Diamonds in the Rough

“No explanation necessary.” Damien laughed and raised his Solo cup. “We have Amarone to the rescue.”

They sat on the floor and chatted while drinking the wine—after the first “glass,” Savannah felt warmer and more relaxed. Midway through the second, she and Damien were talking as if they’d known each other for years. There were a few times when their skin would touch, but he didn’t try to kiss her like he had in the Myst pool caves over the summer.

She should have been happy that he was respecting her request to take things slowly—he had tried to move too fast by putting his hand down her bathing suit bottom on the first night they’d met—but she also felt disappointed. Was he only paying attention to her out of pity because she’d looked bored during Survivor and Evie was too involved with the game to talk to her?

“What are you thinking about?” Damien asked. “You just got really quiet.”

“Nothing,” she said, taking another sip of wine. But her body felt warm and tingly now, and Damien had asked, so why not tell him what was on her mind? “Well, I guess I sort of feel like I’m never going to fit in with anyone here,” she admitted. “The only reason Alyssa, Jackie, Brooke and the rest of them are being nice to me is because I know you and Nick, and because I made the volleyball team. They expect me to forget that first morning at Goodman when they wanted nothing to do with me. I’m trying, because they can be fun and it feels good to be part of a group, but I can’t shake the feeling that they’re not true friends. They’re all so comfortable with each other. But even with Evie here, I feel like an outsider.” Her cheeks heated, and she looked down at her wine, unable to believe she’d blurted that out to Damien.

He tilted his head, his forehead creasing. “You’ve been comfortable at clubs all summer, and it’s a house party that makes you feel this way?”

“You thought I looked comfortable at those clubs?” Savannah laughed. He had to be saying that to be nice. “Because I felt like an outsider there, too. But the clubs are different—they feel like a fairy tale, not real life. It’s easier to pretend that I’m what people expect me to be when I’m there. But being here, at Jackie’s house….t hit home for me. This is how they’ve lived their entire lives—with pools, saunas, spare bedrooms, live-in housekeepers, wine closets and refrigerators full of more food than they could possibly eat. I don’t belong here.” She wrapped her arms around her legs and looked down, ashamed at what she’d admitted. Stupid Amarone, loosening her tongue.

“Hey.” He used his index finger to force her chin up so her gaze met his. “You might feel that way, but you do belong here. I know it’s a big change for you, and I can’t imagine what it’s like, but those girls aren’t only friends with you because you’re on the volleyball team. You’re talented, and fun, and you say what’s on your mind even if it’s not the ‘cool’ thing to say. I like that, and if those girls don’t, that’s their problem, not yours.”

Savannah’s heart raced, and she stared up into his dark eyes, amazed by his kind words. “Thanks,” she said, still embarrassed she’d admitted so much, even if it was apparently a trait he liked about her. He was watching her so intensely right now, his eyes traveling to her lips, as if he were about to kiss her again. She took another sip of wine to cool her nerves. Maybe he actually did like her?

Then she remembered when Madison had kissed him last summer, and how in that one instant he’d forgotten about her. How he’d gone on that teen tour and had those girls hanging all over him. And how Evie had flirted with him during the game, and he’d flirted back. Yes, he made Savannah’s heart race and made her feel like he cared. But he was a player. What if he’d brought her in here because of some stupid bet, like the one Oliver had made over the summer about her and her sisters? The two of them were close friends, so it was possible.

“We should go back out there,” she said, then finished her wine. “Evie’s probably wondering where we are.”

Disappointment flashed across his eyes. “If that’s what you want,” he said. “But before we go—what are you doing for dinner tomorrow night?”

“Evie’s leaving in the afternoon, so nothing that I know of.” She played with her bracelets. “Why?”

“I’ve been wanting to check out the new Italian restaurant at the Diamond,” he said. “Want to go with me?”

She froze, her arm dropping to her side. Was he asking her on a date? Or did he genuinely want to check out this restaurant and was asking her out of pity after her embarrassing confession? Or was this the next move in his game, because she’d made it clear she wasn’t falling for it tonight?

He watched her, waiting for an answer. “Sure,” she said quickly. After all, if she didn’t go, she would constantly wonder what would have happened if she did.

“Great.” He smiled, seeming truly happy that she’d agreed to go with him.

When she stood up, her head spun, and Damien reached out to steady her. “Thanks.” She giggled and tried to focus. When had the room started tilting so much? “I didn’t realize how strong that wine was until I got up.”

“Amarone will do that to you.” He held out his arm, and she took it, grateful for his help as he led the way out of the wine closet. “Come on, let’s go find your friend.”

They reached the living room, and Savannah spotted Evie sitting on the couch. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her lips curled in a scowl as she talked to Alyssa, whose hair was still wet from the pool. They both went silent when Savannah reached them.

“Where’ve you been?” Evie glared at her.

Savannah glanced at her watch and gasped—how had forty-five minutes passed since she’d left Evie in the rec room playing Survivor? “Sorry.” She laughed, but it turned into a hiccup, which made her laugh more. Evie didn’t laugh along—why didn’t she lighten up? This was a party. Evie always had fun at parties. “I didn’t realize how much time had passed. But you had fun playing that game with everyone, right?”

