Chapter 24 Over at Eighteen #2
Besides, Preston and Devlin had both been chasing Crystal Dolce, and yes, maybe I was a little petty.
I knew I couldn’t be with Preston, but it still hurt to see him chasing another girl.
When he looked at me like I’d punched him in the gut, I was spitefully glad.
He’d had plenty of threesomes in high school, ones I’d had to hear about for years when he shared girls with Colt or when he slept with two girls at once. Now he knew how it felt.
And Devlin… He looked at me like I was a disappointment, like he’d expected me to chase him forever.
Like he couldn’t believe his sweet little future wife had now done something so reckless, like he thought I was a slut now that I’d been with someone else.
Well, fuck him. He didn’t want me. What right did he have to judge me?
Even though I knew it wouldn’t go anywhere since the Dolce twins were way too young for me, I still dated them for a month or so afterwards, just to prove a point.
More than anything, I wanted to show people I wasn’t what they thought.
That I was more than the Darling Doll, more than a predictable cow trotting down the chute.
I could surprise people. I could do exciting things, daring things.
I could get a guy even after I dumped Devlin Goldenboy Darling.
In fact, I could get two, even if we kept things casual.
I wasn’t the only one defying expectations that fall.
I certainly didn’t expect to finally find a friend in Crystal Dolce once I’d stopped resenting her for captivating Devlin in a way I never had.
Oddly, my friendship with her made me finally let go of Devlin and realize he deserved more than my love—he deserved to love someone else that way, too.
I’d parted ways with the twins by the time Christmas rolled around that year.
I was single and finally ready to move on for good.
I’d gotten my little rebellion out of my system, but instead of satisfying me, it opened my eyes to what else was out there.
It made me want to go bigger, to do something more daring than juggling two guys at once.
That was small-town gossip fodder, high school rumor mill worthy.
I wanted to do something big with my life, something worthy of note beyond our school or even our town. Something worthy of Destiny.
I craved approval, though. I wanted to be important to someone, but I still wasn’t ready to give my heart again.
I was still floundering on what I wanted when the annual Darling New Year’s Eve party rolled around that year.
Despite breaking up with Devlin, I was invited by default, being the mayor’s daughter and all.
Everyone from the Darlings’ circle at school came.
All the Darlings came, even Lindsey, who went to Faulkner High.
Her boyfriend and a few of his friends came.
Some college kids came, mostly those from founding families but also the upper crust students at Thorncrown U and Dixon, the two local colleges.
Once the Darling cousins arrived and the party really started, we sat together at a corner table next to the wall of windows overlooking Grampa Darling’s garden on the east wing of his manor.
Lindsey and her boyfriend Chase sat with us, and my little cousin Dixie, who I’d also become friends with, joined us.
We drank champagne and hung out for a bit.
Then Preston, Colt, and Dixie went off to the Den of Iniquity.
Devlin offered me a sympathetic smile, which did not help.
We both knew what Preston was doing in there, even if we didn’t know who he’d be doing it with.
I had given him his freedom, though. I’d even dated other guys.
I couldn’t keep him from hooking up with other girls if I wasn’t ready to be with him.
He’d pretty much told me point blank that he was mine the moment I said the word, even when I’d told him I didn’t want that.
In truth, I did, though. As I drank my second glass of champagne, I started to forget why I couldn’t have him.
Now that Devlin had a girlfriend, the town had softened towards me, even if I’d never be the golden girl again.
At least I wasn’t universally despised anymore.
If they saw Devlin moving on, couldn’t I do the same?
I knew that Devlin was never coming back to me, even if our parents didn’t know it yet.
They might not have accepted it, but I had. I was ready.
The realization made something bubble up inside me, all sweet and sparkly like the champagne in my glass.
I had to hold back a giddy grin at the thought.
I’d had my little rebellion with the twins, but I knew that was temporary.
Now I was ready for something more permanent, something of my own.
Something I’d chosen instead of following the path my parents had laid out for me.
The best part was there was no hesitation in my mind, no fear.
