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"I think I'm going to go in with them," I said, revving the engine. "You staying out here? "
"For a little while," Upton replied. "I'll catch up soon."
I nodded and started toward my friends, zooming over the waves. As I got a bit closer to the shore, I pulled back on the handlebar throttle to decelerate. Nothing happened. I blinked and tried again. Still nothing.
"Stupid ancient Jet Ski," I said under my breath. I tried one more time, but if anything, I seemed to be going faster. My heart started to slam against my rib cage as some rocks flew by me. Rocks meant I was getting dangerously close to land. I had an eerie sense of deja vu. This thing was out of control. Just like Misty had been.
"Reed!" someone shouted behind me. "Slow down!"
Okay. Don't panic. You're in control here, remember? This was not some animal. I just had to turn away from the shore. It had to run out of gas eventually.
I pulled right and there was an awful grinding, clicking sound. The handlebars wouldn't turn. The steering mechanism was locked. I looked up at the beach. My friends were gathered on the sand, looking out at me, alarmed. Noelle waved her hands above her head to warn me, as if I didn't see that I was closing in on them fast.
I could hear shouts, but I couldn't make out what anyone was saying over the roar of the Jet Ski's engine. Sweat broke out under my arms, along my lip, down my back. I was going to hit the shore at top speed. There was nothing I could do to stop. And then, one word managed to make itself heard over all the chaos in my mind.
"Jump!"
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I took a deep breath, stood up on shaky legs, and flung myself off the side of the Jet Ski. My ankle banged against the side of the ski, and a shot of extreme pain blasted all the way up my leg. I bit down on my tongue as I went under and tasted blood as my side slammed into the floor of the ocean.
Damn, the water was shallow. I hadn't realized just how close I was. I shoved myself up and stood, turning around wildly to see the shore. The Jet Ski made an awful whirring sound as it bounced up over the sand, soared across the slim beach area, and slammed into a palm tree. The explosion seemed huge for such a small vehicle--a burst of flame flared hot and instantly died. A monstrous plume of charcoal-colored smoke wafted into the sky, and the tree's trunk was singed black. I looked over at my friends, who were all huddled together at a safe distance from the impact. The second my eyes met Noelle's, she came sprinting toward the water and waded over to me.
"Are you all right?" she asked, grabbing my arms.
My ankle and tongue both throbbed. "Um ... I think so. I think so, yeah."
"What the hell happened? " Kiran asked, catching up. We all waded back to the beach together, where I fell right on my butt in the wet sand, too weak to stand.
"I don't know. It wouldn't slow down. ... It wouldn't turn," I said, staring at the grip marks on my hands from where I'd dug my palms into the handlebars. I looked over my shoulder at the flaming tree, which luckily hadn't taken down any other vegetation with it.
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"Okay . . . that is just one too many near-death experiences for one vacation."
Everyone else was coming into shore by that point, gathering around us to make sure I was okay. Graham and Sawyer were the first to arrive, followed by Upton, who dropped right down next to me and helped me out of my life vest. Finally, Amberly, Paige, Sienna, and Daniel beached their Jet Skis. Daniel ran over and broke through the crowd.
"Reed, thank God. I'm so sorry," he said, out of breath. "I can't imagine what went wrong. I had all the Skis checked by a mechanic. They all got a clean bill of health."
Paige and Sienna hung back, as if they weren't at all interested in my welfare. I could see them through everyone else's legs, whispering behind their hands. I shoved myself off the ground and looked at Daniel.
"Don't worry. I know it's not your fault," I said.
I shoved by him, ignoring his look of confusion, and walked over to the girls. Upton got up and followed after me, as if he was afraid I might suddenly faint and he had to be there to catch me.
"What are you two trying to do, kill me?" I demanded.
Paige and Sienna's jaws dropped in unison. "What?" Sienna asked, her face creased in consternation.
"Reed," Noelle said in a warning tone from behind me. As if anyone could stop me now.
"You're totally insane," Paige spat, looking me up and down.
