South beach (18 page)

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She'll probably have some good advice,
Holly reasoned, trying to peer through the gauzy white curtain. She could make out Alexa's pink dress and a boy's striped shirt. Holly wondered if Alexa was with Thomas, or some other guy she'd picked up in the lobby. Holly didn't want to burst in and interrupt if they were making out or something.

"Alexa?" Holly asked tentatively, stepping closer to the curtain.

"Holly?" she heard Alexa respond, sounding surprised.

"Alexa, I'm sorry, but there's something I really need to tell --" Holly began apologetically, drawing back the curtain. She stopped talking when she saw the couple on the sofa. Alexa had her arms around the boy's neck, and was cuddled close to him, as if they were about to kiss. Or already had. Holly saw the boy's caramel-colored hand on Alexa's arm, then recognized his black pants and shoes. Her eyes moved disbelievingly up to his face, to the jet-black eyes that widened as he looked back at her.

It was Diego.

Diego and Alexa. Together.

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CHAPTER TEN

Betrayal

Holly hugged her arms to her chest, suddenly aware that she was drenched to the bone. She should have been freezing, but instead she was burning hot -- her skin boiling with hurt and shock. Something Diego had said to her earlier that night sprung unbidden into her mind:
You can really get burned in South Beach.

"No shit," Holly muttered, glaring at Diego. She wished she had been able to get a drink at the bar -- just so she could fling it into his stupid, I-swear-I'm-innocent face.

"Holly, what's wrong?" Alexa asked, watching as her friend's eyes darkened with anger. Was Holly just freaked to see her making out with someone? Alexa looked at Diego in confusion, but he was

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glancing anxiously from her to Holly, his expression tinged with guilt.

Holly felt the deep, familiar ache of tears building in her throat as she struggled to make sense of it all. When she'd left Alexa and Diego in the lobby, they clearly still hated each other. How could they have gone from that blatant hostility to getting it on in a private cabana?

Alexa,
Holly realized with a shiver of fury. Seductive, devious,
slutty
Alexa. Holly flashed to an image of her friend grinding with the twins back at Ohio's. Alexa just
had
to make sure every boy in the universe was drooling all over her, didn't she?
And Diego must be an extra-special treat,
Holly thought, trembling. Alexa had pursued him on purpose. Just to have in her clutches the one boy Holly really wanted.

"I -- I can't believe you," Holly hissed at Alexa, once she found her voice. "'How could you do this to me?" Her eyes filled with tears.

"What are you talking about?" Alexa cried, suddenly scared. Why was Holly looking at her with pure hatred?

Diego got to his feet, running a hand nervously through his dark hair. "Holly, please calm down -- " he began, approaching her.

"Don't," Holly whispered. She took a big step away from him and burst into tears. Then she turned and

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ran back into the heavy rain. Holly was so flustered that she dashed in the direction of the beach instead of the hotel. But she didn't care where she went, as long as it was away from the two people who had betrayed her.

Alexa watched Holly dash off, sobbing, and suddenly she understood. Of course. Holly and Diego had something going on. It all added up: their seemingly innocent date that morning. Holly wanting to buy a bikini and a new dress. Holly's eagerness to see him tonight....

Alexa stood abruptly, studying Diego with a new set of eyes. He'd played her. All his thoughtful words, and the intense way he'd looked at her, had been bullshit. And he'd even had the nerve to talk about Holly mentioning that Ian might be hitting on her. As
if Ian
were the creep!
It figures, doesn't it?
Alexa thought bitterly. The only guy she'd met in a long time whom she'd instantly clicked with had turned out to be a two-faced liar.

"Alexa, wait. I can explain," Diego said, accurately reading the stony look on her face. He reached for her hand. "It's not what it seems like."

"Oh,
that's
original," Alexa snapped, rolling her eyes. "Please, Diego. Save your lies for some other girl."

She shoved past him and stormed away from the cabana. She had to find Holly. The wind whipped

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Alexa's hair, and the rain soaked her thin dress. Alexa spotted Holly sprinting toward the pool.
Why isn't she running back toward the hotel?
Alexa thought in alarm. Slipping off her sling-backs, she quickly followed Holly across the lawn.

