I’m not sure what to get.
I end up with a big coffee table book on the history of surfing. On the card, I write,
Surfing’s come a long way and so have you. I’m proud of all you’ve accomplished in such a short time. Happy Birthday, B. Love, Keats.
Next I decide on a Vuitton passport cover and add another note.
So your passport looks as good as your luggage.
The last gift I order is a Sector 9 skateboard with an ocean wave design.
For when you’re not on the water.
After getting all that taken care of, I close my eyes and start devising a new plan.
Different kinds of love.
5:30pm
Aiden carries my bags to my dorm, kisses me on the porch, then goes to unpack.
I open the door to my room, still trying to figure out how I’m going to fight Vincent from here, and interrupt Katie and Bryce making out on her bed.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I say, as Katie pulls her shirt down and Bryce fumbles with his pants. “Um, I’m just dropping off my bags! Talk to you later!” I drop my bags, shut the door, and decide to head over to the boys’ dorm to see if Dallas or Riley are back. I need a big hug from both of them.
As I walk the short distance to the dorm, I realize it’s freaking cold out and I’m not wearing a coat. I wrap my arms around myself and run as fast as I can in my sandals.
I rush down the hall and almost run into Dawson coming out of his room.
“You think you’re still on vacation? You must be freezing in that dress.”
“Yeah, well, Bryce and Katie were kinda busy in my room, so I didn’t get to change.”
He grabs my arm and pulls me into his room. “I always end up giving you my sweatshirts,” he says as he throws one at me.
“Thank you. How was your break?” I ask while pulling it over my head.
“I think I should be asking you that. I heard about Aiden showing up.”
“Yeah, that was a surprise. And an even bigger surprise that I let him come with me.”
Dawson pulls his sweatshirt strings in a familiar way, bringing me face to face with him. “You look hot. Tan and hot. But stressed. Still not getting any?”
I back away a little. “I’m not answering that question.”
He shrugs. “You don’t have too. I already know the answer.”
“You going to offer to take care of my stress?”
He smirks at me. “Actually, no.”
“Really? Did you meet someone or something?”
“Kinda. Someone I already knew. She was at our club this weekend. Her boyfriend broke up with her and she was upset.”
“Did you heal her broken heart?”
“From the inside out,” he says with a laugh, pulling me to sit on his bed with him.
I lean against his headboard, bring my knees up to my chest, and pull the sweatshirt down over them. “Really?”
“No,
not
really. She was too upset. It’s funny because it kinda reminded me of when we talked at the Cave that first night.”
“I wanted to fix your broken heart.”
“You did. So aren’t you gonna ask me about her?”
I grab his hands like I would one of my girlfriends, bounce on the bed, and giggle. “Yes, tell me all about her.”
“So this is what you’re resorting to?” Jake says, walking in through the bathroom. “Good thing I’m back so we can talk about all the dirty details.”
“Jake! I missed you! But I’m finally warm, so you’ll have to come over here and give me a hug.”
Jake waves his hands in the air, runs over to the bed on his tiptoes, and says in a high-pitched voice, “Monroe! I missed you too, girl. Did you and Aiden make whoopee yet?”
Dawson and I both laugh. “We’re discussing Dawson’s love life, not mine.”
“So does that mean you told her about Brooke?”
“Brooke?! Really? When she was going to wear your jersey, you told me she was practically married.”
Dawson raises his eyebrows. “Apparently, she was more married than he was. She thought they were going to have an amazing Thanksgiving reunion, but he stopped by her house, said he wanted to break up, and left.”
“Oh, that’s horrible, but I can totally relate. One night my ex took me out for a fancy dinner. I thought he was going to ask me out, but instead he told me he was leaving.”
“Girls always think things are more serious than they are,” Jake states with a roll of his eyes.
“Well, maybe if guys wouldn’t tell girls they love them when they don’t really love them that wouldn’t be an issue.”
“There’s lots of different kinds of love,” Dawson teases.
“And for most of you, it’s the kind of love that wants in their pants.”
“That’s why I never tell girls I love them,” Jake stresses.
“You’ve never told a girl that? But you’re so romantic—well, when you want to be.”
“That’s because I’m a good actor,” he says. “Of course, I can play that part. Speaking of that. I broke the news to my parents that I’m going to NYU. Got the acceptance letter and everything. Me and Dawes both.”
“That’s where you’re going, too? I’m so proud of you,” I say to Dawson.
He gives me a sweet grin. And I know that Jake is absolutely right. There are lots of different kinds of love. And I do love Dawson. Jake too, for that matter. “Tell me about Brooke.”
“Well, we kissed,” he says, actually looking happy about it.
“
Just
kissed?”
“Yeah.”
“Whitney and Brooke don’t really get along well, do they?”
Jake rolls his eyes again, “Uh, no, they don’t. Speaking of that. Does anyone have the scoop on what went down with Chelsea? Is she coming back to school? What she did to you sucked.”
“I heard she’s coming back,” Dawson says. “Brooke said she was worried about how to handle it with the team.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t wanna be one of the head cheerleaders now,” Jake says. “She’s got her work cut out for her.”
“Honestly, the drama might be just what Brooke needs.”
“Why?” Dawson asks.
“Because, it will give her something to focus on besides her boy misery.”
Dawson slaps me on the shoulder and Jake says, “Monroe, I think you missed a step. Dawes wants to be the thing she focuses on.”
“Oh, well, good for you.”
“You’re not jealous?” Dawson says with a grin.
