If At First (Crimson Cove Mysteries Book 1) Read online

  And that was officially the meanest thing I had ever heard her say.

  Lainey narrowed her gaze. “So you’re not mad at Ash then?”

  “No. I’m pissed at Rach. She’s a ho. I mean, I’m mad he’s dumb.”

  Lainey raised her eyebrows again. “I agree. I just—” She paused. “Nothing.”

  “Spit it out, Lain. No one wants to listen to you do the sputtering thing!”

  My jaw dropped but I didn't have to defend Lainey, she jumped right to it. In fact, she lost it. “Screw you, Sage! You were a bitch to Ash, and I don't understand why, if you’re mad at Rachel and not him. I could kill her too for what she did to him, but you don't have to take it out on me, or Ash.” Her face was flushed and sort of sweaty. She lifted her finger to push up her glasses, but they weren’t there and she looked at her finger, confused when it didn't make contact.

  “I can yell at my own brother whenever I want!”

  I lifted my hands. “Whoa. Whoa, ladies. Easy, Sage. You’re kinda needing a Snickers right now. Stop.”

  She breathed heavily through her nose for half a heartbeat before she sighed and walked to Lainey, forcing her into an embrace. “Sorry, Lain. I just hate that she is pretending to be so into my brother so she can have all her invites to be with the seniors and act so much better than us. But really she’s slumming with some random and making my brother look like a moron.”

  Lainey nodded and I was shocked to see she was nearly as angry as Sage was. She didn't ever give two shits about Ashton or any other guy, except her dream man who she refused to name. But she did hate Rachel on the same level as I did, so maybe that was it.

  “What are you two hugging it out for? Lezzzz go to the party, bitches!” Sierra walked in, interrupting the tense moment. She winked and laughed. “Are we ready to go or what?”

  Sierra always looked like a movie star. She was tall and skinny everywhere, except the places that mattered. She had actual junk in her trunk, but not too much, and huge boobs.

  We all believed God was on her side.

  No matter what, she always landed on her feet, looked hot, and managed to never get caught for anything. And her parents didn't give a damn about what she did. If my father saw me in the dress she was wearing, he would lock the gate and never open it again. But her dad probably wasn't even home to care.

  Tonight her tight white mini dress was so nineties chic it made me think she might bust out some coke any second. Or do the Sharon Stone leg-crossing thing all night. Lord knew Sierra wasn't wearing any underwear either. She never did.

  She wore huge white stiletto platforms to match the dress, and pinkish lipstick to go with the blush on her alabaster skin. Not that she needed it, or accessories. She had fiery red hair to her waist with beachy waves and slight blonde hints to bring out the color.

  She flashed her bright-blue eyes at me and nodded toward the door. “Leaving before all the hot guys are taken by the townie sluts I know Rachel invited?”

  “Townie sluts?” Sage narrowed her gaze. “Did you see a hipster guy in that mix?”

  Sierra nodded, primping in the huge hallway mirror. “Yeah. What was up with that? Rachel brought him to Andrew’s house last night. It was awkward as balls.”

  “As balls?” Lainey asked. I too was confused as to the reference and it’s relation.

  Sierra laughed and reiterated, “As balls.”

  I sort of wished I had gone to Andrew’s when he invited me so I could have seen the hipster beard dude.

  Sierra snapped her fingers as she walked out of the house. “Move, ladies!”

  She was the feisty one.

  We always joked that if we were ever to become the next set of Spice Girls, I would be Beefy Spice because I am shorter and stalky and get muscles. Lainey would be Nerdy Spice, obviously. Sierra would be Feisty Spice. Sage would be Spacey Spice. Rachel’s name depended on if she was with us. If not with us, she was Bitchy Spice. If she was with us, she was Sexy Spice. She actually named herself that after we had all joked about our own names. Of course.

