Page 52 of Enemies to Prom Dates
“No,” I lied. “Of course not.”
Why was I lying? Maybe because I heard the disdain in Heath’s voice, and I didn’t like it. Heath didn’t do girlfriends. I knew he’d had sex with girls. Multiple girls. Hell, he bragged about losing his virginity when he was still a freshman.
But there was never anyone he seemed to care about. Attempting to explain what I felt for Beth was pointless with him, so I didn’t bother.
There was nothingaverageabout Beth. Least of all her looks, which she attempted to downplay, but it never worked. At least not with me. Long, soft brown hair, perfect fair skin, beautiful hazel eyes. With that pointy chin that instinctively made me always want to tap it.
No, maybe she didn’t look like Star.
She looked like Beth, which was all she needed to do, but I wasn’t going convince Heath of that.
“Let’s just go to Chas’s,” I said, starting the car. “I’m definitely breaking the rules tonight. In fact, I feel the need to break several rules tonight.”
Not that I would ever drink and drive. With my own Uber account, which my parents insisted on, I didn’t need to worry about how drunk I got. I could also just crash at Chas’s if need be.
Don’t be stupid.
It was my father’s advice every time I left the house and, for the most part, it served me well.
I could have a few beers, forget this night ever happened then figure out a way to get Beth to talk to me again.
Shit.
Was Beth ever going to talk to me again?
12
Beth
“I’m never going to speak to him again!” I railed.
“You don’t mean that,” Star said calmly.
“I do. I mean every word of it. If he hadn’t pressured me into doing the show, then none of this would have happened.”
We were both home. Star hadn’t been up for an after party for obvious reasons. She’d made Chas drop her off then she’d texted me to come home. I’d been on my way anyway and now, we were together sitting on Star’s bed with the door locked so our sisters couldn’t harass us about the fashion show.
Of course they’d seen the video. Everyone in school had seen it by now. So far Mom didn’t know about it, but it was only a matter of time. The parents in this town lived on high school gossip. Two seconds of Star’s naked breasts would be talked about for the next month. Until there was something else to talk about.
“You don’t know that,” Star insisted. “It could have been an accident.”
I looked at her with a dubious expression.
“Okay, maybe not,” she admitted. “But there is no changing it. It’s the past now. So nothing left to cry over. It happened, it was pretty embarrassing, but I’m over it. You should be, too. And if anyone is to blame, it’s Anne. She did it. Fitz had nothing to do with this.”
“You warned me,” I said, cringing as I remembered it. “You tried to tell me not to do it and I didn’t listen.”
“No,” Star said firmly. “I never told you not to do it. In fact, I’m so proud that you did. You can’t go through life letting other people bully you, Beth. You have to stand up for yourself. I have to stand up, too. People have to know you come at one Bennet sister, you come at us all and we’ll hit back. Hard. With things like grace and dignity.”
I laughed. “Grace and dignity? Those are our two weapons. Have you met Kitty and Lydia?”
Star laughed, and it pleased me that I could make her do that on tonight of all nights.
“Yes, I was embarrassed,” she said softly. “Horrified actually. Like my worst nightmare of being naked on stage in front of an audience. However, I survived and when I go to school tomorrow, I’m going to wear my best push up bra and let everyone stare at them at will. Chas has offered to punch anyone who says anything to me.”
I rocked into her so my shoulder bumped hers. “There’s so much ugliness out there. I don’t understand it.”
“Which is why all we can do is fight it with kindness.”
