Page 57 of Promise Me Nothing
“Hey,” she says when I sidle up next to her, giving me a friendly grin as she continues to flick through the system. “You finished for the night?”
“Yeah. Finally. I’ve been here since one o’clock this afternoon and it’s…” I glance at my phone, “almost nine o’clock now.”
“That’s not so bad. Once, I worked an open through close. But that was back before Hamish started as the manager. He’s not so bad when it comes to the scheduling.”
“I guess I’m just used to the here-and-there hours I was getting at my last job. My feet arekillingme.”
Eleanor laughs, but keeps entering things onto the screen in front of her.
“Also, uhm… I was just wondering if you were busy tonight.”
She pauses and looks my way. “No, actually. It’s like, my first Friday night free in months. Why? You wanna go do something?”
My spirit buoys, and I relish what seems like genuine interest in hanging out with me. “Well, my brother is having a party and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me.”
Her eyes widen. “You’re inviting me to a party at Lucas Pearson’s house? Is the sky fucking blue? HellyesI wanna come.”
I laugh, enjoying the fact that she’s at least being honest about wanting to go to the party. “What time are you off? I can stick around if you’re finishing up.”
She looks down at her apron and pulls out her little black waitress pad, flips it open. “I’m clocking out after… one, two, three… yeah, I have three tables left and they’re all done with main courses. Maybe a half hour?”
“Awesome. You ride your bike to work too, right? I’ll just grab a snack and wait, and we can ride there together.”
She smiles. “Sounds perfect.”
"I’ve always wanted to see the inside,” Eleanor says as we get closer to Lucas’ house.
We’re rolling along The Strand, weaving slowly in and out of walkers, joggers and people with dogs. I’m always surprised at how many people are out here at any given time of day or night.
“It really is an absolute monster,” I reply, glancing back at where she rides just a few feet behind me. “He has a gym. And a movie theatre. And a massive wine cellar and a Jacuzzi on the roof. Who has that? When he gave me a tour I just wandered around with wide eyes the whole time.”
Eleanor laughs, her giggle making me feel like she’s just as overwhelmed by the concept as I was when I moved in. “I feel like I don’t even know what I’m getting myself into.”
“You don’t. Trust me.”
We ride along until we’re about three blocks away from Lucas’, and that’s when I hear the music. It’s a deep bass, thumping and loud. And when we finally come to a stop a few houses away, I can’t help the surprise that’s surely stretched across my face.
Lucas told me he’d be having a party tonight. He said it would be pretty busy at the house. Even suggested I lock my room, telling me he added locks to the bedrooms so personal items could stay secure with so many people coming and going from the house all night.
But I hadn’t really… understood, I guess.
Because the absolute raucous happening, the people spilling out from his patio to The Strand, the dozens and dozens of people that I can see inside, outside, up on the deck, laughing and drinking and smoking.
I just, really… I had no clue what to expect.
“Wow,” Eleanor whispers from where she stands next to me, sounding just as overwhelmed as I am.
“Right?”
“I heard about the Pearson parties when I was in school with Lucas. Back then, I think they were a little quieter than this. But I was always jealous because I was never invited.”
I glance over at Eleanor, see her wide eyes as she looks up at Lucas’ mansion.
“Now that I’m here, I’m not even sure I want to go inside.”
At that, I laugh, relief coursing through my system that maybe Eleanor and I are more alike than it may have seemed. “I knowexactlyhow you feel.”
We spend the next few minutes trying to fight our way over to the little storage area where the bikes get parked, then onto the patio and inside the house.
