Best Served Fake

forty // shit list

Even though Jameson's house was an exercise in depression, with cold white lights and blinding walls, minimalist to the point of concern, it made for a good party venue. As it turned out, colourful flashing lights and a sea of bodies could even liven up the Miller mausoleum.

I couldn't believe I'd never attended one of these parties. Almost everyone I'd ever met, with a few notable exclusions, were lining the walls of Jamie's mega mansion. It was the kind of party, with the kind of numbers, that weren't often thrown, because no parent in their right mind would invite this many teenagers armed with this much alcohol into their home. The perks of absentee parents were few and far between, but this was certainly one of them. This party made Jack Heath's infamous gathering look like my 10th birthday at Skate World.

Sascha Robson bobbed by the front door on Seb's back and gave us a cheery wave, and Aurora Anderson almost immediately had a shot glass in my hand, and in Kai's. A cacophony of noise spilled from the living room—evidently the centre of the festivities—but there were still people everywhere. Cora took advantage of the bodies to vanish, which meant I was not completely forgiven for earlier. I couldn't even be mad, because by the time I'd thrown my shot back, Cameron Davenport had procured another one for me.

"How does Jameson even know this many people?" I yelled in Aurora's face.

"Because he's hot!" she yelled back.

"I'm hot and I don't know this many people!"

"Because he's hot and single!"

"So am I!"

Aurora cast a sceptical glance behind me, where Kai was standing, his fingertips resting on the curve of my waist. Single until the wedding, perhaps. Single according to Facebook. But not single, not really. And I liked that people assumed that.

I winked at her, because yeah, I was barely single. I had Kai Delaney's arm wrapped around my waist. I was on top of the world.

Aurora and Cameron disappeared into the crowd. Will nudged his head toward one of the crowded doorways, and when he began to shoulder his way toward it, we all followed. It helped that he was massive. It was easy to move through the people in his wake.

But it helped when Will found a couch, somehow unoccupied, and we dropped into it, arranging ourselves in the usual fashion; Kai in the corner, me as close to in-his-lap as was respectable in society, Madeleine in the middle, Will in the other corner, and Izzy perched on the arm next to Will. Kai's fingers came up to rest at the nape of my neck, a warm clasp that I leaned into, enjoying the feel of his fingertips playing with the soft hair there. I bit my lip to stop myself from shivering.

"This is so fun!" Isabelle announced cheerfully. She was swaying a little bit, secured to the couch by Will's steady hands. The bottle she'd been glugging from had done good work on her. She peered into the crowd. "Oh, is that Josh Logan? He looks kinda hot tonight. Did he always look hot?"

"Nope," said Kai definitively. "Sober up a little bit, then decide who is cute."

Always good advice.

"Also, any guy with two first names should be cut from your list," Will added. "They're always douchey."

Maybe slightly less great advice.

Kai pointed at Will. "Truth. Jameson Miller."

I retracted my previous statement. Two first names should be immediately removed from any hook-up list.

Will nodded. "Exactly. Two first names. Guaranteed asshole."

Isabelle sighed, the force of it making her sway again. Will tightened his grip. "I hate going to parties with bodyguards."