Page 80 of Fun at Parties
“What about Denver? We showed up at the baby shower. Livvie texted the guys you were with and told them we were there to see you, but you never came back.”
Logan pauses, his forehead wrinkling. “Oh.Youwere my surprises from New Jersey? I thought she meant this guy Michael Embry, who lives in Hoboken. Every time I see him, he begs me to go on that showThe Floor Is Lavawith him, but I’m done with TV. He’s kind of annoying, so I decided to steer clear.”
Nate glances over at me. “Okay, then what about Tahoe? We had that argument and then you left.”
“Please, dude. You were right about me needing to figure out my shit. No big deal. But there was no room for me there with all that sexual tension between you and Quinnie filling the place up.” Nate coughs, and Logan turns his head. When he spots me, he smirks. “Oh,hi,Quinnie.”
All I do is shake my head.
“So it wasn’t because you knew what I was going to ask and were afraid to tell me it was a terrible idea?”
“It’s the greatest idea I’ve ever heard,” Logan says, and my heart leaps in a way that feels like it’s my own dream about to come true.
“Are you in, then?” Nate asks.
Logan rubs his mustache. “I love you, man. But there’sanother path that’s right for me. You’re going to do an amazing job with the camp, though, and I can’t wait to cheer you on.”
A light goes out in Nate’s eyes. “I’m not going to get the camp on my own, Logan. Your parents spent their lives building the business. Why would they sell to me when they can leave it in the hands of a company with more experience and deeper pockets? The only way they’d do otherwise is if they were turning it over to family.”
“Youarefamily.” Logan claps him on the shoulder. “You’re the closest thing I have to a brother. My parents know which of the two of us worked hard when we were teenagers. They know what you’ve been doing since then, how much you’ve learned. I’ll go full lobbyist on your behalf, but I have complete confidence you can convince them to sell to you on your own.”
I happen to agree, but my chest still tightens. This isn’t what Nate wanted to hear. It’s not why we came all this way.
Nate says something to Logan in a low voice, then looks at me, his expression tight. He points toward the exit and mouths,We’ll be back.
That leaves me alone with Breanne. When the guys disappear, she stays with me without acknowledging my existence, busying herself with her phone instead.
I’m worried about Nate, but I need to seize my moment with Breanne.
“If my friend ditches me for your friend, does that mean you and I are now friends?” I try.
She shoots me a suspicious look. And I meanshoots.Her scrutiny feels like the snap of a rubber band as shegauges everything about me in a half second, and I’m pretty sure I shrink an inch or two. “You two are the ones who hunted us down tonight,” she concludes. “Even though he didn’t invite you here. Kind of creepy.”
“Ah.” I toy with one of the buttons on my shirt. “Yes. Because those two—Logan and Nate—they have some stuff to figure out. It’s…urgent.”
“According to who? Logan didn’t mention anything urgent. To me, it seems like you guys interrupted our night out because your friend wants something from him.”
I need to smooth this over. “I think you’re misunderstanding what’s going on here,” I say. “Logan and Nate have been best friends since kindergarten. There’s a conversation they needed to have, and now they are having it. Willingly.”
“What does he really want? Help getting on the show? Promotion of his business? Or is he just straight-up looking for money?”
People must try to use her all the time. I guess that’s what happens when you’re famous. I can see it, after what’s happened to me over the last couple weeks, albeit on a smaller scale. The way Tracy started treating me differently, the encounters with strangers who think they know me. Like I’m no longer a real person.
“It must be exhausting when every interaction feels transactional.” I ignore the twinge in my gut that’s trying to remind me that I too jumped at the chance to meet her for my own personal gain.
She presses her lips together. “No offense, but you don’t know me.”
“I don’t, but I’ve known Logan since we were teenagers,” I offer. “I’ve seen what he’s faced since he went on TV. I know it’s not easy, and so does Nate. Aren’t your pre–Beach Housefriendships even more important now? Otherwise how do you remember who you really are?” A lump grows heavy in my throat at the thought of Bailey. “I’m dealing with, like, one-tenth of the attention you get, and it makes me miss my best friend like crazy.”
Breanne tilts her head slowly, and the sharpness in her gaze fades away. At that moment, the air horn blares again, and I close my eyes just in time to feel a fresh barrage of glitter wash over me.
“Goddammit.” I wipe my face.
When I open my eyes, I half expect Breanne to be gone, but she’s still there, flicking a clump of sparkles off her nose. She sighs. “You want to grab a drink?”
“I can be overly guarded sometimes,” Breanne says after we find a spot at the bar, stirring her whiskey-and-diet with a cocktail straw.
I shrug. “It’s understandable.”
