"Well, she talked about you all the time," she gushed. "The fabulous Briana Leigh Covington from Dallas, Texas. I cannot believe I'm finally meeting you. She always said you were the most stylish girl at camp, but she didn't even do you justice!"
Slowly, Briana Leigh turned toward Ariana. She seemed to be mulling something over as she looked at her, then finally gave in.
"Well, Dana was always jealous of me. She probably held back on purpose," she said with a hint of a smile. She lifted her hand and snapped her fingers at a passing waiter. "Come have a drink," she said to Ariana. "You can tell me exactly what Dana said about me."
"Sounds perfect," Ariana said with a smile. She'd known she could crack her. Briana Leigh was just another Noelle--in bad clothing. Ariana stood up and, ankle miraculously recovered, walked over to join her new friend.
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BEST SUMMER EVER
"Two more martinis. And tell the bartender to at least try to make mine dirty this time," Briana Leigh demanded, adjusting her bikini strap.She slapped a fifty into the waiter's hand, ostensibly to keep him from pointing out that she and her guest were obviously underage. It was the third fifty-dollar bill this kid had pocketed since Briana Leigh's binge fest had begun an hour ago. Ariana stared longingly at his back pocket. She couldn't believe she had been reduced to lusting after a mere hundred and fifty dollars, but all she had left in her backpack was a twenty, two singles, and a handful of change.
Just be patient. All in due time... all in due time...She refocused on Briana Leigh. If this went well, she would have all the money she could handle by the end of the week--the money this girl had earned by murdering her own father. The money she did not deserve.
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Ariana applauded herself for having listened so carefully to all of Kaitlynn's stories. That diligence was going to set her up for life. And Kaitlynn as well, as soon as Ariana could safely make that happen. She shifted closer to the end of her lounge chair and wondered if she could possibly get away with tipping yet another martini into the pool without Briana Leigh noticing.
"God. How long does it take to pour vodka into a glass?" Briana Leigh added, snorting a laugh.
Ariana shot the waiter an apologetic smile as he collected Briana Leigh's empty glass yet again. Kaitlynn had not been joking when it came to Briana Leigh's champion drinking. The girl had downed more alcohol in the past sixty minutes than Ariana had ever consumed in a single outing--including the Legacy, where everyone indulged beyond what was normal. Briana Leigh's intake was excessive, especially for a random Friday afternoon. The plus side, though, was that drinking seemed to make her more chatty. Ariana was learning more about the girl with each empty glass.
"So why aren't you wearing your bathing suit?" Briana Leigh asked. She leaned over the arm of her chair and almost fell forward, catching herself at the last minute. "Bad wax?" she asked, lowering her voice to a confidential whisper.
"No. Nothing like that," Ariana replied. "I'm not much of a swimmer, actually." She couldn't exactly tell Briana Leigh that she didn't own one.
Briana Leigh nodded. "I had a bad wax this one time," she said, as if Ariana hadn't even spoken. She faced the pool again and let her arms hang lazily over the sides of her chair. "Told the girl to give me a
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landing strip and she did it at a total diagonal. I looked like a retarded streetwalker. So of course I had her fired."
Ariana bit down on her tongue. Hard. She could not criticize this small-minded girl. She simply could not. Not if she was going to get what she needed out of her.
"Don't you just hate when you have to have people fired?" Briana Leigh asked. "They get so whiny about it. Like my dog trainer. He swore to me he had house-trained my corgi, but the little bitch kept right on pooping in the house, so I had to have her put to sleep. And he acted as if I had done something wrong. Hello? It was his fault! If he'd done his job, I'd still have a dog."
Ariana felt like she was going to vomit. What was wrong with this girl? Putting a dog to sleep because of an inconvenience? How had Kaitlynn ever been friends with her?
Their drinks arrived and Ariana made a move for her bag. "Here. Let me pay for this round," she offered.
"Oh, please." Briana Leigh waved a hand before picking up her drink. "It all goes on my grandmother's membership account."
Ariana tried not to smirk at the mention of Briana Leigh's grandmother. After the fond way in which Kaitlynn had spoken about her, Ariana could hardly wait to meet the old broad.
But she was getting ahead of herself.
"You're sure? I can pay for lunch...."
An order that they had placed twenty minutes ago. Ariana was so hungry it took all her willpower to keep from checking over her shoulder every two seconds to see if the waiter was coming yet.
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"Shut up about it already," Briana Leigh said with a smile.
"Thanks, Briana. I promise I'll--"
"Do not call me Briana," Briana Leigh snapped, quickly shifting moods. "My name is Briana Leigh. That is the name my parents gave me, and I would appreciate it if you would use it."