaitlyn said in a monotone voice.
“Not ever.” Jasmin shook her head.
“Nope,” Lilah whispered. “Unless you wanted us to.”
“True.” Kaitlyn nodded. “If you wanted us to, we would.”
“Yeah,” Cassidy agreed. “But only if you wanted us to.”
They rapid-blinked again, waiting for her response.
Okay, these girls were starting to freak her out. Without a script to follow, they were more bland than plain low-sodium rice cakes. Didn’t they have minds of their own? Or did they just agree with everything Massie told them to? She considered asking them, but what was the point? They’d just yes her.
“I’ll be right back,” she barked. She reached for a towel next to the hot tub and raced outside. Bean scampered off her raft and to the floor, following close behind.
“We’ll come with you!” called Jasmin.
Massie storm-stomped barefoot across the lawn, Bean at her heels. The towel she wrapped around her frame did nothing to protect her from the chilly air. The frigid wind cut through the towel and into her wet skin like a knife. The same knife Claire was using to stab her in the heart.
The slap of the actors’ bare feet on the wet grass made Massie shiver even more. She wished they would just leave. But no. When she needed them, they couldn’t do anything right. But now that she was all set to pick new friends, they were clingier than static-soaked jersey cotton.
“Oh. Hey!” Claire said as Massie stomped toward her. “We were just about to come get you.” She smile-squinted, holding her hand up to shield her face from the sun.
“I bet.” Massie glared at Landon, not even caring that she was wearing last year’s Pucci-print bikini. Landon didn’t deserve to see her in anything from this year’s line. “Claire, do you play football for Pittsburgh?” she asked.
“No?” For some reason, Claire was smiling.
“Then why are you such a Steeler?” Massie shouted. Tiny shivers ran up and down her spine. Nawt love shivers. It was freezing outside.
Landon laughed out loud. His one-dimpled smile would normally have filled her with more warmth than a heat lamp and a plush robe. But now it looked like a giant pit of despair.
Claire shook her head, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I’m not stealing anybody. Landon’s here to see you.”
“You’re about twenty hours late,” Massie snapped, folding her goose bump–covered arms across her half-naked chest. “Don’t worry, though. Bean took your place on the runway. And she was ah-mazing.”
The puppy licked her chlorine-covered calf.
“May-see, you don’t get it.” Landon ran a hand through his wavy black hair. “When you kicked your friends out of the party you kicked me out too.”
What???? Massie hope-glared at Claire.
“It’s true.” Claire shrugged. “I asked him to keep a lookout while I sneaked everybody in, and when I got busted, he took the rap with me.”
“Awwwwww,” cooed the girls behind her.
“No awwwww.” Massie stomped her foot on the cold grass.
The actors were instantly silent.
“Why were you helping them sneak in when I didn’t want them here?” she asked Landon, temporarily distracted by a tiny gift bag dangling from the handlebars of his bike.
“Um, my fault,” Claire jumped in. She glanced back and forth between Landon and the bag. “Now,” she muttered.
“Here.” He extended the tiny black gift bag in Massie’s direction. It was covered in gold paw prints.
“What’s this?” Massie accepted with trepidation, and then parted the soft tissue paper like dressing room curtains. Afraid of what she’d find when she entered.
“What is it?” Lilah pressed, leaning over the bag.
“Do you like it?” Kaitlyn asked.
“If she does, I do.” Jasmin grinned.
“Same,” Cassidy agreed.
Massie fought the urge to gag them with the tissue and focused on the gift.
“Ehmacute!” She gasped at the purple silk necklace. Its tiny sterling silver dog bone charms clinked when she lifted it from the bag. “A puppy charm collar!”
Bean yapped her appreciation, running circles around Massie and Landon. Or were they hearts?
“Patience,” Massie cooed. “A girl should never act too excited.” She knelt to the ground, corralled Bean, and fastened the collar around her puppy’s neck. Ah-dorable times ten dog years. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” Landon nodded, suddenly looking a little shy. He stared down at his handlebars for a few seconds, then glanced back up at Massie. “I wanted to call, but I thought it’d be better if I just came by in person. And yesterday I had to work at Bark Jacobs, soooo—”
“You work at Marc Jacobs?” Massie unfolded her arms.
“No, Bark Jacobs. It’s a pet clothing and accessory store. My mom owns it.”
Massie giggled. “Well, as long as we’re clarifying, my name is Massie.” She offered Landon her shriveled hot-tub hand. “Like sassy. Not say-see.”
Landon took it and shook it. “Sorry.” He flushed, his cheeks turning the perfect shade of pink. Usually Massie had to pinch her own cheeks hard to get that kind of color.
“Forgiven.” Massie beamed, squeezing his hand a little more before finally letting go.
Landon’s dimple was in full force. It was no longer a pit of despair. More like a second smile. “My mom is having a trunk show tonight—mostly dog wedding dresses and honeymoon loungewear—and well, Bark Obama, my pug, will be there, so…”
EH-MA-YES! Massie wanted to scream. Instead, she counted four Massie-sippis and then smiled. “Sure. Sounds fun,” she managed, even though she was already mentally rifling through her closet for an acceptable outfit, not just for her, but also for Bean.
“I’m in.” Lilah nodded.
“Me too.” Jasmin grinned.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Kaitlyn announced.
“Me either,” Cassidy agreed.
Massie was about to decline on their behalf but quickly changed her mind. They looked good. And until she found replacements they would have to do.
“I’ll text the address.” Landon slapped the rectangle in the back pocket of his baggy True Religions. He hopped on the seat of his black sticker-covered bike and leaned over the handlebars. His blue-green eyes held her with the force of a rushing fire hydrant. “See you soon, then.”
He jumped on the pedal as if starting a motorcycle and bolted toward the open gate.
“’Kay,” Massie said, or maybe only mumbled.
Just like in the movies, her frigid black-and-white body turned Technicolor. It felt like wearing cashmere in a tanning booth. Sleeping in a giant Ugg boot. Or staring in at the Wizard of Oz. Only better.
The only things missing were some real friends to share it with.