Page 54 of Forever Golden
I let out a breath when I pull out into traffic, resisting the urge to hang up.
“There a point to this call? Or are you just wasting both our time with this bullshit?”
“You’re such an asshole!” she shouts.
“Tell me something Idon’tknow.”
She’s fuming. Even without seeing her, I know this to be a fact. She’s one of those people who hates it when her anger shoots up to a ten, only for the person she’s directing it at to stay cool.
“My parents put the house up for sale, West,” she reveals next. “They’re getting me out of this city because—thanks to you and thatbitchyou’re sponsoring—they’ve realized how toxic this place is.”
I laugh. Can’t help it. “And I’m guessing you want me to believe this move has nothing to do with your dad’s dealership going under, right?”
I’ve got her so pissed now I can hear her heavy, angry breaths on the other end.
“Go fuck yourself, West.”
“As soon as you get some fucking help, Parker.”
The line goes dead then, and I’m left wondering what her point even was. Was hearing that she’s leaving Cypress Pointe supposed to make me feel guilty? Far from it. As far as I’m concerned, that bitch can move to the fucking moon and I wouldn’t give a shit. She made her own damn bed, now she can lie in it.
* * *
BLUE
“Red’sdefinitelyyour color,” Jules beams, looking me over in the mirror.
“I tried on about a hundred dresses and it came down to this one and two others. West hasn’t seen me in it, though.”
Jules laughs a little. “Wasn’t he there when you bought it?”
I nod. “Yeah, but when I realized this was the one, I stayed in the dressing room so he wouldn’t see me in it.”
Looking myself over, I let out a nervous sigh.
“Well, in this dress, you’re sure to put the‘ho’back in‘ho-ho-ho’tonight,” she teases.
My best friend, the class act.
“It’s super cute that he took you shopping.”
Listening to Jules swoon, I smooth both hands down the satin clinging to my hips, just above one incredibly high-cut split on the right side.
“I just wish he didn’t have to spend money on me,” I add, still looking myself over.
“Dude, your boyfriend’s a fucking millionaire. He can afford to buy you a damn dress without it taking food off the table,” she teases. “Besides, I’m sure you’ll make it worth his while tonight.”
She peers up from her phone to wink at me.
“Yeah, but it’s not just the dress. It was Scar’s party, and the alarm system, and the trip to Louisiana.”
“To visithisfamily,” she points out. “And like I said, he’s loaded and probably would do a shit-ton more if you’d let him.”
She isn’t wrong about that. With his generous heart, he’d probably pay all my household bills if given the chance.
“I just don’t want him to ever think I see him as a paycheck on legs,” I add. “As it is, people see him and they see dollar signs. Yeah, because of his family being loaded, but also because they’re already saying he’s gonna go pro. I just—”
“Stop,” Jules cuts in, grabbing me by the shoulders after setting down her phone. “You do this all the time. Something totally unrelated will have you stressed out, then you start picking at the low-hanging fruit. What’sreallybothering you?”