Lucky Break (17 page)

“Speaking of which,” Alex hinted, “SBB, are you ever going to let us out of here?”

“You're right!” SBB gushed. “You're the stars! You have get out there and unveil yourselves immediately!”

The penthouse doors were flung open, and the band to our left picked up their cue to start the drumroll. A spotlight shone right into my eyes, making me freeze temporarily, but the push from SBB told us we had better make our grand entrance … now.

“Good evening.” SBB's voice was heard through a microphone. “May I present to you the reason you are all here at this party tonight. The city's most regal couple is back in business. Ladies and gentlemen, the Prince and Princess of New York!”

I couldn't see anything past the spotlight, but I could feel Alex's hand squeezing mine, and I could hear the initial gasps, followed by the loud cheers and applause from one particular corner of the party. Then I felt the frantic embrace of several pairs of arms and the curtain of some very long hair wrap around me.

The spotlight was lifted, and there were all my friends in a huddle around me. I looked behind me to see all of Alex's friends in a huddle around him, too. Everyone started talking at once.

“Okay, start from the beginning!” Morgan shouted.

“She took you back?” Jason said. “Even after that postcard?”

“Wait, was this whole week a hoax for you two to spend spring break alone?” Xander asked.

“Ahem, ahem,” SBB boomed, back on the mic. “I think I can answer a lot of your questions by bringing out another surprise guest—the lovely and talented Cookie Monsoon!”

Again, a round of gasps flew around the circle. Those Thoney girls always had my back, even when they were slightly behind the gossip. SBB quickly rushed to Cookie's defense.

“Now before you pummel her—please don't
pummel her! Let me explain everything.” She took a deep breath and I wondered how on earth she was going to sum all this up. Cookie was starting to look nervous in the spotlight.

“Long story short,” SBB said. “Kennedy lied. Flan cried. Alex was fooled, and—as it turns out, Cookie rules! Thank you.” She curtseyed. “Okay everyone, as you were. Party on!”

When the band picked up again, and the fringes of the party settled back into a comfortable buzz, my friends were still huddled around me with their jaws dropped.

“It's a long, stupid story, involving a doctored photograph and a series of misunderstandings,” I started to explain. “The upshot is that Alex and I are back, and we're better than ever.”

“I'm so confused,” Camille said. “But you're happy?”

“Happy doesn't even begin to describe it,” I said, glancing back at Alex with a grin. Half of me wanted to blab about the big step we'd taken yesterday at the park, but the other half felt this really special connection to him, just keeping it to myself.

“So wait, are we really allowed to like Cookie Monsoon now?” Morgan asked.

I nodded. “Absolutely.”

“Good.” Amory exhaled. “Because I must know where she got that dress!”

“Omigod,” I said. “Me too. Hey, Cookie!” I called, motioning for her to join our group. “This is Camille, Harper, Amory, and Morgan. And we're all dying to know where you got that amazing dress.”

“Oh, thanks,” Cookie said, doing a modest little twirl. “It's Dries Van Noten. My boyfriend gave it to me for our two-year anniversary.”

“Boyfriend?” I stammered. “Two-year anniversary?”

She laughed. “That's who I was visiting in Australia. I thought you met him at the barbecue. He was sitting right next to me the whole time. Another reason why this whole mistake is so ridiculous.”

I clapped my hand to my forehead and had to laugh. “How self-absorbed was I that night that I didn't even notice you were with another guy?”

“On a self-absorbed scale of one to ten,” a nasty voice hissed behind me, “I'd say you're usually about a fifteen.”

I turned around to see Kennedy and Willa's glaring eyes.

“What are you doing here, Kennedy?” Camille said.

“We were
invited
.” Willa flashed her invitation. “Who's behind this party, anyway?

“And
what
are you doing hanging out with these losers, Cookie?” Kennedy asked.

“I don't get it,” I said, thinking aloud. “Why would SBB have invited you to our party?”

