Forever You Read online

  “It’s just like being at the mall,” I say to Harper.

  “I know, right? Every time I come home she’s got new stuff in here.”

  “So this is all freebie stuff designers sent your sister?”

  “Yeah, and this is nothing. Just wait until her movie comes out. She’ll get so much stuff it won’t even fit in here.” Harper holds up a bright pink dress. “What do you think of this one?”

  “Too pink.” I sort through the rack next to her but all the dresses are long, like evening gowns, and too formal for the party.

  “This one’s cute.” She takes out another bright pink dress. “Too bad it’s not my size.”

  “You should go into a fashion career. How did you end up liking sports anyway?”

  “My dad took me to games when I was little. My mom and sisters hate sports so they refused to go, but I loved going with him. I got my own father-daughter time.”

  I hold up a turquoise blue dress. It’s way too short so I put it back. “So you and your dad bonded over sports?”

  “Football, baseball, and basketball. And tennis, of course. My dad won’t admit it but I know he was hoping for a boy when my mom was pregnant with me.” She laughs. “I was his last chance because my mom told him they were only having three kids. Luckily for him I ended up liking sports.”

  “So he must be excited about you going into sports broadcasting.”

  “He doesn’t say much about it. I think he’s holding back his excitement until I actually get a job. It’s a tough field. I may not make it.”

  “You’ll make it.” I pull out a yellow dress. “You like this one?”

  She scrunches up her face. “Yellow’s not your color. I don’t look good in yellow either. Not many people do.”

  I put it back on the rack. “Harper, does your dad get along with Sean?”

  She stops shuffling through the dresses. “Um, yeah, I think so. Why?”

  “He just didn’t seem that friendly to him. That’s all.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I don’t really care if my dad likes him.” She sorts through the dresses again, not really looking at them but just shoving the hangers side to side like she’s angry.

  I decide not to push the topic. It’s definitely bothering her, but she’s not ready to talk about it. Either that or she’s in denial, because after seeing that earlier encounter it’s clear that her dad doesn’t like Sean.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  7

  “Harper! You’re home!” A tall, skinny blond girl runs in the room followed by an even skinnier blond girl who’s a few inches shorter.

  “Kylie! Caitlyn!”

  As the three of them hug, I notice how similar they look. They all have the same eyes and the same blond hair color. They look just like their mom.

  “This is my friend, Jade,” Harper says, leading them over to me. “Jade, these are my sisters. This is Caitlyn. She just got back from a photo shoot in Hawaii. And this is Kylie, the famous actress who gives you all the clothes.”

  “Hi.” I go to shake their hands but they hug me instead. And they both say hi at the same time in high-pitched voices.

  “Thanks for the clothes,” I say to Kylie. “It’s really nice of you to share like that.”

  She glances around the room. “I could never wear all this stuff. You’re welcome to take anything in here. None of this stuff fits me anyway, except maybe the shoes.”

  Kylie is so thin it’s almost hard to look at her. I can see her collarbone poking out beneath her shirt and her legs have no shape at all. They’re just tiny straight sticks coming out from her shorts. When she hugged me all I felt was bone. Caitlyn isn’t quite as thin as Kylie but she’s at least 20 pounds underweight for someone her height. She’s a model, so maybe she has to be that thin but it doesn’t look healthy. I’m 10 pounds under what the weight chart at the doctor’s office claims is my ideal weight and I look fat next to these two.

  “Jade needs a dress for tonight,” Harper says. “What do you guys think she should wear?”

  “I know!” Kylie says. “I just got this really cute dress sent to me last week. It’s still in my room. It’d be perfect on her.” She runs off, then comes back with a dark blue sleeveless dress covered in sparkly sequins. She hands it to me. “Try it on.”

  I look around the room for a place to change.

  “Just slip it on,” Kylie says.

  I’m a little shy when it comes to undressing in front of people, especially people I just met, but the three of them think nothing of it. I duck behind a rack of clothes and put on the dress, then step out to model it for them.