“The game ended thirty minutes ago, but I got out soon after you guys left for the ‘kitchen.’” Evie’s voice was flat. “I tried to find you, but you’d disappeared, and you weren’t responding to my texts. So I was sitting here by myself until Alyssa came over.”

“Sorry.” Savannah shrugged, since there was nothing she could do. It was unlike Evie to get all mopey. “Do you want a shot or something?”

“No,” she said. “I’m good.”

“Okay.” This was awkward. Especially since after all that Amarone, Savannah just wanted to have fun.

“Jackie and Brooke set up karaoke in the rec room,” Alyssa said, breaking the silence. “You sing, Savannah, right?”

“Yes, I do!” She jumped and clapped her hands. “Does she have the Frozen sing-along? I totally have to sing ‘Let It Go’! The Idina Menzel version, obviously.”

“You can sing that?” Damien raised an eyebrow. “Don’t get me wrong, you have a great voice, but it’s a tough song.”

“Um, yeah, I can sing that.” Savannah laughed and rolled her eyes. “Follow me and I’ll prove it!”

She pointed at the rec room, took a shot in the kitchen on the way there and the night was a blur after that.

Chapter 6: Courtney (#ulink_1d2200ce-b742-5537-bb7d-7a6a629e535a)

After a long morning of working at Habitat for Humanity, Courtney was ready for lunch break. She loved volunteering for Habitat, especially after meeting the family who would move into the house when it was completed, but she wasn’t used to physical labor. She’d been assigned to painting the outside of the house, and her arms would be hurting tomorrow.

Once the pizza arrived, it was set up on tables, and everyone dug in. Courtney rarely took advantage of her Blamex—the Black American Express credit card that Adrian had given her and her sisters—but she hadn’t hesitated to use it to buy the pizza lunch for Habitat volunteers. She’d also ordered extra pizza for the family who would eventually move into the house, so they could take it home for tomorrow. She understood what it was like not knowing if there would be enough food for every meal, or to have to stretch a loaf of bread and jar of peanut butter for as long as possible. Not a day passed when she didn’t feel guilty for having so much now when most people had so little, and she was determined to give back.

Somehow, she’d ended up in front of Brett in the pizza line. He’d followed through with his promise to join Habitat with her—and despite Courtney’s insistence that they not get too close, he always worked around it, like by sitting next to her in the meetings, or getting behind her in line right now. And despite her attempts to neutralize her feelings for him, her heart still raced every time he was near.

“Sit with me for lunch?” he asked after they grabbed their slices.

He looked so perfect with the sun reflecting off his green eyes, his hair messed up from working in the heat all day, and Courtney couldn’t say no. She wanted to slap herself after agreeing. What was she doing? She should be joining a group to try making new friends, not going off with Brett. But her legs didn’t want to listen to her brain, and she followed him to a shaded, secluded spot under a tree.

“Looks like you got more paint on you than on the house,” Brett said as they set their plates down on the grass.

“Savannah’s going to flip when she sees my jeans.” Courtney took a long drink of water. The desert air was drying out her throat, and she finished half the water bottle in seconds. “But anyway, how’s the roof work going?” She phrased it casually, as if she hadn’t been subtly watching him work up there all morning.

“I sucked at first.” He laughed. “But after a while I got the hang of it. I’m not the best, but I’m not as bad as Oliver. Poor guy almost fell off.”

“I was surprised to see him here this morning,” Courtney said. “He’s never come to any of the meetings, and he didn’t strike me as the type of person who voluntarily wakes up before noon.”

Brett chewed a bite of pizza. “I have no idea why he’s here, but he’s hungover as hell. One of the other guys mentioned that Oliver was partying pretty hard at that volleyball party last night. He might be moved to painting so he doesn’t almost fall off the roof again.”

“That’ll be good,” Courtney said sarcastically. “A hungover person breathing in paint fumes. Hopefully he won’t get sick all over a wall.”

“That’s some abstract art I wouldn’t want to see.” Brett finished his first slice and moved on to his second. “Anyway, what’re you up to after this? The new Bond movie came out this weekend and I want to see it.”

Had he just asked her out? Courtney froze, pizza slice in midair, unable to meet his eyes. She couldn’t sit close to him in a dark movie theater. The tension that would build between them….he shook off the thought, not wanting to dwell on it. Because it couldn’t happen.

“I’ll probably take a long shower, then try to get some work done if I don’t pass out from exhaustion first.” She said the first excuse to pop into her mind. “Any energy I have left after today needs to be spent studying for the PSAT. I can’t believe they’re coming up next week.”

“Haven’t you been studying all summer?”

“Yes,” she said. “But I want to review everything to make sure I’m ready.”

“If you’re not ready by now, that won’t change in the next few days,” he said. “And I’m sure you’ll do great, but it’s only the PSATs. The colleges don’t see them. You can take a night off to go to the movies.”

He might be right, but she didn’t trust herself in a movie theater with him. And she really had planned on studying. “The colleges don’t see them, but if I do well I can qualify for a National Merit Scholarship,” she said. “I’ve been wanting that scholarship since freshman year.”