“Right on time!” SBB said, appearing behind Willa and Kennedy with a big grin on her face. “I invited them so I could have the pleasure of throwing them out! If I had to bulk up to bodyguard size, there was no way I was going miss out on doing something I've
always
wanted to do.”

She grabbed Willa by the scruff of her Prada pea-coat. The rest of the crowd stood mesmerized as SBB literally lifted her off the ground. Immediately Willa started kicking and screaming, an unbecoming pose I'd already seen her strike too many times.

“Oh, hush,” SBB cooed. “You're used to getting thrown out of clubs, and you know it never pays to put up a fight.” She turned to glare at Kennedy. “Wait your turn—I'll be back for you.”

When SBB came back to physically haul Kennedy toward the elevators too, SBB's personal bodyguard stepped toward her.

“Can I take them off your hands, Miss Benny?” he said.

“And deny me the pleasure of throwing them out myself? No way!” She laughed.

“This party sucks anyway,” Kennedy belted out as the elevator door closed behind her and her fuming friend.

“Actually,” Cookie said to the remaining partygoers in our bunch, “I think the only thing that sucked about this party just made an exit.”

Alex put his arm around me and jerked his thumb at Cookie. “Oh, she's in.” He laughed. “She's so in with you guys now.”

As usual, Alex was right on point.

“Cookie Monsoon.” I beamed, extending my hand. “Welcome to the in crowd.”

Can I get two cheeseburgers with extra pickles, a coke, and a chocolate milkshake?” Alex said to a very jolly burger flipper at Burger Joint later that night. He turned to me. “Flan, what do you want?”

“All that was just for you?” I laughed.

“Hey.” Alex pinched me. “So I didn't have much of an appetite this week. Obviously I have to celebrate its return with a good old double cheeseburger.”

“I'll join you in celebrating and take two cheese-burgers myself,” Xander piped up from behind us. Camille rolled her eyes but she was smiling.

It was ten fifty-nine on Tuesday night, and we'd made it just in time to catch last call at our favorite hole-in-the-wall burger joint—which was actually a hole in the side of the very fancy Parker Meridien Hotel.

SBB's mystery party wound down a little early because she had to catch a flight to Belize to support
the kickoff of Jake Riverdale's South American tour for his new album,
River
. But the last hangers-on—me, Alex, Camille, Xander and … wait for it … Cookie—had decided to keep the party going.

It was amazing how immediately Cookie had been absorbed by our crew. After everyone got over the shock that they didn't have to hate her anymore, all it took was one look at her amazing dress, one friendly grin, a few crazy moves on the dance floor, and she was in. The best part was, Camille and I telepathied, homegirl knew how to late-night.

“What's better?” she asked, sticking her head between Camille's and mine. “The chocolate or vanilla milk shake?”

“Chocolate,” Camille said.

“Vanilla,” I said at the same time.

“Think they can make me a black-and-white?” she asked.

“Well, this
is
New York.” I grinned.

Camille sighed contentedly, putting her arms around Xander. “Yes, only in New York can you start the night at the world's swankiest party, watch the world's biggest movie star throw out the world's biggest snobs by their ears, then end up with the world's best friends at the world's best burger joint—and still be home in time for the world's lamest curfew.”

Xander laughed. “If you're ever trying to convince Camille's mom to extend that nasty curfew by a measly half and hour—I'd suggest
not
using the city-that-never-sleeps line. She was not a fan.”

“Aw, Joan means well.” I laughed, thinking back on all the times I'd been a little envious that Camille had one of those hovering-helicopter type of moms. “Remember the year she took us to watch the marathon and got so nervous we'd get trampled by the Nigerian runners that she actually tried to put leashes on us?”

We were cracking up as we took our burgers and shakes over to a booth in the corner. Alex and I shared a secret smile when we slid into the booth where he'd once written our initials on the heavily graffitied wall.

“What's that stars-in-your-eyes look about, Flan?” Camille said, teasing me.