  “That looks amazing on you,” Caitlyn says.

  “You totally have to wear that tonight,” Kylie adds.

  I walk over to the full length mirror. “But it’s so sparkly. I’m not really into sparkles.”

  The dress is also shorter than I’d normally wear, the hem hitting about mid-thigh.

  “They’re dark blue sparkles,” Harper says. “They make the dress elegant yet cute. It’s perfect for the party tonight.”

  Kylie comes up behind me. “And that hottie boyfriend of yours will love it. I saw him out back. The dark-haired guy with the perfect body? That’s your boyfriend, right?”

  Harper answers before I can. “He’s her fiancé.”

  “That’s right. I forgot about that,” Kylie says. “Mom said she and Dad are going to the wedding.”

  “You and Caitlyn can come, too, if you want,” I offer.

  Kylie tugs on the waist of my dress, smoothing the fabric. “I can’t. We’re taping promo stuff for the movie that weekend. And Caitlyn will be at a shoot in San Diego.”

  Caitlyn stands next to the mirror, facing me. “So you’re only 19?”

  “Yeah. Why? Do I look older than that?”

  “No. I just can’t believe you’re getting married at 19. I’m 23 and I can’t even date a guy for longer than a few weeks. I get bored and have to move on.”

  “I know we’re young, but Garret and I are ready to get married.”

  “They’re totally meant for each other,” Harper says. “And you should see how he looks at her. He’s so in love. I’ve never seen a guy look at a girl that way.”

  I feel bad when she says it because for some reason Harper doesn’t realize that Sean looks at her the same way. Maybe she just doesn’t want to see it. I’m not sure why.

  “We have to go,” Kylie says, dragging Caitlyn with her. “But you have to wear that dress, Jade. And after the party, take it home with you, It’s yours. Find her some shoes, Harper.”

  The two of them leave and Harper heads over to the closet and starts sorting through the boxes of shoes. “I think a simple black heel is all you need with that.” She comes back out and hands me a box.

  I try on the shoes. “These will work.”

  She smiles. “See? I told you we’d find you something.”

  We spend the rest of the afternoon hanging out in her room and getting ready for the party, which starts at 6. Around 5:30 Sean comes back from surfing so I head back to my own room.

  The door is closed so I assume Garret’s in there. He is, but he’s in the shower.

  A few minutes later he comes out of the bathroom and sees me sitting on the bed, dressed and ready to go.

  “Damn, who’s the hot woman in my room?” He comes over and kisses me, wearing only a towel around his waist. “You better get out of here. My fiancé will be back any minute.”

  “So you like the dress?” I spin around to show it to him. “It’s a little too sparkly for me, but Harper and her sisters insisted I wear it.”

  “I love it. It looks great on you.” He draws me into him and kisses me again, sneaking his hand under the short dress and caressing my inner thigh.

  “Garret, stop. You need to get ready.”

  “It only takes two minutes to put my tux on.”

  “But you need to shave. Dry your hair.”

  “That takes 5 minutes. Max.” He’s now
kissing my neck while slipping my panties off.

  I glance at the clock. “Okay, but don’t mess up my hair.”

  We make it a quickie, then he shaves while I fix my hair which, of course, got messed up. Harper did my hair for me, straightening it and pulling part of it back in a clip so it’s away from my face. The hair clip came undone during the sex and now I can’t get it back to the way it was before. I give up and just click it in place.

  When Garret comes out of the bathroom he’s wearing his tux and looks so damn good it makes me want to do it again. But we don’t have time. It’s a few minutes after 6 and we need to get downstairs.

  Harper and Sean are already down there. Sean had to rent a tux since he doesn’t own one. The tux doesn’t really fit him right. Plus it looks kind of shabby since it’s probably been worn by lots of different guys at weddings and proms. I feel bad for him. I know how it feels to be the only person wearing cheap clothes that don’t fit right. That was me for most of last year until Harper starting giving me clothes.

