Page 50 of F*ck You

17

Larsen

Water crashing against the dock invaded my senses, and I ran a hand through my hair. I knew Lee wanted to be left alone tonight to do some work, but I didn’t have a good feeling about it. Maybe it was because my gut instinct was right, or maybe it was because Chase was correct and I was beginning to care for her a little too much. Something inside me knew he wasn’t wrong. When she was around, it was like a puzzle piece we never knew was missing, and I could tell he felt it too. It was obvious in the way his eyes followed her every move and how his face lit up with her presence.

“I’m not sure we should even be here,” I muttered for the ten millionth time.

“If we turn back now, then she’s going to keep doing this until we finally show up. It’s best to get it over with and nip the problems before they can start,” Chase replied. His eyes scanned the deck, watching the staff run around as they brought out food and drinks for the guests.

Giana liked to have parties every other weekend or so, the more noes she got to her invites, the more parties she would throw to ensure everyone came to at least one. It was her way to show off and remind everyone of how much money and power she had here. She never needed a reason, but if someone showed hesitation at an invite, she would use one excuse after another out of thin air until she got the response she wanted.

“All we have to do is say hi, show we were here, and then we can dip out. If we’re lucky, she won’t even notice us leaving.” Chase stiffened when he spotted Giana and, following his gaze, I saw her too. Her face lit up in a big smile, and she waved us over.

I reminded myself about how important her family’s funding was to this area, and how we needed more boards and gear to continue giving lessons to tourists as often as we did. Even though I wanted nothing more than to turn around and go find my favorite foulmouthed brunette, I blew out a breath and clenched my fists as I walked over.

Her parents could be seen mingling with other people, and for a brief moment, I nearly diverted my path to go and talk with them instead.

“Lars, Chase, I’m so glad you could make it.” She leaned in for a hug, and I pulled my head back when her face got a little too close to mine. “I was beginning to think I’d have to throw another party to get you out here.”

I shot Chase a look over her head, and he rolled his eyes. There was still the boat party later on we were hoping to bring Lee to, which I was actually looking forward to. Maybe Giana would back off a bit if she saw us all together.

“Chase, Larsen, it’s good to see you again.” Giana’s parents stepped in, expanding our little circle. Mrs. Gaven had an enormous smile on her lips and a loose grip on her champagne. We were later to the party than I’d thought.

Mr. Gaven beamed at us as he declared, “I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about your lessons and tours. With nearly a five-star rating, you two are some of the most talked about attractions.”

“We do the best we can with what we’ve got, sir. We’re proud to show the beauty of the area to anyone who wants to see it.” Chase gave him a matching grin.

“I also hear some new gear is in order soon?” Mr. Gaven continued, getting straight to the topic we needed.

“Yes, sir. We’ve been doing our best to take care of things, but sometimes equipment nears the end of its life. We’ve been trying to find some cost-efficient alternatives as best as we can,” I chimed in.

“We’ll see what we can do to help.” Mr. Gaven took another drink of his beer and made a note in his phone to follow up with this conversation, and I gave a silent cheer that this was turning out to be much simpler than I’d thought. I had been worried for nothing. Then the door opened, and a pair of dark blue eyes widened at me over the tray of wine glasses she was carrying.

“Oh, good, the help is here,” Giana exclaimed, as she raised a hand into the air. “Over here.”

Lee’s jaw clenched as she bit back what I had no doubt was an insult and held the tray out to us with the worst fake grin she could muster. She was hating this as much as I disliked watching. “Drinks?”

Giana grabbed a glass and tasted it. “This is horrible. These are all bad. Try again.” She set the glass back onto the tray with enough force to wobble it so sweet, sticky liquid splashed up into Lee’s face. My hands clenched at my side as I took a step toward her, but she was already turning around and disappearing into the door she’d come through.

More people around us joined in, creating new conversations, but my eyes were still glued to the door, waiting for it to open again.

“I didn’t realize this was what she was doing,” Chase whispered to me. “She only said she had some work to do. Now I wish I would have pried to find out what. We could’ve found a way to help.”

“It wouldn’t have worked,” I told him. “She’s too stubborn to lie down and let others do everything for her.”

It was true. There wasn’t a single soul in this place who had the fierceness that she possessed. Although if somebody were to mess with someone I cared about, I could bring up a storm of equal measures.

The door opened again, and Lee reappeared, looking completely in control. She smiled as she held out the tray to our little group and offered drinks once again.

Giana put the glass to her lips, and then with such speed that nobody realized what was going on until it was too late, she spat her drink out with such force that it coated Lee’s face. “This is awful. Try again.”

This time it was me holding Chase back. He looked as though he wanted to tear her to shreds, but this wasn’t the place or the time. With a hand on his chest, I took a step forward alongside him and glared at Giana. I only hoped someone else would be able to hold me back because I could feel my resolve loosening as she slammed her glass back down onto the tray.

I expected Lee to get angry, to let her middle finger do the talking when she ran out of cuss words, but instead, she smiled, apologized, and retreated.

I looked around, wondering why no one else was doing anything, and realized it was because nobody else was paying attention. Everyone who had been talking with us not long ago were now in their own little conversations and completely oblivious to the volcano that was threatening to erupt. All of the volcanos.

Without further hesitation, I disappeared through the door with Chase on my heels and ran after Lee.

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