11
Ring, ring . . . “Hello? Who’s calling?”
I’ll be honest, I couldn’t stop thinking about Aegan’s “you’ll see.”
It unsettlingly teased its way through my mind.
What was I going to see?
Did he have a plan? Fucking Aegan—he could make anyone uneasy with just two simple words. Did nothing make him feel uneasy or what? Of course, there would be something; he was still human after all. He had vulnerabilities and things to exploit. Maybe the Eli issue was one of them.
Had she really fled in a rental car? Where to? If she’d left of her own free will, why did she look so frightened in the footage? I wanted to find out more about her.
Kiana suddenly came up to me in one of the corridors looking slightly agitated, like she’d been searching for me all over. That day, her long hair was braided Daenerys Targaryen–style, which suited her tough exterior but clashed a bit with her laid-back, artistic vibe.
“There’s a rumor going around,” she said grimly.
“About what?” I squinted my eyes.
Dash showed up too, in a rush and dazzling in a green sequined scarf.
“Artie told me you made it into the club!” he said, ignoring what Kiana had said. “What’s it like? Spill the beans!”
Before I could decide who to respond to, they dragged me into an empty classroom and shut the door.
“People are saying that Aegan is afraid of you because you’re aggressive and have anger management issues,” Kiana said right off the bat.
“Very Emma Roberts–like . . .” Dash added.
I was gobsmacked.
“Really?”
“Yeah, and that you caused a scene at the club and were about to hit him,” Kiana continued.
What the heck? Okay, they’d really gone overboard with their creative spin on the gossip. I wasn’t Emma Roberts, and Aegan definitely wasn’t Evan Peters in this scenario!
“That’s not how it went down. I didn’t try to hit him, and I wasn’t aggressive.”
“What happened then?” Dash demanded to know. “And what’s the place like? Is it true that there’s a naked painting of Aleixandre?”
I told them about the “scene” I caused horseback riding.
Then got to the point: the club was nothing special.
No naked paintings of anyone. No suspicious objects.
The only fishy thing had been that door and Aleixandre’s behavior when he shut it, but I wasn’t about to let that slip.
My investigation into Eli’s disappearance, along with any strange things I encountered during it, had to remain a secret.
Dash looked dejected.
“What a letdown,” he sighed dramatically. “I thought it’d be like a secret society with orgies and strange wines.”
Kiana and I exchanged a glance. “I can’t believe they made Aegan out to be the victim,” I said. What would they say tomorrow? That he’d worked a miracle calming me down and was a living saint?
Kiana looked thoughtful. For the first time, I noticed her nails were small and uneven, suggesting she bit them.
She must be the nervous type, although that’s not how she came across.
Kiana was confident and bold, unafraid to speak her mind, and people listened, drawn by her wise words.
Being in Tagus had shown me that everyone was the opposite of how they first seemed.
What could make a girl like Kiana anxious?
“I think something is just dawning on me . . .” she murmured.
“Well, spill,” I said, curious.
“Aegan sees you as strong and determined, and since he can’t confront you head-on, he’ll try to push you into situations beyond your control, hoping you’ll crack,” she reckoned. “Going out with you and keeping you close benefits him, because he can watch you and find your weak spots.”
Was Aegan trying to beat me at my own game?
Is that why he wanted me to be his girlfriend?
It actually kind of made sense. I’d made a fool of myself at the club because I didn’t know how to ride a horse.
And whose fault was that then? Mine, for never having learned to ride.
The only one left red-faced was me. Not him.
“Oh, it’s like robbing a bank from the inside,” said Dash, astonished.
“Maybe you should get more into your role as girlfriend,” Kiana suggested. “Aegan might be starting to think you’re losing interest. Try other things.”
“Like what?” I asked in search of suggestions. They both gave mischievous smiles.
“You know . . .” they said in unison.
Oh, yeah, I knew, but I didn’t even want to think about it.
···
I thought Aegan wouldn’t care about these rumors, but had I really not learned anything by now?
At Tagus, all students had to do was avoid bringing shame on their families.
Everything else was handled for them: bills, transportation, life.
Their only priority was themselves, meaning other people’s misfortunes didn’t matter to them.
If anything, they got their kicks from seeing other people struggle.
In Tagus, everything was just for kicks.
And even knowing that, I had no idea what was in store for me that afternoon.
I went to the club after class. To my surprise, Aegan was waiting for me in the hall.
