“Yeah, what?” she said sleepily.
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Bailey, can you come get me? I don’t think I have enough cash for a cab.”
“Irelyn?” she whispered. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“No, I’m fine, really. I just, I’m having coffee at the diner near the bar. Can you come get me?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” she said and hung up.
I returned to the counter and sipped my coffee, praying Lucas wouldn’t wake up only to find me gone. I didn’t want him to come looking for me. I didn’t want to explain that I didn’t do these sorts of things. I didn’t want to explain that I had a boyfriend. I didn’t want to explain that my grandparents definitely would not approve.
Mostly, I didn’t want him to talk me into going back to the apartment with him.
Bailey found me fifteen minutes later. I paid my bill and hurried her out of the diner. Once we were buckled safely in her car and on the road, I sank into the seat. “Thank you.”
“What happened?” she demanded. “I saw you leave with Lucas but I never expected you to stay the night with him. I tried to call your cell but you didn’t answer. His brother told me that Lucas thought you were cute and just wanted to talk to you.”
“Bailey,” I said, interrupting her. “He didn’t do anything I didn’t want him to do,” I admitted with blazing cheeks. “He gave me the chance to back out.”
Bailey grinned as her hands relaxed on the wheel. “Well, then, how was it?”
“Amazing,” I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut. I rested my head against the cool window and forced away images of Lucas and me writhing on the bed.
“What?” she asked. “What’s the problem?”
“I have a boyfriend, remember? What the hell am I supposed to tell him?”
“Nothing,” she snorted. “Not a damn thing. Do you think he’s being faithful to you?”
“Yes,” I said without hesitation. “He loves me. And I love him.”
“Exactly,” she said. “You love him and you slept with someone else.”
“Bailey, I don’t want to talk about it right now,” I pleaded. “I just want to get to the dorms and get some sleep. I have to go home in the morning. Well, this morning.”
“Okay, Irelyn,” she said. “And we’ll keep this between us. But, um, Morgan kind of figured out what you were up to, also.”
“Just you two know, right?” I asked. She nodded and I closed my eyes, minutely relieved. The next problem was facing my mother and hiding my guilt. I’d have to distract her somehow.
A slow smile spread across my lips as my eyes eased open. I turned fully toward Bailey.
She lifted a brow. “What?”
“How would you and Morgan like to spend the weekend at my house?”
***
“Oh, this is going to be so fun,” my mother gushed as I pushed Bailey and Morgan into the house. “I hope you girls brought something nice to wear – we have to have dinner with my parents at the country club tonight but after that – it’s party time!”
I groaned as I dropped my bag on the living room floor and surveyed my roommates. Amusement sparkled in Bailey’s eyes as a tiny smirk lurked in the corners of her mouth. She nodded at my mother and produced a slinky red dress from her bag.
“Will this do, Ms. Colby?”
Mom’s eyes brightened as she eyed the garment. “Oh, it’s perfect! I wish my Irelyn would wear dresses like that and show off her figure.”
“Don’t start, Mom,” I said.
“At what country club will we be dining?” Morgan asked with a concise, polite tone. Obviously, she’d paid more attention to her parents’ lessons on manners than Bailey.
“Whispering Winds,” Mom said and rolled her eyes. “It’s nothing but a fancy place for stuffy people to meet and brag about how much money they have. But, my parents insist on us having dinner with them every weekend. They like to keep up with what’s going on with Irelyn and Tommy.”
“Where is Tommy?” I asked as I peered around the living room.
Mom’s eyes sparkled as she clapped her hands in delight. “Piano lessons! Oh, Irelyn, his music teacher called and told me that he is an absolute genius on the piano! We arranged for lessons immediately and he loves it!”
I beamed, heart pumping happily. I hoped this new development would bring a little joy to Tommy’s life and give him something to concentrate on besides his fastidious room and his obsession over cartoons. “When will he be home? I want him to meet my friends.”
“Not for another hour or so,” she said. “Why don’t you show the girls your room?”
***
Bailey attracted quite a bit of male attention – both young and old – as we followed my mother through the club’s dining room to the table where my grandparents were already seated. Her red dress clung to her hips and hung above her knee while revealing enough cleavage to cause eyes to linger.
