Page 20 of Between Now and Forever

I couldn’t ask Duke to take me back home. That would just make things even more awkward. But I could have James arrive thirty minutes after we do and say he needed me for something.

Just then, Duke’s hand comes to lay on my knee, and I jump and almost drop my phone.

“Stop thinking so much. Relax, the party will be fun,” he says and then lifts the center console up.

“Here, drink this.” He thrusts a silver flask at me.

“What is it?” I take it, but only eye it with suspicion.

I really planned on not drinking tonight.

“Just some tequila. Take a shot and then relax. We’re gonna swim and jet ski and eat burgers and watch fireworks. You can’t show up looking like you sucked on a lemon the whole way there.”

I laugh at his characterization and realize that my face did feel tight. I considered the bottle. When would I have a chance for a night like this again?

“Fine, I guess you’re right.”

I take a small sip and then open my Instagram app and try to relax while I scroll.

It’s an endless stream of flawless women, washing their makeup off to reveal the beautiful skin underneath. I watch one for the same makeup I’m wearing now.

“These are hideous,” a perky blonde exclaims. Her eyes are wide with exaggerated distress, and she pouts prettily while pointing to the dark circles under her eyes. If she thinks those faint, temporary smudges are hideous, what would she think ofme?

“Hey, we’re here,” Duke says and breaks me out of my tortured thoughts.

He rolls the windows down, and the warm summer breeze floods the car. It carries with it the smells and sounds of summer—water splashing and meat charring over charcoal.

I look out the window and watch the people frolicking by the lake.

I sit up straighter, looking around trying to make sense of what I’m seeing.

There’s a huge granite cliff face that rises out of one side of the lake, and rather than the grassy knolls of West Winsome’s lake, this one has a sandy shore.

My nerves skitter, and I scramble out of the car and rush to catch up with Duke, who is already halfway across the massive parking lot.

“Where are we?” I ask, winded and flushed from my sprint. I glance around nervously at the crowd of people ringing the lake. There’s not just one party, but several happening. And I don’t see a single familiar face.

“This is Devil’s Mountain. East Winsome. Come on.” He turns to walk away.

I grab his arm and yank him to a stop.

“Wait!” I hiss.

“What the hell, Lizzie?” he whines.

“This is where thatcultlived, Duke. We’ve never been allowed here.”

“Quit clutching your pearls. The cult has been gone for years. There’s only a town now, and these people didn’t do anything wrong. You’ve got the same stupid small-town mentality as everyone else in West Winsome,” he says with disgust before he yanks his arm free of my hold and strides away.

His words hit me square in the chest.

Am I guilty of the very thing I’ve been a victim of? The thought makes my stomach hurt. I would never want to make anyone feel as excluded and out of place as I do. That’s not who I am.

Duke’s willingness to mingle with these people though, surprises me. His father is just as elitist as mine. As far as I’ve known, so is he.

I hurry after him. I call his name, but he’s too far away, and I lose him a few times in the throng of revelers that crowd the lakeshore.

When I finally catch up to him, I’m sweating under my wig and trying desperately to wipe it away before it runs down my cheeks.

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