Perfect Mistake

  At least Ariana had snagged a better view than those two. Allison had been her roommate at Cornwall Hall during Welcome Week and a bitch to Ariana from day one. When it came to Tahira, Ariana had decided she didn't like the exhibitionist girl the moment she'd met her. The girl was everything Ariana detested--loud, conceited, brash, and braggy. But if Ariana had to live across the hall from her, at least she could take comfort in the fact that she'd be living in a superior room.

  Kaitlynn rolled over onto her back and snorted. Ariana's lip curled in disgust. Her fingers curled into tight fists. She had to get out of there before she snapped and did kill the girl. She pushed her feet into

  28

  her cashmere slippers and padded out into the hallway. At the center of the tower was a common--area bathroom, probably built in case the girls didn't want to invite visitors to use their own. Ariana shoved through the door and flipped the light switch. The fluorescents overhead blinked and crackled to life, winking in and out until they finally settled on a weak yellow glow. Apparently this room wasn't used very often. With its cracked ceramic tile and plain white walls, it looked as if it hadn't been renovated in twenty years, unlike the rest of Wolcott, which was updated, freshly painted, and pristine.

  Ariana walked to the nearest mirror. She took a good look at herself in the dim half--light and saw the fear reflected in her ice blue eyes. The uncertainty.

  "You can't let her do this to you," Ariana said to herself. Her voice was quiet but firm. She stared into her own eyes and forced the fear out. "You've worked too hard. This is your life. Your life. She can't have a piece of it. You can't let her."

  Ariana heard the sound of door hinges squeaking. Her heart vaulted into her throat and she whirled around. There was a creak out in the hall. The unmistakable sound of careful, tiptoeing steps.

  Kaitlynn?

  The fluorescent lights buzzed and started to wink in and out again. Ariana cursed under her breath. If Kaitlynn was going to stage a sneak attack, she had to be ready. She looked around the unfamiliar room for a weapon, but there was nothing that wasn't nailed down. Soap dispenser, hand dryer, mirror. All bolted to the walls. The footsteps were getting closer. Ariana's eyes fell on the silver garbage can next to

  29

  the sinks. She was just stooping to pick it up, when the door to the bathroom swung wide.

  "There you are," Palmer whispered.

  Ariana glanced up at him over her shoulder. She realized in a rush how she must look, half stooped over in her short nightgown, one hand tipping back the base of a refuse container.

  "I just checked your room and your bed was empty, so I . . ." He paused and squinted at her. "What're you doing?"

  It was a fair question.

  "I . . . um ... I thought I saw a scrap of tissue sticking out from under the can and I was going to throw it away, but I guess it's just these awful lights playing tricks on me." She carefully replaced the garbage can and stood up. Her fingers felt grimy, so she washed them quickly in the sink, taking a moment to breathe and let her adrenaline subside.

  "So ... I heard you and Lexa broke up," she said, glancing at Palmer in the mirror.

  "Yeah." He stepped closer to her from behind.

  His black hair was mussed and product free. He wore a pair of blue oversize cotton shorts with a white running stripe down the side and a wrinkled white T--shirt. His feet were entirely bare. Ariana's skin tingled as she realized he'd sneaked out of bed and risked getting caught, just for her.

  "So . . . what're you doing here?" she asked.

  Palmer smirked. They both knew exactly what he was doing here. Ariana thought of Lexa. Of how Lexa would have killed for Palmer to

  30

  have made the same effort for her. She felt sorry for the girl and exhilarated to have been chosen over her, all at the same time. Then Palmer closed in and ran his hands down the lengths of her bare arms.

  Ariana's heart stopped beating. Screw Lexa. She and Palmer were half--dressed and alone in the middle of the night in an obviously unused room. What Lexa didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Ariana turned around and her hip bones met his. Without hesitation he pulled her into a deep, passionate, searching kiss. Ariana's hands were wet but she buried them in his hair anyway. He pressed her back against the cold ceramic sink, kissing her more and more deeply until her back was arched so far she had to brace her hands on the sink behind her to keep from falling.

  Finally he pulled back. His eyes searched hers as if desperate to memorize them. "I've been wanting to do that all night."