He was wearing shorts and beach sandals, but no top.
The tattoos on his forearm stood out like pieces of art, giving him a rugged look that he surely loved.
His aviator shades were on his head, and he was holding some kind of cocktail.
He didn’t greet me, just got straight to the point.
“I’ve got something for you.”
He handed me a white box. Half wary, I lifted the lid, examined the contents: a bikini with tiny bananas on it.
“It wasn’t hard to guess your size,” he said, sounding amused.
From the teasing look he gave me, I realized he was referring to my nonexistent curves.
Yeah, I was kind of flat.
“What’s this for?” I asked, ignoring his remark, glancing back and forth between him and the bikini. A fashion show?
“For the pool.” He chuckled softly.
“There’s no pool here.”
“Of course there is,” he said frankly. “There didn’t use to be. We added it last year, when we revamped the terrace. You can get changed in the bathroom.”
“I don’t want to wear it,” I immediately shot back.
He stepped forward and lifted his hand to pinch my cheek.
“Sweetie. You’ll look great in it,” he assured me with a teasing smile. “I’ll wait for you upstairs.”
He winked at me and walked away with the stupid glass in his hand.
I stepped into the bathroom, which had a full-length mirror. I looked at myself, a piece of the bikini in each of my hands, holding them as if they were unfamiliar objects. In the mirror, my I can’t believe it expression looked like something out of a comedy.
A bikini.
With bananas on it.
For the pool.
Why bananas? It looked ridiculous!
Somehow, I pictured Aegan as I walked past, laughing maliciously at having caught me off guard, but I took a deep breath, because I wasn’t the type to run away. If he thought this was going to intimidate me, he had another thing coming.
I undressed, put on the bikini and flip-flops, and let my hair down.
I looked at myself one last time in the mirror, and I liked what I saw.
Another one of my strong points: ignoring my insecurities.
Of course I had them, like everybody else, but my ability to downplay things helped.
This is who you are, so put up with it. It was simpler and less torturous that way.
I finally came out of the bathroom. An extra staircase on the back of the house led me to the terrace, a new addition that was nothing like the original house.
Everything was more modern there. The pool was big and vividly blue, and there were a couple of guys, including Aleixandre, playing water volleyball. Aleixandre’s arms were raised, hair slicked back, and he was wearing wide grin when he spotted me.
“Jude! Throw me a banana, I’m starving!”
I ignored him and went on. There was also a sunbathing area with chairs, a bar counter, and a DJ booth pumping out music. Surrounding it was a tiki bar, lamps, a few sofas and umbrellas.
There were also about fifty people there, and they seemed to have been strategically selected.
Most of them were from the Cash brothers’ inner circle.
The rest were part of the Tagus elite. There were more girls than guys—girls with perfect bodies, long, flawless hair, some with stunning full lips, matte-painted nails, and delicate tans.
In short: compared to them, I was butt-ugly, like snot stuck on someone’s lip.
Snot wearing a ridiculously stupid banana bikini.
I quickly figured out what was going on. All those girls were gossiping, dying to spin a good story . . .
The rumor.
Aegan wanted witnesses to back up the rumor that I was hotheaded and violent. But for that I’d have to cause a little scene or act like I did yesterday when I showed up at the club. Aegan seemed sure it was going to happen.
Or he was sure he’d make it happen.
We’d just have to wait and see.
I kept going, head held high, and headed straight to Aegan at the edge of the pool. He was chatting to his usual clique and some stuck-up guys and girls I’d never seen before. The asshole certainly stood out. Why, God? Why do you make evil look so hot?
“Ah, Jude!” he said as I reached him, and he then asked his friends, “You know her, don’t you?”
“Yeah, she’s quite a character,” said one of the girls.
With a smile, the girl slowly looked me up and down. She gave me a contemptuous look when she noticed the bananas on my bikini.
I was going to be a version of Jude that Aegan didn’t expect.
“Hey!” I greeted everyone in a friendly tone. “Hey, sweetheart.” I stood on my tiptoes to give Aegan a peck on the cheek.
I even interlocked my fingers with his and clung to his arm, beaming with joy. He looked like I’d caught him off guard with that sweet gesture, although he tried to hide it. I just stayed there, glued to him. His hand felt huge clasped around mine.
They’d said I was aggressive, hadn’t they? I’d show them that wasn’t the case at all.
“I’m surprised you’re together,” said one of the guys, when he saw us like that, “because it looked like you hated each other.”