Instead of admitting the embarrassing truth, which was that I was actually resisting the urge to pull out a pen from my bag to draw a heart around our initials, I said, “I guess I've just been thinking what a great night it was, and what an amazing city we live in. Think about it,” I said, looking at my friends. “Between us, we've been all over the world this week—”

“Not Alex,” Xander joked. “He's only been all around the loop in Central Park, moping!”

Alex knocked his friend on the shoulder and tossed a few fries in Xander's milk shake. “That's what you get for making fun of my pain.” He laughed.

“Whatever, dude,” Xander said, slurping up the milk shake and getting it all over his face. “That's how I like my fries anyway.”

“Flan, you were saying?” Cookie interrupted, with that what-we-girls-have-to-put-up-with shake of her head.

Again, Camille and I exchanged telepathic glances. This girl was so like us, it was ridiculous.

“I was just saying, we've been all over the world—except for Alex.” I patted his knee. “And I'm pretty sure we can still safely say there is no place like home.”

A round of nods from Xander, Camille, and Cookie backed me up.

“That fancy French waiter looked at me like I was insane when I tried to dip my frites in my milk shake at his fancy French bistro,” Xander said.

“And even though seeing Jade Moodswing's atelier in Paris was life changing—I think I can wait till she reopens her Chelsea shop this summer.”

“The only complaint I have about this city is that until last week, I was hanging out with some pretty bad company,” Cookie said, sounding more serious
than I'd heard her. “But”—she quickly grinned—“something tells me that's not going to be a problem anymore.”

I gave Cookie a big grin just as I felt Alex take my hand under the table.

“So,” he said, “if you think New York's the place to be, maybe I shouldn't give you the gift I picked up today.”

I looked at Camille and Xander, whose eyes both dropped down to their burgers, evidence that they were already in on whatever Alex had planned.

“What do you mean?” I asked quickly. “That's not fair!”

“Are you sure you want it, city girl?” he asked.

I bobbed my head, unable to stop grinning at him.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a white envelope with my name on it. I slit it open and pulled out the card. On the outside was a picture of a pug and a Pomeranian nuzzling noses. OMG, I hadn't even
told
him about Noodles and Frances—who, by the way, had a doggie date next week. We were totally meant to be!

“Are you gonna open it or what?” Camille said.

Whoops. I opened the card, which said,
Let's never fight again.
And at the bottom, in Alex's hand, were those three thrilling words:
I love you—Alex.

I was so focused on the note that I almost didn't notice the gift card inside. It was to McNally Jackson, my favorite independent bookstore on Prince Street. I'd spent whole afternoons browsing their shelves, and their café had the best blueberry scones in SoHo, but I was still a little confused. What did he mean about New York City?

“I couldn't stop thinking these past few days about how excited you were when you planned the GPA,” Alex explained. “You made that
Guinness Book of World Records
–size binder and everything. And it stunk that you didn't get to see the payoff.” He shrugged. “So I thought you could go to McNally and pick out some new travel books … because maybe you should start planning the weekend getaway I'm taking you on.”

My jaw dropped. “Are you kidding?” I turned to Camille. “Is he kidding?”

“No way—and we're all going. Memorial Day weekend. All you have to do is pick the place and say jump, and we'll be on the plane.”

“Oh my God, I get to pick the place?”

“That's the idea.” Alex nodded.

“Because I have
always
wanted to go to Budapest. I hear they have this castle that's bigger than Central Park, and pierogies—you know I love pierogies!”

“This from the girl who was just raving that there's no place like New York,” Xander teased.

“So you like your gift?” Alex asked, still squeezing my hand.

“Love,” I said softly. “I love … my gift.”

“What do you say, Cookie?” Camille said, swallowing the last bite of Xander's burger. “Are you in?”

“I say,” Cookie said with a grin. “I say … Budapest or Bust!”

“Wow,” I said. “I think you just gave us the anagram for our next trip: BOB!”

My instinct was to whip out my iPhone and start a preliminary notepad for BOB, but when Alex leaned across the table to kiss me on the cheek, I decided against scheming for the future and settled on swooning in the present.

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