Holly reached the infinity pool, shivering and limping. The rain was coming at her sideways.
Damn Kaitlin's shoes,
she thought, resting against a table and unbuckling the strappy sandals. She wiped her teary face with her hand, then stared helplessly at her mascara-blackened fingers. All she wanted to do was collapse on a bed, and wallow in a long, shuddering sob session. Holly was wondering if she could walk back to the Flamingo barefoot before she realized Alexa had the room key. And then, without warning, Alexa was there, beside her, rain streaming down her face.

"Holly, what are you doing?" Alexa cried, breathless. "Come on, let's just go inside." She gestured back toward the hotel.

"Get away from me," Holly spat. She never wanted to see Alexa again. She spun around and fled off the Delano's grounds and onto the beach. She clutched Kaitlin's shoes to her chest as she trudged across the sand. To Holly, the ocean looked as furious as she felt -- a roiling mass of blue-black waves. A zigzag of lightning split the charcoal sky.

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"Holly, I didn't know!" Alexa called through the wind and rain. "He didn't tell me." She ran up behind Holly and spun her around so that they were facing each other.
"You
didn't tell me."

And
why
didn't she say anything?
Alexa wondered, studying Holly's mascara-stained face. She knew she and Holly weren't remotely as close as they had once been. But did Holly have such little regard for her that she'd keep secret something that had happened on this very trip? So Holly
had
noticed how sexy Diego really was, Alexa realized with a wry smile. She simply hadn't trusted Alexa enough to share that knowledge with her.

At the sight of Alexa's smile, Holly felt another burst of rage. Did Alexa find this all funny? She was acting so innocent, but Holly wasn't buying it. So what if Holly hadn't told her the full truth about Diego? Alexa
knew
that Holly and Diego had some sort of history. But she'd still jumped him the minute Holly's back was turned.

"You expect me to believe that Alexandria St. Laurent, boy expert, couldn't have figured it out?" Holly asked Alexa through clenched teeth. "Give me a break. You knew what you were doing.
You
probably
pretended
to hate him so I wouldn't catch on, right? And then you just threw yourself at him like ... like a
slut."

Alexa recoiled, as if Holly had slapped her.
Slut.

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The word sounded as sharp as a weapon. Alexa remembered how she'd almost let those frat boys do body shots off her in Ohio's, and that seeing Holly across the bar had stopped
her. But what gives Holly the right to pass judgment on me?
Alexa fumed. She made her own decisions when it came to boys. And she'd be damned if anyone -- let alone Holly Jacobson -- told her how to conduct her love life.

"How dare you talk to me that way?" Alexa shot back, her eyes flashing. "At least I'm not some uptight
prude
who doesn't know what sex is." A violent crash of thunder punctuated Alexa's statement. "I mean, how many times have you even kissed a boy?" she challenged, staring Holly down.

Holly brushed her wet bangs off her forehead. Her hands were shaking. The question cut her to the quick, but she couldn't let Alexa see her cry again.
Besides,
Holly thought,
since when does Alexa care about what I do with boys? Since when does she care about me, period?

"It's none of your business," Holly spoke quietly. "And you don't know everything about me, Alexa. Things have happened in my life since I was twelve."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alexa asked, wiping drops of rain out of her eyes. The storm was letting up, slowing down to a drizzle.

"Since I was twelve," Holly repeated, louder this

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time. Holly felt her pent-up resentment toward Alexa, which had simmered for so many years now, finally boil over. "You know, back when we stopped being friends?" Holly went on, her voice quavering. "When you decided to
drop
me?"

Alexa bit her lip, ignoring a surge of guilt. "I didn't drop you," she snapped. "We grew apart, Holly. It happens. Deal with it." She tucked her wet hair behind her ears, suddenly worried that they were heading toward dangerous territory.