  Ariana's lips hummed. "Glad you finally did."

  Palmer took her hand lightly in his and tugged her toward a small wooden bench near the door. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap sideways, looping his arms casually around her waist, as if this was something they did every day. The familiarity of the gesture made Ariana's heart swell. It was as if they were already an established couple.

  "So, what do you think of Privilege House?" he asked with a smirk.

  "If this is one of the perks, I like it," she replied.

  "Thanks for talking me into keeping my mouth shut earlier," Palmer said, running his hand up and down her thigh. "I don't think

  31

  I could have handled it if the blue team had ended up living here. I might have had to punch something."

  Ariana smiled. She had helped him. He appreciated her. "You're welcome," she said.

  He reached his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her lips to his for another kiss. Before long, sitting sidesaddle across his legs became quite uncomfortable, and Ariana maneuvered around until she was straddling his waist, her knees pressing awkwardly into the hard bench. He tried to adjust himself, to pull her even closer, but her knee banged into the wall behind him. She let out a quiet yelp as pain radiated through her leg.

  "Sorry." He was breathless, flushed. "Maybe we should take this into the lounge."

  The lounge. There were couches and chairs down there. It would have been much more comfortable. But it was also an open common area. An area in which they could easily be stumbled upon by one of her floormates. By Lexa.

  Suddenly, Ariana's chest flooded with guilt.

  "No."

  She pushed away from him and scrambled to her feet. Her nightgown had become completely twisted around her body and she quickly adjusted it so the white cotton loosened from her skin. As Palmer looked her up and down, she wondered exactly how see--through the garment was.

  "No?" Palmer raised his brows, surprised.

  "I'm sorry. I have to go," Ariana said as she whipped the door

  32

  open. She paused on the threshold and looked back at him. His confusion and disappointment were so adorable she almost went back. But she couldn't do that to Lexa. Couldn't do this at all. Not until she figured out what the wisest move would be.

  "But thanks for stopping by," she said with a small smile.

  Then she walked back to her room, where she was absolutely certain of a night with zero sleep.

  33

  THE CRAZIEST

  "I have to miss the first few mornings of classes so I can take their stupid entrance exams," Kaitlynn said as she touched up her lip gloss, leaning in toward the mirror above her dresser on Tuesday morning. "Any tips?"Ariana said nothing. Slowly, deliberately, she buttoned up the front of her white oxford shirt and tucked it into the waistband of her blue and gray plaid skirt. Then she slipped a gray tie around her collar and went to work on the knot, standing in front of the full--length mirror on the back of the door. She had awoken after a surprisingly good night's sleep to bright sunshine streaming through her huge window. An overwhelming sense of well--being had washed over her. A feeling that somehow, some way, everything was going to be all right. That eventually she would find a way to fix the Kaitlynn situation, find a way to have Palmer as her boyfriend and Lexa as her best friend. Find a way to get everything she wanted. Ariana had always taken care of

  34

  herself
. She just had to have a touch of patience. Everything was going to work out in the end, just as it always did. Starting with making today great.

  Accordingly, Ariana's plan was to pretend Kaitlynn did not exist. If the girl did not exist, then she couldn't ruin her good mood.

  "Ariana? Hello? I asked you a question," Kaitlynn said, turning around.

  Ariana gritted her teeth over the use of her real name. She wanted to correct the girl, but that would mean acknowledging her existence. Instead, she finished knotting her tie and selected a pair of socks from her dresser. She sat down on the edge of her bed and shimmied a sock over her foot.

  "The silent treatment? That's mature," Kaitlynn said with a laugh, shoving the lip gloss wand back into its tube. She grabbed her leather messenger bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Then I guess you're not going to tell me where you disappeared to in the middle of the night."

  Ariana's eyes automatically flicked up. How had Kaitlynn known she was gone? Had Palmer woken her up when he'd opened the door? Had Kaitlynn seen him? How much did she know? Oh God. Would she tell Lexa?

  Every muscle in Ariana's body tensed. So much for not letting Kaitlynn get to her.

