Chapter Thirty-One
Sophie
The dress is on, hair and makeup are done, and the nerves nearly paralyze me.
Tonight is Principal Harrington’s birthday party and Damian is on his way to pick me up from the dorm and escort me to his bike.
My friends and I were talking for hours about it. Addie is convinced it’s kind of like a date. Carly, Raven, and I disagree. Just because a guy is picking me up and taking me to a party, it does not mean it’s a date. And anyway, Damian told me he doesn’t want a girlfriend.
“I’d better go down and wait for him,” I tell my friends.
All three of them wrap their arms around me. “Have a good time,” Carly says.
“Fall madly in love with him,” Addie adds with a huge smile.
I give her a look. “For the millionth time, Damian and I are just friends.”
“That’s what they all say.”
I look at Raven and Carly. “Tame her, please.”
“We’ll do our best,” Raven assures me.
“But here’s hoping she’s right,” Carly says, also giving me a smile.
I sigh heavily. “He only invited me because he doesn’t want to be in hell. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Uh huh,” Addie sing-songs.
I grab my bag and helmet and head for the door. “I’m leaving.”
“Have fun,” they call after me.
I’m not going to let their thoughts affect me. This is just two friends hanging out together because one friend will be lonely. That’s all.
Damian stands outside the dorm room, a few feet away from the guard who isn’t taking his eyes off him. He wears a pressed white shirt, shiny shoes, a red tie, and black slacks. And of course his leather jacket.
He straightens up when he sees me. “Hey. You look beautiful.”
My cheeks feel warm. “Thanks. You clean up nicely, too.”
“I try.”
“Were you waiting long? Sorry, my friends were being super annoying.”
“Annoying how?” he asks as we make our way toward the parking lot.
I freeze. “Oh, um. Nothing, really. Just the usual girl stuff.”
He nods, but makes a face like he has no idea what I’m talking about. I’m not going to tell him my friends want this to be a date.
“You think Queen Rose will ruin my hair?” I ask once we’re standing before his bike.
He glances at my hair. “A good chance it might, but you’re not riding without it.”
I frown. “Guess I need to skip this event. Sorry.”
“What?”
“Well, I’m not going to turn up at this fancy party looking like I just went through a tornado.”
He just watches me, his eyes begging me not to let him do this alone.
I playfully slap his chest. “Dude, I’m just kidding. Of course I want to go. Free rich food, remember?”
“How could I forget? We can try to keep your hair as neat as possible, but you never know with the wind.”
I wave my hand. “I mean, I don’t want to ruin your reputation by entering the venue with crazy hair.”
He scoffs. “As if I care what those snooty people think of me.” He motions toward his leather jacket. “Most of my mom’s friends are scared of this.”
“Really? That’s funny.”
“Yeah, they think I’m a thug.”
“The motorcycle doesn’t help.”
He grins. “No, it doesn’t. But it drives my mom insane, so it’s all good.” He pulls out his phone to check the time. “Crap. We’re late. We’d better get moving.”
We put on our helmets, Damian waits for me to climb on the bike, then gets on in front of me. He turns toward me, lifting his visor. “Remember, hold on as tightly as you can.”
“Yep.”
We zoom toward the venue. The wind is definitely ruining my hair, but there’s nothing I can do about it.
It’s not long before he pulls into the parking lot and reluctantly allows the valet to take the bike. I can see from his eyes that he’s worried something will happen to it.
I busy myself by staring at the building. I haven’t been to this side of town because it’s super rich. I think the Harrington mansion is in this neighborhood as well. Principal Harrington lives on campus during the year, but she goes home to her mansion during the summer and on break.
“Wow,” I gasp. “Is this a house?”
“A hotel.”
“Oh.”
“Party is on the rooftop terrace.”
“Fancy.”
He just laughs before leading me inside. The man at the door asks him for his invitation and ID. Damian hands both items to him.
“Ah, Mr. Harrington, welcome.” The man dips his head. “Please take an elevator to the top floor. Your mother is waiting for you.”
“Yep.”
The guy turns to me. He studies me from top to bottom, probably assessing if I belong here. His face tells me he knows I don’t. “And you are?”
“She’s with me. My friend.”
“All right. Please go upstairs.”
“Did you see the way he looked at me?” I whisper to Damian as we make our way to the elevators.
“Sure did. Ignore him. And anyone else here who’ll make you feel like crap. They all have empty lives, anyway.”
I stop. “Why do you hate all this? I mean, didn’t you grow up in it?”
“Sort of. We’d better go before my mom comes looking for me.”