"Am I? Two days ago, you and Poppy tell me to watch my back, and
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today your brother's Jet Ski goes haywire and I almost die," I blurted, getting right in her face. "Sounds like sane logic to me."
"It sounds to me like your past experiences have made you somewhat of a narcissist," Paige said, not backing down an inch. "Breaking news-. The world does not revolve around Reed Brennan. Not everyone on the planet is out to get you."
I felt a humiliated, angry blush fire up my cheeks and burn my eyes. For a split second I was at a loss for a comeback, which annoyed me even more. But then Noelle stepped up next to me and faced off with Paige.
"You threatened her?" she demanded.
Paige and Sienna both laughed as if they were surprised at being confronted. As if threatening me was so obviously the right thing to do, they couldn't believe Noelle was even questioning it.
"We were pissed about what she and Upton were doing to Poppy, so we showed her her place," Paige explained with a dismissive shrug.
Noelle let out an incredulous noise. "Classic Paige. Always deciding what place we all deserve," she said.
"Well, isn't that the pot calling the kettle black, Noelle?" Paige countered.
Okay. She kind of did have a point there.
"Are you sure you were just rushing to Poppy's defense, Miss Paige? Because I've never seen you defend anyone in your life," Noelle replied, glowering. Paige blinked, and I could see that Noelle had her. "Are you sure you aren't jealous of Reed and Upton, too?"
Daniel walked up behind us at this point, sand kicking up in his
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wake. "Wait a minute, wait a minute. You and Upton?" he said, glancing incredulously between his sister and Upton. She looked away, crossing her arms over her chest. Daniel swallowed hard, looking ill. "My God, dude. Is there anyone you won't defile?"
Noelle and Kiran laughed derisively, which gave me the idea that Daniel was kind of a defiler himself, but I didn't ask. Upton, however, didn't seem to think it was all that funny.
"Back off, Ryan," Upton said. "What I do is none of your concern."
"Actually, it is," Daniel said, his face growing red with anger. "When you screw around with my sister and my friends, you make it my concern."
His hands curled into fists. My heart hit my throat as I suddenly recalled all the things Noelle and the others had said about Daniel at that first lunch at Shutters. Things about freak-outs and destruction of personal property. Destruction of people's faces. And he'd just gone from chill to fighting mad in about two seconds. I wanted to say something to Upton--to make him back down--but before I could, he had stepped closer to Daniel and laughed.
"You're just upset because you were too dull to keep Poppy interested, "he said.
Before I could even blink, Daniel pulled back and punched Upton square across the jaw. A shout of surprise escaped my throat, which was echoed by half a dozen others. Upton whirled around, but he didn't fall. He simply stood up straight again, holding his hand to his cheek. He looked at Daniel and shook his head.
"Very mature response," he said.
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"I've got more where that came from," Daniel replied through his teeth.
"And here we go again," Noelle said in a bored way.
I wanted to scream at her to do something. We couldn't stand there and watch Daniel pummel Upton's gorgeous face.
"Hang on! Hang on!" Dash said, walking over and standing between the two of them. He held out his arms and put some more space between them. "There are a lot of heavy accusations be
ing thrown around, and I think everyone's blowing everything out of proportion."
I took Upton's hand and squeezed it. He looked down at me as if he'd just remembered I was there. Then he smiled over at Daniel. "Dash is right. Everyone's upset. We just let our emotions get the best of us, right, Ryan?"
Daniel snorted like a bull and paced behind his sister and Sienna, as if trying to expend some steam. But he kept throwing these fierce glares at Upton, as if he were planning how, exactly, to rip him to shreds.
The girls weren't kidding. Daniel needed some serious anger management.
"Okay. That's better," Dash said, lowering his arms now that there was some distance between the two combatants. "Let's all just take a second to calm down."
"I have no problem with that," Noelle said, gazing across at Paige. They had, after all, started this. "As soon as Paige and Sienna swear that they'll leave Reed alone, I, for one, will be perfectly calm."
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Kiran, Taylor, and Tiffany had walked up behind us as if they were our backup. I felt better having them there. Secure.