  "I'm always watching, Ariana," Kaitlynn said, as if reading Ariana's mind. She glanced in the mirror one last time, fluffed her short hair, then opened the door and flounced out. "Wish me luck!"

  35

  The door slammed and Ariana threw one of her loafers at it, letting out a growl of frustration. The sound was still hanging in the air when the door opened again and Ariana heard Lexa, Maria, Soomie, and Brigit shouting hellos and good--mornings to Kaitlynn. The door pushed the shoe aside and Ariana jumped up to grab it as her friends filed in. While her back was to them, Ariana cursed the school's policy of lockless doors in the dorm rooms--a policy she'd appreciated the first week of school when she was going around stealing people's things so she could pay off Kaitlynn. But right then, she could have used a moment to compose herself before her friends walked in. She took a deep breath to calm her rattled nerves. Kaitlynn did not exist. She did not exist.

  God, how she wished the girl did not exist.

  "Good morning," Ariana said, walking back to her bed in one sock. She shoved her foot into the shoe as she dropped down onto her mattress again. "Everyone ready for the first day of class?"

  "Ugh. You're a morning person," Maria said, dropping flat on her back atop Kaitlynn's bed. Her uniform was, as always, wrinkled, untucked, and messy--a button undone here, a hem falling there.

  "Ignore her. She's only had one espresso so far this morning," Lexa joked, perching on Ariana's desk chair. Lexas light blue shirt was formfitting, her pleated skirt slightly longer than everyone else's. She wore argyle socks pulled up to her knees and black lace--up shoes with a slight heel. With her expertly applied makeup and shiny dark hair loose down her back, she could have been the cover girl for the APH catalogue. Ariana was pleased to find her so well put together. On the

  36

  morning after a breakup, most girls rocked the I'm too depressed to groom look. Did this mean that Lexa was getting over Palmer already?

  "I love that we have a cafe in the building, but their espresso is subpar," Maria said, closing her eyes and crooking her arm over her forehead.

  "Dining hall, then?" Ariana asked, quickly slipping on her second shoe.

  "Yes. But first, we have to talk to you about the NoBash," Brigit said, walking over to the window and leaning back against the slight ledge. Her dozens of colorful plastic bracelets tumbled down her arm and came to rest just above her hand.

  "The what now?" Ariana asked. She opened her satchel to make sure she had everything she needed. Laptop, check. Notebook, check. Pens, check.

  "The NoBash," Soomie said, checking her BlackBerry before slipping it back into the outer pocket of her suede bag. "It's this hugely important event held at the Norwegian Embassy every year."

  "Dignitaries from around the world, crazy paparazzi, high--security metal detectors ever since that dude from Brazil managed to sneak in that scary collapsible sword thingy," Maria said, waving her hand around. "Blah, blah, blah."

  "Don't scare her!" Lexa scolded. "It's an incredibly fabulous party," she assured Ariana.

  "And you need to know about it because A) Brigit's family throws it, B) everyone here is dying to go, and C) not everyone gets to," Soomie added.

  37

  Ariana's shoulders tensed. Not everyone gets to go? Were they here to warn her that she wasn't going to be invited to this exclusive party?

  "My parents only give me a handful of invites," Brigit said. Her parents were king and queen of Norway, which made Brigit a genuine princess. Not that she looked, dressed, or acted like one.

  "And she distributes them in a very discerning fashion," Lexa added, checking her nails.

  "So if you see people kissing up to me in the next few days, that's why," Brigit put in with a mock--haughty look, which her easy grin quickly erased.

  So . . . they were here to tell her she had to start kissing Brigit's butt. Ariana wasn't sure whether to be offended by the suggestion or grateful for the warning. She said a silent thank--you that Kaitlynn wasn't around to hear all of this.

  "Wow. Such power," Ariana said.

  "I know. Isn't it cool?" Brigit replied with a laugh. "Of course I've already reserved one for you."

  Ariana's heart actually fluttered in excitement. So this wasn't about making her jump through hoops. She'd already become so integral to the group that Brigit had decided to include her. She had really come a long way in the past week.

  "Thanks," she said with a smile.