I follow him to the elevators where a guard stands at each one. He gives Damian a nod before pressing a button. When the door opens, I see another man inside. He must be the elevator attendant or something.
“Mr. Harrington,” the attendant says. “Your mother has been asking for you.”
“Yep,” Damian mutters.
The man looks at me. “Are you lost?”
Geez. I’m wearing the fanciest dress Addie owns and they can still tell I don’t belong? Do I have the words “poor girl” stamped across my forehead?
“She’s with me,” Damian informs him.
The man gives me one more look before nodding. He takes us to the top floor and tells us to have a swell time.
As soon as Damian and I step off the elevator, my eyes nearly pop right off.
This venue is gorgeous. I’ve never seen anything like it.
There are tables adorned with pretty white tablecloths.
Each table has a few chairs around it, with dishes, glasses, and cutlery.
There is an area on the side that’s empty—maybe it’s for dancing or mingling.
Everything shines as if they were just purchased yesterday.
There’s even a fountain in the center of the place.
Everything screams money. Clearly, Principal Harrington invested a lot into this.
“Damian,” a voice calls before his mom heads over to us. She’s dressed like royalty in a black dress. Like she’s a queen. Her hair is styled in an updo that makes her look much younger than she is. And her makeup? Flawless.
“You finally arrived,” she says in a low voice. “What took so long? People have been asking about you.”
He doesn’t say anything, but his body tenses up.
“And what did I say about that blasted leather jacket?” she hisses. “I told you I did not want to see it at my party.”
Damian just glares at her.
She finally notices me and her entire face changes. “Sophie? I didn’t recognize you for a second. What are you doing here? I don’t remember inviting you.”
“I invited her,” Damian says.
“You know very well that this is a closed party, Damian. Not everyone is invited.”
Okay, ouch. Is she implying I’m not wealthy enough to be here? I mean, of course that’s true. But still.
Damian gives her a look that could give a criminal a run for his money. “I wanted her here. This place is hell, so I invited her as a fr…someone who will help me pass the time.” He does a quick sweep with his eyes. “Doesn’t seem to be anyone my age here.”
His mom is quiet for a bit. “Well, all right.” She smiles at me. “I hope you have a good time, Sophie.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ll have to tell the caterers to add a chair to our table.” She walks off.
Damian lets out a breath. “See what I have to deal with?”
“Sorry.”
He gives me a small grin. “But having you here makes it tolerable. Thanks for coming.”
“Of course, Damian. Where is the food?”
He leads me to the side of the room, where there are buffet tables. We don’t stuff ourselves because the meal will start soon, but both of us are starving. We haven’t eaten since lunch.
“Wow,” I say as I take bite after bite. “I thought the school’s food was good, but this is delicious.”
“Mom only hires the best.”
“So which food is your favorite?”
He points them out and I don’t hesitate to fill my plate. Damian eats as well, but he seems to have a lot on his mind. I want to know what he’s thinking about, but I’d better not pry. It’s obvious he doesn’t want to be here. But this is his world. Maybe that’s why he’s so quiet.
A few people come over to introduce themselves. Damian acts like such a gentleman and it’s a little jarring to see. He’s so proper, even though his eyes say otherwise. He knows not to embarrass his mom on her special day.
I notice many of them—if not all—make faces at his leather jacket. A few compliment Harrington on such a handsome and mature son. Damian grunts at that.
“Just doing the BS,” he whispers to me.
Some people are curious about me, but when Damian tells them I’m a friend from school, they don’t care anymore. I swear I hear some mumbling that I’m his charity case and it’s so kind of him to invite an underprivileged girl to his mom’s party.
Ugh. I see why Damian said he was in hell.
Everyone talks and laughs until it’s time for dinner. I follow Damian to the head table, where he, his mom, and some other close friends sit. Damian doesn’t seem to have any grandparents, or at least none of them are here.
The servers bring out the food, and even though I kind of ate a lot, my appetite just grows. I feel like I can eat a horse and I’ll still be hungry. The first course is fish. Some fancy one that I’ve never eaten or heard of before.
“I’m nervous to taste it,” I whisper to Damian.
He makes a face at it, too. “They fancied it up so much it doesn’t even look edible.”
Harrington is laughing with her friends, but when she sees me and Damian fussing over the fish, she gives her son a look.
I don’t know the background of their relationship, but anyone can tell those two don’t really like each other. I wonder why. I also wonder why the principal is so hard on him. Damian is a good guy. He’s so sweet and kind. Does she even know her son?