"I can't believe you're taking her side," Paige spat as her brother continued to pace like a caged lion. "We've all been coming down here together since we were in Baby Bjorns and everything's always been fine. Now we're all at one another's throats, taking sides. See what happens when you bring in outsiders?"
Sienna and Amberly exchanged a look. They were outsiders too, after all, but now didn't seem the appropriate time to point that out.
"Look, we either call a truce now and promise to let Upton and Reed do whatever it is they want to do, or that's it. I'm done," Noelle said. "We part ways for the rest of the trip. So which is it going to be?"
For a long moment, nobody moved. Even Daniel stopped walking around, his color beginning to return to normal. Paige exchanged a look with her brother, who glanced over at West. Then Paige stepped right up to Noelle, nose to nose, eye to eye.
"Take a mental picture of this moment, Noelle," she said tersely. "Because you'll live to regret it."
Noelle simply stared back, not giving her the satisfaction of a reply. Then the Ryan twins, as if moved by some silent communication, turned and walked over to their Jet Skis together. Sienna and Gage followed, as did Graham, shooting an apologetic look over his shoulder. Sawyer sighed and went after his brother. Then, finally, West backed away as well.
"Where do you think you're going?" Noelle asked.
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West held up his hands. "Daniel's my best friend. Sorry."
Noelle glowered after him, clearly pissed at being thrown aside for a guy. I guess I was right--she and West weren't that serious. I glanced over at Dash, who was trying very hard not to smile.
Amberly now stood alone in the sand, her skinny little legs sticking out from under her too-large life vest. She looked at Paige, and then squinted at Noelle, the sun in her eyes. Noelle's expression was incredulous.
"Amberly, remember who invited you here," Noelle said, her voice full of venomous condescension. "Remember whose dorm you'll be living in when we get home."
Amberly cracked a grin and rolled her eyes. "Well, of course I'm not going anywhere!" she said, joining our side.
I guessed she wasn't as big of an airhead as I'd thought.
Gage, already on his Jet Ski in the water, called back over his shoulder. "Dash! Dude, you coming?"
Dash didn't make eye contact with anyone. "I'm good here," he replied.
"Pussy," Gage shouted before taking off with the others.
Dash looked out toward the ocean, his lips twitching. Kiran and Taylor grinned at each other. Noelle had a slight blush on her cheeks as she stared after the defectors. A blush that could easily have been explained away by the sun, if I hadn't known better. Looked like Noelle and Dash were one step closer to getting back together. Not that either one of them was about to acknowledge it.
"Son of a bitch," Noelle said under her breath, like she couldn't
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believe they'd taken her dare. Then she turned around to face the rest of us--me, Upton, Kiran, Taylor, Tiff, Amberly, and Dash--and clapped her hands together. "Who wants to take the rest of Daniel's precious Jet Skis and sell them down at the market?"
"Aye!" we all chorused, raising our hands.
"Are you okay?" I whispered to Upton as the group dispersed and headed toward the water.
"I'm fine. I can handle a left hook from Daniel Ryan any day," he said.
"Why did you provoke him?" I asked. "I thought everyone knew he has a violent streak."
"I know, but he was being a sodding prick. I had to say something," Upton said. Then, seeing my confused look, he laughed. "I suppose it's a guy thing."
"Whatever. I knew you people were all nuts," I said with a laugh.
Upton gave me a quick kiss and looped his arm around my shoulders. "Come on. You can ride with me. I won't let anything happen to you, I swear."
"I'm going to hold you to that," I said, trying to squelch my fear as we approached his Jet Ski. "And just as an FYI, from here on out, I'm keeping my feet planted on solid ground.
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CHAPTER 24 CALLING IN A FAVOR
That night, Kiran invited me, Noelle, Taylor, Tiffany, and Amberly to her house for a mysterious get-together. Her home was at the end of a winding road, surrounded by a dense forest of palm and evergreen trees. We pulled into the parking area out front, and Noelle parked between Kiran's and Tiffany's cars. The home was one floor, long and square, and appeared to be made up mostly of windows. Lights glowed inside the house, and I could see Kiran walking around what appeared to be a fashion show runway, lighting candles on low tables with a lighter wand. She was wearing a red jumpsuit with a plunging neckline, like something out of a Charlie's Angels movie, and she held a glass of wine in her free hand.
