“Yeah.” She puts her hand on my forearm to stall me asking about it. “More on that in a sec. The reason I’m telling you all of this is to point out why the female-to-male ratio is so effed up at this particular party. Look around. It’s like three-to-one here tonight. I swear to you, with Micah happily dating Daphne and the cheerleader harem gone, all the other girls who had been hoping to get a piece of Beau have crawled out of the woodwork. I bet if I tried, I could find a representative here from every single sport, every club, every—well, you get the idea.”
I hiss out a breath and give a little eye roll. “That explains the hot tub full of needy chicks last night.”
“No doubt. But trust me, I doubt he invited them over. They probably showed up uninvited. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure he’s basking in the attention. I’m just saying he didn’t ask for it.”
“Right.” I give another little eye roll.
“No, seriously. Now, what he’ll do next, who knows. The ball is in his court. He’s a popular guy—Mike Danbrook’s son, for fuck’s sake—and now that things are no more with his fuck buddies, I think everyone is wondering if he’ll actually decide to date someone. So, all these girls running around here tonight are hoping that they'll have a chance with him and get the same happily ever after that Daphne got.” She points at Micah, who is in the process of scooping a tall, thin brunette over his shoulder. “That’s her there.” He marches around the backyard with her on his shoulder humming “The Imperial March” from The Empire Strikes Back while smacking her ass to the beat. She shrieks with laughter as he spins around, then hustles toward the patio door. Everyone who sees them chuckles good-naturedly at their shenanigans and her nonstop giggles.
“They look happy.”
Aria nods. “They are. But there was a whole blackmail sex tape thing that they had to deal with—Alora’s doing.” My expression must show my confusion. “The girl in the harem who flipped out and messed everything up. She recorded Micah and Daphne and showed the video at a party.”
My eyes bug out. “Seriously? That’s so fucked up.”
She nods. “It was ugly. But also kinda hot.” She snorts. “Micah knows how to make a girl beg and moan, I’ll give him that.”
“Holy shit. Wow. You weren’t kidding when you said there was dirt around here.”
Aria shrugs. “It’s public knowledge or I wouldn’t say anything. The whole fucking town knows.” She hesitates. “I can keep a secret if I have to. Just so you know.” She eyes me for a second before she points toward the deep end of the pool where a couple is wound around each other, so totally lost, they don’t seem to notice anything going on around them. “Have you met Xander or Scarlett?”
“No. I think they were here last night, but I didn’t come down.”
“Yeah. We’re all here a lot. Xander, Beau, and Micah have always been tight. They’ve been like brothers for most of their lives.” She seems to get distracted for a second as she looks down into her drink. When her head pops up again, she says, “I’m friends with all of them but Xander is the one I’m closest to. Anyway, at the beginning of the school year, Scarlett got drugged at a party like this. It was seriously fucked up. Xander saved her.”
“Holy shit.”
“Yeah. So there’s plenty of craziness. Just watch yourself and stick with me and you’ll be okay. Don’t let anyone give you shit.”
My mind is working a mile a minute. I feel like she’s warning me, but I don’t understand where the threat is coming from. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure. I’m over here spilling all the tea, anyway. What’s up?”
“Do I have anything to worry about? Staying here, I mean?”
Aria shakes her head. “No, like I said, they’re decent. They act like typical guys but if you get in good with them, you’re golden. They rule the damn school. Along with me, of course.” She winks. “People don’t fuck with us much. And if they do, they fucking pay for it. You should make nice with Beau.”
That last statement gives me pause. “Be honest. Did he tell you to come talk to me?”
She narrows her eyes. “Girl, I do what I want. He told me the chick that’s staying here has a sassy mouth and has taken an immediate disliking to him. I couldn’t help but poke my nose in to see what he was fussing about.” One shoulder lifts to her ear before it drops. “Look, if I met you and didn’t think you were worth my time, you wouldn’t have gotten jack shit out of me. But you’re all right, I think.” She slaps her hand to my thigh. “I’m getting the fuck out of here. You going to be okay on your own?”
I blow out a breath, still trying to take it all in. “Yeah. Thanks for all the insider info.”
“No worries. And there’s plenty more where that came from.” She stands up, draining the rest of her drink. “Gimme your phone.”
“Hmm?” I rise to my feet alongside her, only to realize the alcohol is buzzing pleasantly through my system.
“Your phone.” She reaches behind me, slips her fingers right into my back pocket, and pulls it out with a wink. “No worries, I’ve got you.” She glances down as she slides her finger across the screen. “Damn, this is an old phone.”
“Yeah. I’m way past due for a replacement.” I look down at my hands. If she knew the phone was a recent hand-me-down from my coach she’d probably laugh. Prior to coming to River Rock, all I’d had was an ancient flip phone.
She taps away on the screen, finally giving it back. “I put my contact info in there and sent myself a text.” She winks. “Gotta go. Message me if you need anything.”
“Thanks.” I swallow. I have to be sure she won’t say anything about what she saw in my closet. “Hey. You won’t tell anyone about—”
Aria pivots back toward me, brows arched. “I can keep a secret, Lyla.” She winks and walks away.
I look around, wondering if I should try to talk to some of these people or go back up to my room. My brain is on overload. I glance down at my phone looking for the message “I” sent Aria.
Me:Long live the fucking Queen.