  “You look really nice, Sean,” I tell him. Even if the tux isn’t that great, he does look nice all dressed up.

  “Thanks. I haven’t worn a tux since prom so it’s been a while.” Sean’s 22 so it’s been at least four years since he wore one.

  Garret nudges him. “Get used to it because you’ll be wearing one again in a few weeks.”

  “Maybe next time they’ll give me one that fits right.” He pulls on his coat sleeves, which are at least an inch too short. “I’d hate to ruin your wedding photos looking like this.”

  “You look great,” Harper says, coming up behind him and wrapping her arm around his. “You always do.”

  He turns around and kisses her. “So do you. You look gorgeous tonight.”

  “Thanks.” Harper has on a hot pink, body-fitting dress with tiny straps at the top. Her blond hair is usually straight but for tonight she used one of her many hair tools to create soft waves.

  The doorbell rings and a woman dressed like a maid goes to answer it. I look around and notice several servers coming out of the kitchen carrying trays of drinks and appetizers. Some of the furniture has been cleared out and replaced by tables of food and a bar complete with a bartender.

  People start filing into the room and I immediately recognize some of them. I don’t know their names, but I’ve seen them in TV shows and movies. They walk past me and I find myself staring.

  “Jade.” Harper’s standing next to me, whispering. “Try not to stare. They don’t like it when you do that.”

  “Oh, sorry. It’s just weird seeing these people right next to me.”

  “You’ll get used to it. These are the C-list celebrities. The A-list celebs will arrive later. They like to be fashionably late.”

  The four of us have some appetizers as more people arrive. I try not to stare, but some of these people are really famous so it’s hard not to. Plus, they’re all so good looking. It’s not very often you see this many good-looking people together in one place. I glance at Garret and notice how he fits right in. I don’t know if he can act, but he definitely has the looks of a leading man. The other women keep checking him out, which I find annoying but then again, he’s super hot so it’s not that surprising.

  Around 8, the top celebs start strolling in like they own the place. The first to arrive is an actor who stars in a lot of action films that Frank and Ryan like. Then another action film star arrives. They each bring an entourage of people with them. It’s so ridiculous. I just want to laugh.

  They look smaller in real life. Both men are only an inch or two taller than me. It’s strange how much taller they look in the movies.

  Three popular female actresses arrive a little later. Two of them star in romantic comedies and the other one is in some spy movies I’ve seen. They, too, look smaller in real life. And they’re all super skinny.

  The celebrities capture so much of my attention that I don’t even notice the other people there until the party starts winding down and people begin to leave.

  “Hello, Garret.” I turn to see a man with his hand on Garret’s shoulder. I remember seeing him at Garret’s house last fall for the fundraiser for Royce Sinclair. “Is your father here tonight?”

  “He couldn’t make it,” Garret says, his shoulder stiffening as the guy’s hand remains on it.

  “That’s too bad,” the man says. “I didn’t realize you knew Kiefer well enough to attend one of his parties.”

  “I’m friends with his daughter,” Garret says, looking over at Harper. She and Sean went to get a dessert from one of the servers.

  “I see. He does have beautiful daughters, doesn’t he?” The guy glances at me, then back at Garret.

  Another man appears and stands right in front of Garret. “I didn’t expect to see you here tonight, Garret.”

  “He’s friends with Kiefer’s daughter,” the other guy says, his eyes still on Garret. “I’m assuming you mean Harper. She attends Moorhurst with you, isn’t that correct?”

  “Yes.” Garret tries to move but the guy keeps a firm grip on him.

  “I’ll let you get back to your evening. Tell your father hello for me.” He gives a tight squeeze to Garret’s shoulder before walking off. The other man follows him and they both look back at Garret.

  They join a group of men gathered by the temporary bar set up in the back of the room. I remember seeing all of them at Garret’s house the night of the fundraiser. They all knew Royce Sinclair, or at least gave money to his campaign. How did I not notice them earlier? And what are they doing here?