“I am so, so jealous. But I will try to hide my grief.”
I realize that, in a way, I’m kinda like Brooke. Eastbrooke might be just the thing to distract me, too.
When Dallas and Riley walk through the door, I’m very glad I’m back. I would have missed them terribly.
“Dallas! What did you do to your hair?”
Dallas rubs his buzz cut. “You know everyone at home thinks I’m at military school, right? So I got buzzed on the plane.”
I hop up and run my hand across it while he gives me a hug. “You look cute. Older. I like it.”
“Well, here’s hoping the female population of Eastbrooke echoes that sentiment, because there are eight newly single varsity cheerleaders that may require my attention.”
I give Riley a big hug and he whispers in my ear, “I want to hear about your trip.”
Dallas overhears him and says loudly, “I think we
all
want to hear about your trip.”
“The Cave it is, then. Tonight.”
Dawson points to my sweatshirt and says, “Bring a coat, Keatie.”
“And here I was gonna suggest she bring some hotties,” Jake says with a laugh.
“Oh, that too,” Dallas agrees. “That too.”
“Wouldn’t they expect us to party tonight?”
Jake thinks about it. “Hmm, maybe we should wait a day or two.”
“Sounds good,
prefect.
I’ll see you all later.”
Riley accompanies me upstairs while Dallas stays in Dawson’s room to bullshit some more.
“So you and Aiden worked things out?”
“Yeah. I hear that’s partially because of you.”
He shrugs. “I figured I owed him since I broke his nose. Did he do the dirt?”
“Yeah, he did.”
Riley shakes his head. “Why? I told him it was the dumbest thing ever.”
“Because he knew I’d love it. I was going to make him leave until he gave me the dirt.”
“Girls . . .” he says, laughing and shaking his head again.
“Speaking of girls,” I interrupt him. “How’s Ariela?”
“I miss her like crazy but, thankfully, she’ll be back soon. I want to change my shirt and stuff before she gets here.”
“I’m surprised you don’t want to greet her shirtless.”
“Naw, I want her to rip it off me.”
When we get to Aiden’s door, he bangs on it, and says in a girly voice, “Aiden, open up. I wanna fuck.”
And then runs down the hall to his room.
My hand is still up in the knock position when a sexy voice startles me. “Bonjour.”
“Aiden, where did you come from?”
“Logan’s room.” He points to the door between his room and the stairs. “Maggie is in there, unless,
you know
, you need my services now,” he jokes.
“You know that was Riley.” I laugh.
“Did you get unpacked?”
“No. Bryce and Katie were, uh, getting reacquainted in my room. I just dropped my bag and left.”
“Where have you been?”
“I was on my way up here, but Dawson pulled me into his room.”
Aiden clenches his back teeth, his jaw tightening. “I see.”
“Aiden, he’s my friend. And he was telling me about his weekend. And Jake was there, and then Dallas and Riley showed up.”
“Well, I’m glad you ended up here.”
“Does that mean you’re gonna let me in your room?”
He gives me a forced grin. “Only if you take off Dawson’s sweatshirt first.”
I look down, remembering I have it on. “Better he give me his sweatshirt than offer to warm me up himself, right?”
Aiden pushes his hands under the sweatshirt, purposefully running them up my sides. As he strips the sweatshirt off me, it pulls my dress up in the front and gives Aiden a flash of my thong.
“Aiden!” I yell, my voice muffled by the thick sweatshirt swaddling my head. It’s dark and I can’t move my arms.
He pulls me into his room, shuts the door, finishes pulling the sweatshirt off, then starts stripping off my dress as he says, “I think I can find a way to keep you warm without a sweatshirt on. Without
anything
on.”
I’ll double it.
12:04am
I’m meeting with Cooper, laying out my plan.
He listens to the whole thing without interruption.
“So, what do you think?”
“If your life weren’t on the line, it’d be a great plan.”
“Well, that’s where you come in. I’d like you to quit working for Garrett and work for me.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. Whatever he’s paying you, I’ll double it.”
He raises an eyebrow at me.
“Fine. I’ll triple it.”
“You suck at negotiation,” he laughs.
“That’s what agents are for,” I laugh in reply.
“Why do you want me to work for you?” He looks at me intently as he leans on his forearms.
“Because I already almost got you fired. And . . . I’m probably going to ask you to help me with some things Garrett may not approve of.”
“You’ve asked me a lot of questions regarding pushing Vincent. Is that part of your plan?”
“Yes.”
“And how do you think that will end?”
I fiddle with the string on Aiden’s hoodie, the one he pulled over my head as I was leaving, hoping Cooper will forget the question.
“Answer me,” he says firmly.
“How do
you
think it will end?” I whisper.
“With one of you dead.”
I nod. “That’s what I think too. And, either way, it’s a win.”
“How is you ending up dead a win?”
“Because if he kills me, I know you’ll get the evidence we need to put him away for life. Which means my family will be free of him. That’s all I want. If I survive, I’ll give you a really big bonus.”
“I don’t want your money, Keatyn. I’d do this for free.”
“I know you would, but your life will be in danger too.”
He says softly, “I won’t let him win.”
“There are a lot of ways it could go down. Lots of different endings to the script.”
“Like what?”
“He kidnaps me, you come get me, and he goes to prison. Or, he kidnaps me, you can’t find me, I escape, and then he goes to prison. Or, he kidnaps me, kills me, and you make sure he either goes to prison for life. Or . . .”