"A runway?" Noelle said, narrowing her eyes as she killed the engine. "What is she up to?"
I felt a thrill go up my spine. If even Noelle didn't know what was going on, it had to be good.
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"I don't know," Amberly said from the backseat. "But I bet it's good."
Noelle rolled her eyes. I had a feeling she was starting to regret both letting Amberly into Billings and inviting her down to St. Barths. The more time we spent around her, the more she seemed like a yapping, eager-to-please puggle. We got out of the car, and Noelle was about to ring the bell when we saw Tiffany and Taylor through the window, scurrying toward us.
Tiffany was all smiles and excitement as she swung the door wide. "You guys, I just talked to my father, and he wants all of us to come to the shoot on Sunday!"
"Omigod! No way!" Amberly squealed.
Noelle winced, as if the pitch hurt her eardrums. "Really? That's a first," she said, laying her clutch purse on a tall glass table near the door and removing her tiny white shrug.
"Tassos is notoriously private about his magazine shoots," Taylor explained to me.
"This is, like, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see a genius at work!" Amberly said, spreading her fingers wide.
"What made him change his mind?" I asked, shedding my denim jacket.
"I begged until he said he'd do it as a Christmas present for me," Tiffany said, tilting her head. "How cool am I?"
"Pretty damn cool," Noelle said, inspiring a pleased smile from Tiffany. She looped her arm through Tiffany's and started toward the living room, where Kiran was waiting. "It's too bad Poppy's not
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here," Taylor lamented. "She would have loved this."
"Still hasn't shown up, huh?" Tiffany asked as we stepped down onto the plush tan carpet in the living room. Everything in the living room was beige--beige walls, overstuffed beige arm chairs, and a painted, tea-colored china cabinet that displayed antique porcelain plates. The only color came from the aqua and blue throw pillows on the couch and the island-themed paintings on the wall. All the furniture had been pushed aside to make room for the enormous runway.
"Poppy does have a fla
ir for drama," Noelle said, hugging Kiran hello.
A foreboding lump formed in my throat, but I did my best to ignore it. If none of her friends were worried, why should I be worried? I resolved not to think about Poppy for the rest of the night. Hopefully, she would be back in her posh hotel suite by tomorrow morning.
Half an hour later, after some cheese, crackers, wine, and small talk--mostly revolving around the fabulous shoot we'd all be witnessing and what a bitch Paige was--we settled into huge suede cushions on the floor around the runway. I sat between Noelle and Taylor and across from Tiffany and Amberly, who seemed to be avoiding talking to me as much as I was avoiding talking to her. Kiran walked out from behind a curtain that had been set up at the foot of the runway and smiled down at us.
"Ladies, you are about to be so glad you know me," she began, clasping her hands together. "Inspired by Reed's serious lack of
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couture for Casino Night, I have called in a few favors to the houses over in Paris and Milan, and ... well... let's just say we're all going to have fresh gowns to wear to the party."
Tiffany and Taylor looked at each other, impressed, and Amberly let out a little squeal. I still didn't know exactly what was going on, but I kept my mouth shut, since I seemed to be in the minority.
"Oooh, Paige, Poppy, and Sienna are gonna be so jealous!" Noelle sang, taking a sip of her red wine. ,
"An added bonus," Kiran agreed, closing her eyes and nodding. "And now, I give you my first ever private runway show, courtesy of Chanel, Dior, Versace, and Dolce and Gabbana."
Kiran stepped down off the runway and over to an iPod docking station, where she touched a button and filled the room with a driving techno beat. Instantly, a model roughly the height of Tony Parker came striding out from behind the curtain wearing a gorgeous black lace gown with a straight neckline and tight bodice. The back flared out into a short train that swished as she strode down the runway. I felt like I'd just stepped into some kind of Hollywood dream. Kiran had flown in gowns for us. And models to model them. And if this dress was any indication, I had totally underestimated Casino Night's level of fancy.