Tommy had taken an instant liking to her and clutched her hand, much to her amusement. I was a little concerned that her crass attitude would frighten him but her eyes gentled so uncharacteristically when she shook his hand, it made my heart warm.
Morgan walked beside me looking lovely in a light green dress with a modest neckline and hem. Her hair was held back with clips that matched her dress and teardrop diamond earrings sparkled in her lobes.
I plodded along in one of the many dresses my grandmother sent me – dresses appropriate for a young lady to wear. It was blue and expensive and not very flattering but I wore it anyway just to please my grandparents.
As I’d watched my friends dress, I had wished for something a little more flashy and trendy – something that would make people notice me as Irelyn and not the Colby’s granddaughter. But then, that would be too much like my mother and I couldn’t lose sight of my ambition to not turn out like her.
I introduced my friends to my grandparents and it was immediately obvious which one they preferred. They were polite enough to Bailey – especially when she explained her father owned a chain of high-priced department stores in the US and overseas and had an entire wing at Dunne-Browling named after them. A twinge of pity struck my heart for my poor grandfather – he only had a section of the library named after him.
Cocktails were being served but Bailey refrained from ordering anything alcoholic, much to my relief. As the conversation around the table turned to college life, my grandmother smiled as she nodded over my shoulder. When I turned, I found a grinning Dustin rolling on the balls of his feet. My heart fell and gasped as it wondered what to do. I gaped at him, hoping he couldn’t see my indiscretion in my eyes.
Bailey kicked my shin, effectively shaking me out of my stupor. I returned Dustin’s smile as I got to my feet to hug him and kiss his cheek. My grandparents were watching and they simply abhorred displays of affection in public.
“I, um, thought you weren’t coming home this weekend?” I asked.
He cupped my cheek as his lips turned in the corners. “I couldn’t stay away from you for that long.”
My guilty heart cursed me and decided to turn on the waterworks. Tears prickled behind my eyes but I bit the inside of my cheek to keep them at bay. “That’s wonderful,” I managed to utter and sound nearly sincere. “My friends are here. Um, I’d like you to meet them.”
I introduced him to Bailey and Morgan as Morgan scooted over to allow Dustin the chair next to me. He held my hand under the table, politely answering my grandparents’ questions: No, his parents were not dining at the club tonight – they had theater tickets. Yes, classes were going well and he was enjoying college in Chicago.
I studied his profile as he spoke, turning his charming smile on my grandmother. I’d met him my sophomore year of high school after my grandparents, who had never shown any interest in me before, discovered that I actually had a brain and it was quite intelligent. They immediately enrolled me at St. Catherine’s, a pristine and exclusive private school.
My mother, being stubborn and full of pride, didn’t have the money the other students’ parents did. My mother refused to accept any money from my grandparents – although she would not turn down their offer of a better education for me. Other than that, she chose to work and earn her own way. I was quite proud of that. But my peers frowned at it and looked down their surgically enhanced noses at me.
I definitely hadn’t fit in at all.
I’d studied and kept to myself until one cold, icy day, I fell in the parking lot, dumping the entire contents of my backpack. Dustin appeared and instead of laughing, he helped me collect my belongings then eased me off the ground. From that moment on, I had one friend at St. Catherine’s. It wasn’t until midway through our junior year that he admitted his feelings and we started dating. My grandmother was ecstatic and my grandfather approved. Dustin’s father was a successful attorney with a clean reputation. Dustin would make a wonderful addition to our family.
Mom liked Dustin, too, but she wasn’t ‘in love’ with him like my grandparents. As I listened to him speak, my thoughts floated away to Lucas and I wondered what Mom would think of him…
“Irelyn?” Dustin asked.
“Huh?” I said as heat flooded my cheeks. “I’m sorry, I was…um…thinking about an assignment.”
He smiled gently as he squeezed my hand. “It’s Saturday night – time to relax and not think about school. I ordered the chicken for you, is that okay?”
“It’s fine,” I said, banishing all thoughts of Lucas away. How dare I let him in my head while I was sitting next to my wonderful boyfriend! What was wrong with me?
After dinner, the five piece band began to play softly and Grandfather led Grandmother out to the dance floor. I stifled a groan. Dustin would be expected to dance with me.
“Tommy, do you dance?” Bailey asked.
