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I stare at the thing, shoved down along a spit as it roasts over a fire. The theme of tonight’s party is a Hawaiian luau. There are palms everywhere, brightly colored decorations, and I even have a lei around my neck. Fortunately, Henry gave it to me, so I didn’t have to suffer through any lame “hey, wanna get lei’d” jokes from any of the guys.
“It’s gonna be good,” Carter says, practically licking his lips. “Seriously, look at that thing.”
“I didn’t realize you were such a carnivore.”
He adjusts his glasses, looking serious. “That pig already died for us, Emily. The least we can do is honor its spirit by eating the fuck out of it.”
I laugh and sip my wine. Carter grins at me and wanders off to get a closer look at the pig.
I blend back into the crowd. There are a lot of people here, even more than normal. I wonder where he found all these people. There are piles of food set up buffet-style next to the pool, and the private beach is full of people, this time with two separate bonfires raging.
I spot Aiden in the crowd and he smiles at me, but before he can come over to talk to me, I disappear behind a group of loudly gesticulating Russian guys in tracksuits. I don’t know why I’m running away from him, but I suddenly feel so guilty about Henry’s offer from earlier.
I didn’t even want to chat with Carter, even when he was being pretty tame. He tried flirting with me, but I didn’t take the bait. I keep thinking about Henry’s offer, and while it’s totally unnecessary, it does show that he’s trying really hard to remedy our relationship.
And here I am, being such a shitty sister. All I need to do is be nice to him, try to get to know him, and not fuck his friends. Instead, I’ve gotten with all of them, and done more than just kiss. I haven’t actually had sex, not yet at least, but we’re building to it. I can feel it deep inside of my core, I’m going to sleep with more than one of them, I just know it. And that’ll be all at once.
I shouldn’t do it, but I want it. I can’t tell what my motivations are, though. Part of me thinks that I’m doing it just because I like the attention, but I actually do like these guys. They’re all different, and yet so much the same. They all make me feel a specific kind of special and happy, and all together they make me feel… complete.
“Excuse me?” A woman’s voice pulls me from my reverie, thick with a Russian accent
I turn over to her. She’s beautiful, tall, and slender, clearly some kind of model. Her hair is pulled back tightly from her face, her green eyes bright and shining, her cheekbones higher than a sky rise.
“Yes?” I ask, feeling clumsy just standing near her.
“I couldn’t help but notice. That man over there, he is staring at you, yes?”
I follow her gaze and spot Daniel at the edge of the crowd. When I meet his eyes, he smirks and nods at me. I quickly look away.
“Looks like it,” I say to her.
“You are, ah… his girlfriend?”
I shake my head. “Not really.”
“I see. And that man, the one over there, near that pig. Is he your man?”
I realize she’s talking about Carter. “No, not him either.”
“Ah,” she says, smiling at me. “And the one you ran from—“
“Are you stalking me?” I ask her, turning red.
She laughs lightly, totally unashamed. I wish I could have even a piece of her audacity and self-confidence. “No, not at all. I simply noticed this thing that is happening to you.”
“What’s that?” I ask her.
“These man, they all want you. Have you ever been wanted like this before?”
I gape at her. “Are you… what?”
She laughs again. “I am sorry. I am not very… how do you say? Subtle?”
“I can see that,” I say.
“It is just, I was so bored, you see. My man over there, Sergei, he is talking with business friends, yes? Very boring, all talk, talk, talk, no time for Nadya. So I watch people, yes?”
I glance at the group of Russian guys. I can’t imagine this beautiful woman is with any of those boring-looking Slavic guys, but they must be pretty important and rich if they’re at this party.
