I exhale and walk away, only to halt in my tracks when Gemma and Alec walk through the door.
I go lightheaded for a minute. The room spins as the axis rights itself. She’s here and she looks sinfully hot.
Gemma’s wearing black leather pants and a slinky gold top with slits at the shoulders. Her hair frames her face. She has a confident expression as she stares down everyone who looks her way. Including me.
She’s a walking temptation.
My mind goes blank except for a single blaring thought: I screwed up.
Thirty-One
Gemma
My bravado lasts five whole minutes once we arrive at the party.
What the hell am I doing?
People look me up and down, judgement plain as day in their eyes. I’m not welcome here. I feel it in the air as Alec nudges me in the house.
I battle against regret and the discomfort of being surrounded by loud music and flowing booze as people enjoy themselves with abandon.
Marissa shoots daggers at me from across the room, where she and Carter stand. She speaks in Carter’s ear and a dopey grin crosses his face as he bobs his head in agreement. I feel sorry for her. The drama she thrives on in high school will leave her ill-prepared for real life when we graduate.
Alec leans in to be hear
d over the music. “You’re strong, Gem. Show them all.”
He pats me on the back and the regret slides away.
That’s right. I came here to prove a point. I give him a firm nod.
I allow Alec to pull me in with the other dancers and after a few songs I get into wiping the floor with better dance moves than him. We laugh at his go-to move.
Elena joins us, wildly cheering, “Turner twins!”
“Hey, Elena!” Alec has a secret handshake with her. “Show us what you’ve got.”
The three of us dance in a lopsided circle. Having a good time with them helps chase away the lingering effects of the party atmosphere on my psyche, holding the bad memories at bay as I make new ones.
A few brave guys approach, but Alec has my back. He stares them down and shoos them away when they try to dance up on me. I let go, focusing on enjoying myself. The music flows through me, lifting my spirits.
The only person at the party that hasn’t directly acknowledged my presence after an hour is Lucas. But I can feel the weight of his gaze on me, trailing me every time I walk through the room.
He had his chance.
Take a good look, I tell him in my head. This is my big fuck you to you.
I take a break from dancing when I’m dying of thirst. I hesitate at the edge of the kitchen, where other students are heavy on their pouring with the alcohol on the island.
“Want one?” The guy brandishes a bottle of rum. “I make the best rum and cokes.”
I shake my head. Slipping around the guy that offered me a drink, I dig through the fridge for a water bottle. There aren’t any left. Lucas must have put them in one of the coolers I saw on the deck.
Sighing, I spin around. Lucas catches my attention. Marissa stands near him, looking like the cat with the cream. He’s not talking to her, though. He seems lost in thought, an unhappy tilt to his mouth.
I decide to go back to find Alec and Elena, weaving through the people crowding to get into the kitchen. The party is packed.
Elena isn’t where I last saw her. Neither is Alec. I frown and search for them. I think that’s her out on the deck, talking to the football player she’s always with. I grab a random person who’s been dancing since we got there.