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Unease stirs within me. Alcohol and fun? Here, tomorrow? Is he planning what I think he is...?
"Oh, you know, bring the usual—Grey Goose, Dom Pérignon, that fruity jungle juice shit Alex makes that blacks out half your night, a couple bottles of Don Julio, margarita mix, some Upper East Side girls..."
He laughs again as annoyance burns down my center. Whether my reaction stems from hearing him mention other girls, or because he basically confirmed my suspicions, is unclear. But I'm telling myself it's the latter.
Denial is one helluva drug.
I shake my head, listening to him spout off more details, which clearly breach our contract, until I'm blistering with anger, spewing steam from my ears.
"... yep, we'll be at it till sundown. Plenty of time for you and Sasha to get well acquainted, if you know what I mea—"
"You're not throwing a party here!" I storm out of the pantry, making it all but three steps before I freeze, snapping a hand to my lips.
Hayden's mouth hangs ajar, words failing him as he stares at me, eyes wide like saucers, until his lips curl into a wicked grin. "I'll call you back."
Uh, oh. Twisting on my heel, I beeline it straight toward my bedroom—
"Why not? This is my house."
I grind to a halt. Why not...? WHY NOT? I whip back around. "Uhh, maybe because it's in our contract," I spit, my finger slicing through air, toward the paper taped to the fridge.
"Contract? What contract...?" Mischief emerges in his eyes as he rubs his chin, effectively cranking the dial on my blood pressure. He looks behind him. "Ohhhh, yes. That thing."
"That thing has your name signed at the bottom, or did you forget?"
"Hmmmm. I do see that." He clucks his tongue.
"And what about rule number five? Do you see that?"
Both parties agree not to throw a party or use illegal substances in the shared residence, I recite in my head, just as I could all the other rules.
"I do. But I also see number one."
"What of it?"
He faces me, letting the sun strike his features, which are so beautiful they physically cause me pain. Mostly because I'm mentally replaying all the sounds he overheard the other night, wishing I could sell my soul just to rewind time or wipe his memories of the incident.
"Well, it says we have to act like a couple around my friends. Sorry to break it to you, baby, but my friends like to party."
"Bring me to a different one, then. It doesn't have to be here."
"I throw a party on the first Saturday of every month. Haven't skipped the tradition in two years. They'll suspect something's off if I don't."
I nibble on my lip, feeling as though I'm caught in quicksand. "Jeremy might come over. We can't risk it."
His response is immediate. "He's out of town this weekend."
"No, he's..."
Wait a minute. I recall our conversation weeks prior, when he blabbered on about some tech conference he had just bought tickets for. I do the mental math, avoiding Hayden's cocky gaze. Is that this weekend...?
My face falls.
"Don't you worry that pretty head of yours." He takes a considerable step closer, then another, swiping a hand through his unruly locks, stealing my any hope of a rebuttal. "It's just a little gathering."
Little... gathering...
"Oh, and while we're on the topic of showing you off, I think it's time we get you some new clothes."
