Vanessa holds her hand up at me. “Hold that thought. RiAnne, take our picture. Get our hot bikini bodies, please.”
RiAnne backs up and takes a few pics and gets Vanessa’s approval. “Perfect. Post that to Facebook and Twitter. Be sure to tag us. Everyone loved our pajama party photos from last night.”
Of course they did. Vanessa was in a teeny black negligee, leaning forward, so that you could see most of her boobs, while I poured champagne into her mouth straight from the bottle. The guys had some specific comments about what kinds of pictures they’d like to see next.
RiAnne nods, fiddles with her phone, and uploads the pics. She’s still pouting, and I don’t blame her. Vanessa didn’t want her in the picture. She finishes with her phone, pops another strawberry in her mouth, and summons the waiter. “I want a burger, well-done, french fries, and a side of ranch.”
Vanessa shakes her head. “She’ll have the cottage cheese plate, please. You can bring the burger and fries to Miss I’m-Back-in-America-After-An-Amazing-Summer-Touring-With-a-Rock-Band.”
“I wasn’t with the band the whole time,” I admit. “I was with Brooklyn all summer. We’re, like, in love. It was the most amazing summer of my life.”
RiAnne says, “Aww, Keatyn, I’m so happy for—”
Vanessa cuts her off again. “Are we talking about the surfer?”
I nod my head.
“No.”
“What do you mean, no?”
“I mean, hell, no. Do you know how hard I worked this summer while you were off playing around? It’s fine if you want to play in the gutter. It’s fine to have a summer fling with the lifeguard. It’s expected. Everyone slums in the summer.”
“Brooklyn is hardly a lifeguard. For God’s sake, his dad is worth like a hundred million.”
Vanessa waves her hand at me. “Okay, whatever. But you're taking Cush to your party, right?”
“No, I’m not. I haven’t talked to him all summer. I don’t even know if he’s coming.”
“He needs to be your date. After what happened with Mandy, you need to show everyone that you’re still together.”
“But we’re not together.”
“You will be once he gets back. Everyone knows you broke up for the summer, because he had to go to his dad’s. But people still expect you to get back together. You’ll be an even bigger couple than you and Sander were. I mean, seriously, you can feel the chemistry you two have together. Use the party to lock that boy down.”
RiAnne is nodding her head in agreement.
“The party is obviously going to be badass,” Vanessa continues, “but the after-party is key. I've been tweaking the guest list all summer.” She grabs her phone. “I’m emailing you the list now. You can forward it to your people.”
My people. As in Kym, who is practically part of the family. This is it. This is where I have to stand up to her. I have to set the right tone for this year. We can be friends, but she isn’t going to tell me what to do. Or who I can date.
“I already have the list of who I'm inviting. It's going to be all my favorite people. The party can be about being popular, but the after-party is gonna be different. The reason I was acting so weird last spring after I broke up with Sander is because I felt like I was living two separate lives. Like I have to act and look and be a certain way when I’m with you. And then I’m completely different with the surfers. I invited all my surfer friends to the after-party and all my best friends from school. I want you to get to know each other. It would mean a lot to me if you to get to know Brooklyn. And, who knows, you might just fall for a surfer yourself. Mark is really cute and so is—”
RiAnne’s face brightens at the thought of a new pool of boys.
Vanessa chomps down on her back teeth. I can tell she’s trying hard to control her temper. “It will never work. And did you not learn your lesson with Mandy? I know it’s been a long summer of surfing, sex, and weed. You relaxed, had fun. It messed with your brain.”
“It didn’t mess with my brain. I love him, and I don’t care what you or anyone else thinks.”
“So you’re going out with him? You’re in a relationship with him? Because I haven’t seen it on Facebook. No one has. Because it’s not there. It was a summer fling. Now, it’s back to reality.”
“Uh, well no, we’re not officially going out. And he told me last night that he’s sort of leaving for a year to go on the pro surfing tour, so I’m not sure what that means exactly as far as our relationship goes.”
Vanessa snorts out a laugh. “You don’t know what that means? Are you fucking blind? It means he already knows it’s over. You need to be with Cush. I didn’t tell you, because I was pissed at you, but you and Cush are good together. Like seriously. Popularity aside. He’s good for you. He wants to make you happy. You should let him.”
“I’m not blind, okay? I just don’t know what it all means.”
“Use your brain, Keatyn,” Vanessa says.