  I got up and followed Sage, who was over her rant as fast as it had come on, and Lainey who still seemed out of sorts. She kept blinking and looking down.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “How could she do that to Ashton—Rachel I mean? How could she cheat on him?” She said him with a lot of emphasis. She wasn’t even mad that Sage had snapped at her. “She’s the luckiest girl and she doesn’t even know it.” Lainey was my best friend, in the entire world, but I didn't know what she was on about. She was officially the last girl on earth I might have suspected had feelings for Ashton. But in that moment I wondered if he could be her mystery man.

  Not that she would tell me. She wasn't like that.

  “I don't know. Ashton is pretty awesome. Maybe he will break up with her and be free.” I nudged her.

  She nodded but said nothing. That was her way. She was soft-spoken in nature, which made some people overlook her, but I adored her. If you knew her well enough, you knew she was funny—witty.

  She was smart, really smart. And she was pretty, in her own way. She had a slim build, the exact opposite of Sierra. She had no junk at all. Her trunk was in the negatives. It drove her insane to be so skinny.

  It drove the rest of us nuts that she could eat whatever she wanted and never gain weight, except in her boobs. They were actually all right for a skinny girl. Not like “Sierra all right,” where as most people assumed hers were fake.

  The thing I loved the most about Lainey was her eidetic memory. It was fascinating to watch it work, like reading about a serial killer to find out how or why they do the things they do.

  She could read anything or see anything, and it was there in her mind for life.

  Some things were bad to remember forever, and she had plenty of those.

  “Not that it matters to us, right? We don't have to clean up Rachel’s messes.” I linked my arm in hers and leaned my head on her shoulder. “Who is ready for a fun night?”

  She sighed. “Me.”

  It was about as convincing as the “me” going on inside me . . .

  Chapter Four

  Arrrrrrrr, me matey

  The driver took us the long route. When Sage was clearly deep in a text or something on her phone, I leaned into Sierra and whispered extra quietly, “Is Vince meeting us there? I thought he would be our ride or at least be with us.” I was grateful he wasn't, but it was weird they weren’t together. They hadn’t been hanging out much all summer—if at all. I, on the other hand, had been seeing tons of him.

  She shrugged and spoke so softly my ear tingled from her breath on it, “I don't know what’s up with him and Sage. She hasn't said a word to me about him since I told her he was being a douche. I doubt she will now. She’s pissed with me but doing the thing where she pretends it’s fine.”

  Sierra and Sage were complete besties. Before Sage’s dad died, he and Sierra’s dad were best friends—almost brothers.

  The two girls had been inseparable until recently, and I blamed Vincent. I didn't have any proof that it was him, but I just liked to grumble his name as Vincent in my head and blame everything on him.

  I did know though that Sierra blamed Vincent for the friendship dying off a little and Sage blamed Sierra.

  I stayed out of it but had listened closely enough to safely assume Vincent was completely to blame.

  He was a cheating, lying, disgusting excuse for a boyfriend.

  “I did his yard yesterday and found a bunch of nasty pictures in his room and on his computer. He has totally been cheating on Sage, I think with that disgusting whore, Sasha.” My voice was hardly a whisper.

  “I know.” Sierra nodded. “He tried his shit with me. We were crazy drunk like two weeks ago, and he totally came on to me. Sage was sleeping. I kicked him in the balls. Now he hates me. I tried to tell Sage what happened but she thinks I hit on him. He must have lied to her. She’s been really cold with me since, not mad but
just like cut off sort of.” Catching Sage’s eyes on us, Sierra pressed the button and spoke demandingly into the mic, “Where the hell are you taking us? Why is this taking so long?”

  “Sorry, miss. I heard on the local radio there was an accident on the other road. So I thought we might avoid the delays. Apparently, a tree came down over some lines,” the driver spoke back softly. I could hardly hear him.

  Sierra groaned. “I hate long car rides. Do we have booze back here?” She leaned forward and opened her dad’s bar. A grin spread across her face. “Yes, we do.” She pulled us each a tiny bottle of tequila and passed them out.

  I wanted to say no thanks, but I knew the odds of me not drinking with them weren’t good. No one argued with Sierra, except Rachel. They were always toe to toe, bickering about something.

  Sage lifted her tiny bottle and smiled wryly. “To Rachel, may she rot in hell.”