"Oh, right. We 'grew apart.'" Holly made air quotes with her fingers. "That's code for
you
deciding I wasn't cool enough to be your friend." Holly was on a roll now, her memories resurfacing in a torrent. "Did you conveniently forget everything, Alexa? Like the time in seventh grade when I came to your house, and you told me to go home because you were making out with Eliot Johnson? Or when I called you for a straight week and you never called me back?" Holly crossed her arms over her chest. "You'd already dumped me by then, Alexa. I just didn't realize it." She let out a big breath, feeling drained and shaky.

Alexa stood still, the drizzle drumming on her face and arms. Now that Holly brought it up, Alexa did remember that time -- Holly showing up unannounced on Alexa's doorstep, wanting to bake cookies, right when Alexa had been about to get to

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second base with Eliot. Alexa had promptly sent her away and had also ignored Holly's numerous phone calls the following week; she'd simply been too busy with Eliot.

Alexa thought about how Portia and the girls gave her shit when she ignored them in favor of her boyfriends. Alexa wondered, not for the first time, if she was a bad friend. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"I'm sorry, okay? But that was forever ago," Alexa told Holly, collecting herself. "And it's not like I set out to hurt your feelings," she added defensively. "Not then, and not now. I'd never have kissed Diego if--"

"You kissed him?" Holly asked, her chin trembling. She'd been secretly hoping that Diego and Alexa hadn't gotten that far in the cabana. Holly shook her head. Diego was supposed to kiss
her
that night. Where had it all gone wrong?

"Yes," Alexa said. "But if I'd
known
that you two were together -- "

"We're not
together,
" Holly said with a sob. It was true; she had no real claim on Diego.
Was I just being stupid this whole time?
Holly wondered.
I actually-believed we had something.
That morning's bike ride had literally been nothing more than two old friends catching up. She and Diego didn't have chemistry anymore; all they had in common was one week, three

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years ago. Holly didn't even know for sure if Diego remembered their kiss.

The rain had stopped and the clouds began to part. Being out here on a beach, with the moon suddenly shining overhead, Holly was reminded of that long-ago night with Diego. It had been such a perfect memory, but now it was forever tarnished. Holly felt fresh tears spring to her eyes.

Alexa's cheeks were very pink. "You're not seeing him?" she asked, realizing with mounting regret that she should have given Diego a chance to explain himself. She watched in disbelief as Holly shook her head and dissolved into tears. Had Holly thrown a hissy fit because she had some stupid
crush
on Diego? Suddenly, Alexa understood with utmost clarity how different she and Holly were. This whole fight had been pointless. Alexa wondered why she was even wasting her time out here with such nonsense.

"You were
hoping
the two of you would get together, right?" Alexa murmured, sizing Holly up. "Classic, Holly. Absolutely classic. You were the same in grade school. Did you conveniently forget
that?"
Alexa asked, her voice cold. "Getting all excited because, say, some boy you were obsessed with smiled at you in gym class. Remember?" Holly had always been the master of making something out of nothing.

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"Why are you bringing that up?" Holly asked through her tears. "That's not the point -- "

"You dredged up grade school, too, Holly," Alexa said softly, wanting her words to hit their mark. "And you know what? I guess I did drop you. Because, face it, Holly: You were nothing but a baby then. And you're nothing but a baby now."

Holly put her hands to her cheeks, startled by Alexa's brutal honesty. She had no idea how to retaliate. Alexa had struck the core of Holly's deepest insecurity. She was still the same person she'd been in elementary school: Shy and awkward. Needing her parents' approval. And terrified of everything -- especially boys.

When Alexa saw the raw hurt register in Holly's eyes, she felt a wave of regret. But Alexa wasn't one to take back her words. She had accomplished what she'd intended. The fight was over. There was nothing more to say.

Alexa sighed and turned away. Her shoes dangling from her hand, she headed toward the hotel, wishing she had driven to the Delano that night. The hotel was within walking distance from the Flamingo, but Alexa wanted to be back in her motel room
now.
In her bed, under the sheets, dreaming this entire night away.

Holly watched Alexa go, then sank down on the