Good Girl Complex(Avalon Bay #1)(7)

Once he’s gone, Bonnie gives me a silly grin and a thumbs-up. “Nice job. How long you been together?”

“Four years.” I follow her into the shared bathroom so we can fix our hair and get ready for lunch. “We went to the same prep school. I was a sophomore, he was a senior.”

I’ve known Preston since we were kids, although we weren’t exactly friends growing up, given the age difference. I’d see him around the country club when my parents dragged me out with them, at holiday gatherings, fundraisers, and whatnot. When I started school at Spencer Hill, he was nice enough to acknowledge me in the halls and say hi to me at parties—helping me gain some of the clout I needed to survive and thrive in the shark-infested waters of a prep school.

“You must be relieved to finally get to college with him. If that were me, I’da been outta my mind wonderin’ what he was gettin’ up to out here on his own.”

“It’s not that way with us,” I say, brushing out my hair. “Preston’s not the cheating type. He’s big on family and the plan, you know?”

“Plan?”

It’s never sounded weird until Bonnie looks at me in the mirror with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, our parents have been friends for years, so after we’d been dating a while, it was sort of understood that eventually we were going to graduate, get married, all that. You know, the plan.”

She stares at me, her face crinkled. “And you’re … okay with that plan?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

That’s damn near verbatim how my parents ended up together. And their parents. I know it sounds only a couple steps away from an old-world arranged marriage thing, and to be honest, I suspect Preston got talked into taking me out that first time. He was the upperclassman. I was the awkward sophomore who still hadn’t mastered a flat iron. But whether or not it was initially suggested to Pres by his parents, neither of us felt like we were being forced to date. We genuinely enjoyed each other’s company, and still do.

“If that was me, I’d be pretty bummed that my whole life was planned before I even started my first day of college. It’s like gettin’ the movie spoiled when I’m standin’ in line for popcorn.” Bonnie shrugs, dabbing on some lip gloss. “But, hey, long as you’re happy, right?”





CHAPTER THREE


COOPER

Ever since we were dumb, barefoot kids racing each other up and down the dunes, churning up wake in front of million-dollar mansions, and running from the cops, we—the misfit, misspent youth of Avalon Bay—have had a tradition. The last Sunday of summer culminates in a bonfire blowout.

The one rule: locals only.

Tonight, my twin brother and I are hosting the shindig at our place. The two-story, low-country, cottage-style beach house has been in our family for three generations—and it shows. The rambling house is in disrepair and requires a ton of renos, but it makes up for its rough exterior with a hell of a lot of charm. Sort of like its inhabitants, I suppose. Although Evan is definitely the more charming of the two of us. I can be a moody fuck sometimes.

On the back deck, Heidi sidles up beside me, setting a flask on the wooden railing.

“We got liquor downstairs. Tons,” I tell her.

“That’s not the point of a flask.”

She puts her back to the railing, leaning on her elbows. Heidi has this way about her. There’s nothing in the world that can satisfy her, her interest so far beyond everyone and everything. When we were kids, it was one of the first things that drew me to her. Heidi’s eyes were always looking farther. I wanted to see what she saw.

“Then what’s the point?” I ask.

“Feeling a little naughty. A flask is a secret.”

She looks over at me, a sly smile pulling at her lips. She’s done up tonight, at least as much as one does out here in the Bay. Hair curled. Dark red lipstick. She’s wearing my old Rancid T-shirt, which she’d cut into a tank top that now exposes a black lace bra. She put a lot of effort into her look, and yet it’s lost on me.

“Not much in the spirit, huh?” she says when I don’t take the bait.

I shrug. Because, yeah, I’m not in the mood for a party.

“We can get out of here.” Heidi straightens, nods toward away. “Go take a drive. Like when we used to steal your mom’s keys, remember? Winding up in Tennessee somewhere, spending the night sleeping in the bed of the truck.”

“Getting chased out of a national park by a furious ranger at four a.m.”

She laughs, nudging my arm. “I miss our adventures.”

I take a swig of her flask. “Sorta loses the appeal when you have your own keys and drinking is legal.”

“I promise you, there’s still all sorts of trouble we can make.”

That flirtatious spark in her eyes makes me sad. Because we used to have fun together, and now it feels strained. Awkward.

“Coop!” Down in the yard, my brother shouts at me. “It’s a party, dude. Get down here.”

Twin telepathy still works. I leave Heidi on the deck, head downstairs, and grab a beer on my way to the beach, where I meet Evan around the bonfire with some of our friends. I drink while they spend the next hour swapping the same stories we’ve been telling for ten years. Then our buddy Wyatt organizes a game of moonlight football and most of the crowd drifts toward it, leaving only a handful of us by the fire. Evan’s in the Adirondack chair next to mine, laughing at something our friend Alana just said, but I can’t seem to enjoy myself tonight. There’s a bug under my skin. Burrowing. Chewing out holes in my flesh and laying eggs of anger and resentment.