lanky form and dark hair and her platinum locks and petite, swimsuit model body, they’re a perfect contrast to one another.
Belle Mère’s power couple.
Everyone who is anyone wants to be them. Me? I'll admit it. I just want to be her. Maybe since I used to be the one holding his hand.
Josie follows my gaze and her dark eyes narrow when she sees the pair. “Ignore them.”
“I am.” If it only it were as simple as following her command, but Jonas is the one who broke my heart. He kissed me. He made me fall in love. Then he walked away for her, so I jumped into bed with the school’s resident narcissist to get back at him.
It would have been nice to know Hugo had placed a bet on how fast he could get me into bed. I’d known I was a sure thing. At least I could have made some money. I didn’t get much else out of it.
“I want to go out tonight.” I say it before the thought fully processes.
Josie bounces, looking a bit too much like the ex-cheerleader she is, as she rubs her hands together.
“Nothing crazy,” I warn her.
“Don’t worry. It will be fun, because I know exactly where we’re going.” The mischievous glint in her eyes sends a wave of apprehension surging through me.
What have I gotten myself into?
Chapter Two
The shades are drawn when I reach home. Possibly the only thing more depressing than miles of blazing desert as far as you can see is a dark house smack in the middle of it. The only thing worse than that? The unwelcome scent of stale beer that meets me at the door. I pause for a moment, surveying the scene and wondering why I hadn’t signed up for summer classes. I could have graduated early next year, enrolled part time in Las Vegas Community College and used the meager money I made at the shop to get my own place. I allow myself to consider this for all of five seconds before I began collecting beer cans and cigarettes.
“Hey, pumpkin," Dad greets me, rubbing his eyes. He hasn’t passed out yet, which is the only bright spot in this scene. “How was school? Do you have homework?”
My father has been asking those two questions every day of my life since mom left. It’s a lack-luster attempt at parenting but I appreciate the effort.
“Last day of school,” I remind him, cradling cans in my arms.
“That’s right. I got my days mixed up.” He scratches his head, smiling sheepishly. “We should celebrate.”
Dad tries, which is more than I can say for most parents around here. Most of my classmates were raised by the staff while their parents focused on the casino floor and keeping the whales happy. I wish I could say I was better off than the rest of them, but I’d spent the last five years holding our dysfunctional family together and keeping the business afloat.
He’d never gotten over losing mom, but she’d followed the money away from signed records and sports memorabilia and all the other junk we gave a home to at Pawnography. Apparently a seedy pawn shop blocks from the strip wasn’t the kind of wealth she’d envisioned. Mom wanted more and she got it in the form of a new husband and a tasteful compound in Palm Springs where she spent her day sipping white wine spritzers. On her wedding day, she told my sister and I that all her dreams had finally come true. Becca gave her a pass, saying she was simply in love. all right My sister could see the big picture, including the doors his money would open for us. She'd jumped at the chance to ditch Las Palmas High School when he offered, but I'd wanted no part of her new life. I finally agreed to attend Belle Mére Prep on her dime only after Josie had gotten a scholarship there. I couldn't stand the idea of starting high school with both my sister and best friend there without me.
I drop the cans in the recycling bin, ignoring the fact that he dumped his ash tray in it. As I open the blinds, the sun hits me and I wonder what mom is doing now. Probably sitting by the pool while someone else cooks her dinner. Or maybe she's already on the private jet heading here to grace me with her presence.
“Where do you want to go? I know a guy over at the