I knew Preston wanted me. It was the most freeing, exhilarating feeling I’d ever known.
“I’m going to go find Preston,” I told Devlin, rising from my chair. He was frowning down at his phone. We weren’t allowed to bring phones into the party, but of course, he was a Darling, so he could do anything he wanted.
“Why?” he asked, glancing up briefly. I could tell he wasn’t really paying attention.
“I think… I think I love him.”
Devlin stood and pocketed his phone. “Hold onto that thought,” he said. “We’ve got a situation with the Dolces. I’ll bring him right back.”
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Without answering, he strode past a silver-booted stripper on her pole and other people dancing in the long ballroom with one wall of windows and the other of mirrors. He ducked into the Den of Iniquity. A minute later, he emerged with Preston and Colt, and they all left.
“What’s going on?” I asked, turning to Lindsey.
“I don’t know,” she said, leaning into Chase’s shoulder.
She was the kind of thin that had always made me jealous, delicate and petite, almost waifish.
But now she looked gaunt, like she’d lost far too much weight to be healthy.
I knew her and Preston’s family was having a lot of trouble with the Dolces, but he hid his stress so much better.
Now I wondered how much he was suffering without telling me.
When he came back, I was going to grab him before he could go back into that sleazy room.
I didn’t care what he’d been doing, though I wasn’t going to sleep with him the same night he’d probably been inside some other girl.
Tonight, we’d just talk. I’d tell him how I felt, how I’d always felt, really.
That I’d always known there was something there, but I’d been too afraid to explore it, to let it grow deeper.
I was tired of denying myself what I really wanted—to take a chance, at least, and see where it led.
I wasn’t in love with him yet, but that was because I’d never given him the chance.
Maybe if I did, I would grow to love him even more than Devlin.
Because Preston wouldn’t hold back his love, wouldn’t treat me like I wasn’t enough.
I was enough for him, but not too much. I was just the right amount.
I’d probably had a bit more than the right amount of champagne by then, but I was happy and sure of my decision. Maybe we’d burn out spectacularly, but at least we’d know. We’d shoot our shot, as he said he was doing six months before, the first and last night we spent together.
The memory of what he’d done to me that night, how good it felt, had my head swimming as much as the champagne. My heart was full of exuberant anticipation as I watched the door, waiting for him to come back.
Suddenly, the huge, floor to ceiling wall of windows shattered, and fireworks started rocketing into the room.
People were still dancing, and then they were running and screaming, ducking, hitting the floor, covering their heads.
Streaks of fire shot across the room, loud pops and bangs deafening us.
Smoke billowed in the room, along with the sulfur smell of fireworks.
Cold air streamed in with the slanting rain that was falling outside.
A minute later, the explosions finished, but white smoke still filled the room, choking us.
The door to the east wing opened, and cold air rushed by.
I could barely make out three big guys stepping into the room, and at first my champagne drenched mind thought it was some of the bouncers they hired for the exclusive parties like this.
But then one of them yelled, his voice deep and heavily laced with a New York accent.
“You bitches thought you could throw a party without us?” one of the Dolce boys shouted. “I am the party, bro.”
“What’s happening?” I asked, looking around at all the stunned faces.
“Call it a hostile takeover,” Baron said.
“Look at this,” Royal said, picking up one of the coke trays on a table. “These hicks think they’re fancy with their cute little lines.”
“Give me that,” Duke said, snatching the tray.
He grabbed one of the metal tubes and sucked up line after line like he was breathing air.
He should have been messed up after one line, but he took five or six before shoving the tray at Baron, an insane laugh bubbling out of him.
The twins told me they partied a lot in New York, but these boys were younger than me, and they were snorting cocaine as easy as I’d down the sugar in a Pixie Stick.
“From now on, we’re the kings of this place,” Royal shouted.
“What happened to the Darlings?” Chase asked. He was holding Lindsey, who’d burrowed against his chest, crying into his shirt. Suddenly, I wished Preston was here more than anything, and my heart stopped as I waited for the Dolces to answer. Why hadn’t he come back?