Page 37 of Enemies to Prom Dates
“Why do you say that?”
“Star just told me the senior Snobs don’t want me hosting. Apparently, I’m not popular enough. They think it should be Anne.”
Fitz huffed. “Anne? She’d be awful. Her squeaky voice, on a microphone?”
“Apparently, they’re going to petition Miss Havisham.”
“You’re not going to get Havisham to do anything she doesn’t want to do. Are you upset by this?”
“Me? Uh, no. Some things are worth digging in your heels. MC’ing…”
“Co-MCing,” he pointed out.
“Co-MCing a bullshit charity event is not worth it.”
I sat on the sprawling leather couch and confirmed it was, in fact, very comfortable. Fitz sat with me on the couch, but it was big enough he wasn’t too close. Just close enough.
“Why aren’t you dating Anne?”
“Excuse me?”
“The two of you would make this huge power couple. I mean, I know you had yourloverthis summer, but for the school year, you two would be fantastic together. You would look amazing.”
“I don’t give a shit about appearances,” he said.
I lifted my eyebrows at that.
“Fine. I do, but only so far as it impacts my family. My mother is sitting U.S. Senator. People are watching us, so that matters. But I wouldn’t date someone just to look good. You date someone to feel good.”
“And now we’re back to sex.”
“I’m not talking about sex,” he argued. “Yes, sex feels good, but that’s not what I meant. I meant feeling good with the person. Feeling comfortable. Wanting to tell that person stuff about what’s happening in your life. Do you honestly think Anne cares about anything beyond her hair and what she’s going to wear tomorrow? You seriously think I could be with someone like her?”
No. I didn’t. “I guess not. It’s just you know how it is. Everyone in this town expects everything to fit into these nice, neat circles. Look at Star and Chas.”
“Star and Chas aren’t together because they look good together. That just happens to be a side effect. They’re both really nice people so it makes sense that when they’re together they feel good about each other.”
“So is there someone? Someone who makes you feel good to be around?”
He was looking down at this hands that were loosely clasped together. “Potentially. Maybe. But it’s complicated. What about you?”
“Me?” I don’t know why I said it as if the idea was so completely outrageous, but that’s how it felt. “My life is entirely too complicated to even think about finding someone I could feel good with.”
“You mean Mr. Sex Closet isn’t getting the job done,” he asked dryly.
I rolled my eyes. “You know damn well I’m not having sex with Javier at The Club. Don’t insult both our intelligence.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I kind of figured when you freaked out last night when I was talking to him. So you’re not working at the club to have hot sex with Javier and you’re not there to learn Spanish. Talk to me, Beth. I won’t offer to help again, but you have to tell someone. You know this town. Secrets don’t stay hidden for long.”
He was right. As hard as my mother was trying, as many pieces of jewelry she still had left to sell, there was only so long the façade would last.
“I haven’t even told Janie and Reen everything,” I admitted.
But there was something about Fitz knowing. Like, if he, my greatest adversary, knew, then anyone else knowing wouldn’t hurt as much. Beyond that, I knew Fitz wasn’t cruel. He didn’t think or care about money like the other rich kids in school did because his parents had taught him differently.
Yes, he was rich, but he’d also seen poor and so he wasn’t as quick to judge.
“My father left,” I said tentatively.