  I don’t know, but just seeing them around Garret made me really nervous. I don’t know what just happened but I didn’t like it and now I just want to get the hell out of here.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  8

  “Let’s go upstairs,” Garret says quietly.

  “Let me tell Harper.” I walk over and tell her we’re going up to our room and will see her in the morning.

  When we get upstairs, Garret closes the door and locks it.

  “Are you worried about something?” I ask him.

  “No,” he says, taking off his tie.

  “Then why are you locking the door?” I take the clip out of my hair and set it on the dresser.

  “I don’t want anyone to walk in on us.” He smiles. “Just in case we happen to do something we don’t want others to see.”

  “Who were those men downstairs? Do you know them?”

  He nods. “Yeah. But I can’t say who they are. It was part of the deal.”

  “Should I be worried? Because I already am, Garret. I’m freaking out here. I didn’t like those guys, and the way they were acting it was almost like—”

  “Jade.” He puts his hands on my shoulders. “Don’t worry about it, okay? Everything’s fine.”

  His elusive answer just confirms that those guys were members of the organization. The secret society of powerful men that almost forced Garret into being president someday.

  I didn’t want to think about them or their group or what they put us through ever again. And now they’re right downstairs. Why are they at this party? They obviously know Harper’s dad. He’s somehow connected to them, but how?

  “I guess I never told you about the surfing,” Garret says, trying to get my mind off the men downstairs. “We didn’t surf the entire time. Kiefer gave Sean and me each a Jet Ski and we took those out, too.”

  Garret takes off his tux jacket and goes in the walk-in closet. I follow him in there. “Did Kiefer and Sean seem to get along?”

  “I guess. I didn’t really notice.”

  Guys. They never notice anything unless you hold a giant neon sign in front of them.

  “Can you help me?” I turn around and Garret unzips my dress. “Did Kiefer talk to Sean?”

  “We were out on the water. There weren’t really many opportunities to talk.”

  I hang up my dress, then put on my pajama shorts and a t-shirt. “Did it seem like they wer
e avoiding each other? Or was Kiefer just avoiding Sean?”

  Garret gives me a puzzled look as he unbuttons his shirt. “Jade, I don’t know what you’re asking me here. We just went surfing. Nobody was avoiding anyone. Is there something I’m missing here?”

  “I just thought Kiefer was kind of mean to Sean when we got here. Didn’t you think he ignored him?”

  Garret takes his tux pants off and lays them over the suitcase. “I wasn’t really paying attention, but Kiefer’s a nice guy. He gets along with everyone. I’m sure he wasn’t intentionally ignoring Sean.”

  “Yeah, okay.” I leave the closet and get into bed.

  Garret joins me, hugging me into his chest. “Don’t worry so much about Sean and Harper. You can’t do anything about whatever’s going on with them. They’ll work this out. And if they don’t, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

  He’s right, but I wish I could do something. Now that I know Kiefer doesn’t like Sean, it makes me wonder if that’s why Harper is afraid to get too serious with him. She’s really close to her parents and she seems to always want their approval. She’d never admit that but just from things she’s said in the past, I know it’s true.

  The next morning, we all meet downstairs for breakfast. The hired help is gone and Harper’s mom makes scrambled eggs and pancakes. Kylie and Caitlyn are there but they both drink black coffee and don’t eat. Sean and Garret pile their plates with food, like they always do, which makes Kelly laugh.

  “I’m not used to feeding hungry young men,” she says as she makes another batch of scrambled eggs.

  “My dad doesn’t eat much,” Harper explains.

  I don’t think anyone in her family eats. They’re all so thin, except for Harper who has more of a muscular, athletic body.

  “Morning everyone.” Kiefer walks in wearing workout shorts and a t-shirt. He gives Kelly a kiss, then grabs a bottle of water from the fridge.