  Sierra coughed. “That is my kind of toast. Screw you, Rachel.” She looked longingly at Sage, smiling.

  We all clinked our little bottles and sucked back the shot. I winced and Lainey fully shuddered.

  Sierra shook it off. “Why are we toasting her demise this time?”

  “She’s cheating on Ash with that dude with a beard you said she brought to Andrew’s,” Lainey offered up with another shiver.

  Sierra wrinkled her nose. “The moment I saw him all I thought was, who has a beard in the summer? Like is he a pirate or a captain?”

  I laughed at Sierra. “No. I think he’s from the East Village.”

  “Ugh, of course he is.” She made a face. “Gross. We need to get close enough to see if he smells like weed and patchouli. I hate that combination. I like them both separately but not together.” She fished out another bottle for us all—this time vodka. “Well, I say good riddance for Ash. I wish we were rid of her that easily.”

  Lainey sighed. “Yeah.”

  There wasn't one of us that would argue that point. But how did you get rid of someone who all your parents loved and forced upon you? Even worse, we constantly had our family gatherings. Ditching her as a friend would make it awkward. College would be my escape. I planned on Brown and I was alone in that choice.

  We all drank our next shot as the driver finally pulled off the road, stopping just before the large house in the circular driveway.

  Rachel’s house was sizable. Not as fancy as Sierra’s or Sage’s and not as enormous as mine or Lainey’s. But it was somewhere in the middle of them all. It was a waterfront estate, the very feature Crimson Cove was known for. Well, except of course, the trees all turning red in the fall and lighting the entire cove up with crimson colors.

  We climbed out when the driver opened the door. He kept his hat on and head down, with his eyes to the road. I didn't trust people who wouldn't look you in the eyes.

  Sierra grabbed my hand and dragged me away from the car. “Let’s get drunk and see if we can’t accidentally fall in love for an hour or two.”

  I wanted to protest, but I didn't.

  Music boomed from the back of the estate where the sea and sand provided the backdrop for a dusk-filled skyline with overly dressed teenagers having fun. I knew it was too much of a draw for Sierra and played along.

  The music was loud but the crowd was louder. There had to be two hundred of our closest friends here.

  Sierra let go of my hand, throwing her arms into the air and hugging a dark-haired girl. I leaned forward and grimaced, seeing it was Sasha.

  Sage had her head high, scanning the crowd, no doubt looking for the douche-bag pervert she called a boyfriend.

  Lainey came and slipped her arm into mine again. “Hey, don't leave me, kay?”

  I shook my head. “Don't leave me either.”

  We strolled out into the sunset and the chaos. I remembered what I wanted to ask her. “Dude, I meant to ask you. Why are the Blacks buying a new house? They just bought a house.”

  She laughed. “They’re insane. They think their house is haunted. Such morons. They actually got my dad to list it, like last week, and they want to buy one section of the market property, but our dads have rich Europeans building a gated community there. The Van Harkers have already bought the land. My dad said today that the Blacks are pissed because they heard about the sale. They think they had the request in to buy the land before Dad sold it, which is true. So they’re upset and feeling cheated. But they were only buying one lot and the Van Harkers would only buy it if they got all the land.”

  “That's disappointing. I thought it was something juicier than ghosts. I figured Mrs. Black got caught for that affair she’s been having with that high school kid who plays hockey for Notre Dame. I really thought they were getting a divorce.”

  “Oh my God, you have to stop snooping in people’s shit. You’re going to get caught one of these days.”

  “Maybe.” I winked at her.

  “Lainey! Lindsey! Drinks!” Glasses were shoved into our hands as the giver, a blonde girl, ran off again. I didn't even see her face, just hands and shouting and then a drink.

  I shrugged and lifted the red liquid to my lips, but Lainey snatched it, dumping them both out. “Remember when we were at that party in eighth grade and that Nathan kid put Ecstasy in everyone’s drinks and we were high as hell, in New York City?”

  I opened my mouth but my frown gave it away.

  “How do you not remember that? I threw up outside that barbecue place and the man chased us with a broom.”