Tommy considered her, wide-eyed, and shook his red head. “I don’t know how.”
“I can show you,” she said as she gently coaxed him to the dance floor. My mother beamed.
“Come, sweetheart,” Dustin said as he took my hand.
He wrapped his arms around me properly, holding me appropriately as he swayed his body in time to the music. His touch was warm and familiar and … boring. I longed for him to break the rules – to tug me closer while his breath warmed my neck and shoulder. I wanted him to whisper in my ear how much my closeness affected him.
He didn’t. He wouldn’t. Dustin Summerlin always abided by the rules.
“Sorry I didn’t let you know I’d be here,” he said as his eyes swept my face. “I wanted to surprise you.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I like surprises.”
“I know you do,” he said with an adorable smirk. “That’s why I booked us a room at that little bed and breakfast you said you always wanted to visit.”
My eyes grew as a little color touched my cheeks. “Dustin, my friends are staying at my house tonight,” I said, glancing at my grandparents to make sure they couldn’t hear our conversation.
“I know,” he frowned. “Sort of blows the whole surprise, huh?” I nodded apologetically. He kissed my cheek. “I’ll reschedule, don’t worry.” He eased back to look at me, his eyes dark and his brow low. “Are you feeling all right? You’ve been awfully quiet tonight.”
I forced a smile. “I told you, I’ve been thinking about an assignment that is due next week. I haven’t even started on it yet.”
“Stop worrying about it,” he said. “Enjoy your weekend home with your friends. Worry about school on Monday.” The song ended and he wrapped an arm around my waist. “I’m going to head over to a friend’s house but I’ll call you tomorrow.”
My cell phone! He couldn’t call my cell phone. I was pretty sure that I’d lost it in Spencer’s apartment but I wasn’t sure who had it or if it was still lying on the floor. “Um, I misplaced my phone so I’ll have to call you, okay?”
He paused momentarily before removing his arm from my waist to clutch my shoulders. “Do you know where you lost it? Or do you think it’s gone for good? I can get you a new one.”
“That’s not necessary,” I said trying to smile. “I think I left it in one of my classes. I’ll get it this week.”
Doubt flickered in his eyes and gave my heart a mild panic attack. Could he see my lies? Did he realize what an awful, evil person I was? “Okay, sweetheart, but if you don’t find it, let me know and I can get you a new one.”
I knew better than to object for when it came to gifts, Dustin was both generous and persistent. “Sure.”
He bid his goodnights to everyone and I excused myself to walk him to the doors. He yanked me outside away from the windows and pressed his lips firmly against mine. Startled, I clutched his shoulders, not used to such force from him, but somewhat pleased.
He ripped his lips from mine, a satisfied smirk covering his mouth. “That’s what I needed. Call me when you can and quit stressing over school. I’ll see you next weekend.”
“Okay,” I said as I fingered my lips. I watched him disappear in the parking lot before returning to the dining room.
That night, I huddled in a sleeping bag on the living room floor between Morgan and Bailey. My room was too small to accommodate us all so we were forced to camp out downstairs.
“Bailey, I lost my phone Friday night,” I said as soon as my mother drifted up the stairs to her own bedroom. “I lost it in the apartment.”
She laughed and folded her arms behind her head. “Well, guess you’ll have to get it back.”
I groaned and fell to my pillow, grinding my teeth. “I can not go back there.”
“Sure you can,” Morgan piped in. “Lucas doesn’t live there, Spencer does. Just knock on the door and ask Spencer if he found your phone.”
I gnawed on my bottom lip. “I could do that.”
Bailey chuckled in the dark and I turned my head, barely able to make out her features. “Do you actually think Lucas would leave the phone there?” she asked.
“Why not?” Morgan asked.
Bailey propped her head on her hand. “Well, if it was as good as Irelyn said it was, then he’ll want to see her again. Therefore, Lucas probably has the phone. He won’t want Spencer or anyone else to give it to her.”
“Oh, this is so not good,” I whined. “I don’t want to see him again.”
“Oh, cheer up, Irelyn,” Bailey said. “What’s the big deal? They play at Rusty’s every Friday night during the fall and winter. You go down there and ask him for your phone. He can’t very well convince you to sleep with him in a crowded bar.”