  "Delivery for Ms. Al Mahmood."

  Ariana and her friends all turned toward the open door. A young woman in a pencil skirt was handing a big pink--and--purple--striped box over to Tahira in her room across the hallway.

  38

  "Who's that?" Ariana asked.

  "Our concierge," Lexa replied. "Each tower has one. She signs for our packages, makes sure we get our laundry on time, orders food for us. Stuff like that."

  Damn. Why, why, why couldn't she call Billings and show off?

  "Sweet! It's a care package from Lissa!" Tahira cooed, checking the card. "Lissa Braverman?" she said to the girls across the hall, her expression cocky. "We did Monte Carlo together last March."

  "Congratulations, T. Everyone wants to be the girl who gets to hold Lissa Braverman's hair back over the toilet bowl," Maria said sarcastically, without even opening her eyes.

  Brigit, Soomie, and Ariana laughed, while Lexa merely smirked, her back to Tahira. Lissa Braverman was a well--known socialite, international nightclub heiress, and total lush. Back when Ariana was a junior at Easton, her friend Paige Ryan used to hang out with Lissa's older sister Mischa. Even then Mischa used to complain about her sister the wild child, so it was no surprise to Ariana to see what Lissa had become. Tahira shot them all a look of death and slammed the door to her room.

  "God," Brigit spat. "I can't believe I have to invite her."

  "She gets to go to the NoBash?" Ariana asked, surprised. Brigit and Tahira hated each other.

  "Her and Zuri," Soomie replied. "Their parents are international players, so the king and queen insist Brigit invite them."

  "Fab," Ariana said flatly.

  "They're not that bad," Lexa put in.

  39

  "Whatevs. Tahira is always trying to outdo me, especially at the NoBash since she knows how important it is to my family, so it's very important that my friends and I are the most fabulous people at the party," Brigit said, suddenly flipping into no--nonsense mode. "I'm going to need you guys to bring your gowns by my room for approval, and no one is allowed to wear purple. I've got dibs on purple."

  Ariana nodded, impressed by Brigit's take--charge attitude. Soomie whipped out her BlackBerry and made a note of Brigit's demands.

  "Got that, Maria?" she asked, slipping the PDA away again.

  "Lexa will remind me," Maria said lazily.


  "And Ana, you and Lily have to keep your eyes on Tahira," Brigit said. Ariana bristled at the mention of Kaitlynn--at her inclusion in the conversation and the group.

  "We do?" Ariana asked.

  "You live right across the hall from her, so you have to be my eyes and ears," Brigit said, stepping away from the window. "You guys need to find out what she and Allison are wearing, who they're bringing, what jewelry they're borrowing from which jeweler. If Tahira so much as makes a call to her stylist, I need to know about it. Okay?"

  "Absolutely," Ariana said. Tahira was also a princess of sorts, the daughter of the ruler of Dubai. Their friends had dubbed the rivalry between the girls "the Princess Wars," and they all seemed to find the whole thing highly amusing, even though it was deadly serious to Brigit and Tahira.

  "And make sure you tell Lily," Brigit added.

  40

  "I will, but I don't know if she'll be up for it," Ariana said, keeping her tone casual. "I think she and Tahira have kind of bonded."

  This was a total lie. As far as she knew Kaitlynn and Tahira had done nothing more than introduce themselves. But it couldn't hurt to plant the seed that Kaitlynn was aligning herself with Brigit's enemy. Even if Lexa did keep insisting that Tahira had her good qualities. Ariana had yet to see any, and the other girls seemed to be blind to them as well.

  "Really? Why?" Soomie said, wrinkling her nose, as if the very idea of conversing with Tahira was noxious.

  Ariana did her best not to smile. "I have no idea."

  "Okay, well then, it's up to you, Ana," Brigit said.

  "Well, we already know Tahira's bringing Robbie," Maria said, pulling some stray hair in front of her face to check for split ends. "You should definitely be able to snag someone better than him."

  Brigit winced. "I hate the date part. Sometimes I wish we still lived in the days when it was unacceptable for girls to ask out boys. Let them be the ones who have to get all nervous and sweaty all the time."