  “Oh yeah. I remember that. I had that weird hot dog with the cheese in the middle, and I kept stroking your hair and saying that I loved you. That was awkward.”

  “I called it death on a stick—the hot dog.”

  “Right.” A smile owned my face as I laughed. “That was horrible.” I looked down at the drinks. “Good call.”

  She sighed and walked to the bar. “Two vodka and cranberry juice with a squeeze of lime and a splash of Perrier.”

  The bartender nodded and got to work. He seemed familiar but I couldn't place him.

  “Where do I—?”

  “That time we all went boating with the Frasiers and you got seasick. He was the bartender who cleaned you up and hid you so Louisa would stop shouting at you.”

  He winked at me from behind the bar.

  “Right.” I winced and remembered how vile that felt as well. “We have a lot of throw-up stories.”

  “Try recalling them all as if they happened only a second ago. Sometimes I get sick when I think about it too much.”

  “Gross.”

  “Yup.” She gazed into the crowd and sighed. “I wonder if Ash broke up with Rachel yet.”

  I cringed. “Oh, she is going to be heinous to be around until she finds a way to get him back or finds something better to replace him with.”

  Lainey laughed bitterly. “You mean something she can actually parade about the club, something she would be allowed to date.”

  “Not the bearded dude.”

  She agreed. “Not the bearded dude.”

  “We should see if one of our parents wants to take us somewhere, like tomorrow. Like France. We can hide out there for the last few weeks of summer.”

  “Seriously?” She gave me a look. “You forgot about the gala already, didn't you?”

  I opened my mouth to say no, but I nodded and laughed. “I really don't want to go.”

  “Me either. But our fathers are the forefathers of this great and amazing town.”

  I rolled my eyes and took my drink from the bartender as he put them up. He offered a huge smile and another wink. I frowned and took my drink, desperately hoping he didn't remember me and that was why he was being friendly.

  “So, if I tell you something, can we never speak of it again?” I needed to tell her about the terrible pictures so she could rationalize it for me. I hated Vincent, but I didn't want to hate Vincent.

  “I won’t bring it up again, but I’ll likely never be rid of it. Is that the sort of promise you are looking for?”
>
  I shook my head. “Forget it.”

  “Oh, now you have to tell.” She nudged me and took a sip.

  I opened my mouth to say no but a scream made me jump.

  “ASSHOLE!”

  We both turned to see Rachel shoving Ashton at the docks. She screamed again, like she was hurt but she looked fine, apart from the screaming rage.

  “Oh, sweet Jesus. He just did it.”

  Lainey's jaw dropped as she turned her head. “Oh snap.”

  Rachel shoved Ashton again before storming up the dock to the patio and across the grass. Her chestnut hair bounced behind her as the most evil look claimed her face. Ashton appeared upset running after her. I leaned into Lainey and muttered, “He is a dead man.”

  “Hopefully not.” She looked worried for a second until we saw Ashton leaving and not running after Rachel at all.

  “Come on, you two. You are taking forever.” Sierra interrupted and grabbed our hands, pulling us into the crowd to dance just as the DJ started a new song up.

  I sucked back my drink and started dancing, letting go of everything.

  Ashton and Rachel were not my problem; I didn't need to solve them. As much as I wanted the gossip, and I wanted to know the “who, what, where, when, and why,” it wasn't actually my problem.

  And I had somewhere important to be in a few hours. The solar storm was going to be better than the one a few years ago. But that wasn’t the best part. The best part was Hailey. I was sort of excited to hang with her again, and maybe I was excited because I was curious about how I felt about her.

  I knew everyone had called me a lesbian behind my back—or even better—a dike since I had cut my hair to my jawline. And I had never been with anyone so I wasn't sure if I was able to classify my interests.

  I'd kissed a couple of guys, but they were more like frogs and less like princes. So while the idea of being with a guy who loved me more than anything in the world was intriguing, I wasn’t one-hundred-percent sure if I just had a girl crush on Hailey or if I had feelings for her.

  A small part of me sort of wished Hailey was the real deal for me.