Ariana held her breath. The girl was telling her father she'd wagered all that green? Was she insane? She could have at least come up with a good lie. No parent in his right mind would hand over that much money for a bet. Her skin prickled and already her mind started thinking three steps ahead, to new hair dye and the bus depot and a life on the run.
"Thanks, Daddy. Yes. I know," Tahira said. She held the phone away from her ear and looked at Ariana. "You'll have it tomorrow morning," she whispered, as her father continued to talk on the other end of the call.
Ariana blinked. The images of herself curled up in the back of a Greyhound, fending off smelly passengers on her way to Alabama or some such place disappeared in the wind. She couldn't believe that Tahira could actual
ly get her hands on a hundred thousand dollars so easily. She still hated the girl, but she was impressed.
"In cash," Ariana said, figuring it couldn't hurt to ask.
Tahira rolled her eyes. "In cash, okay, Daddy?" she said into the phone. "Thanks. Love you, too. Kisses to Mom."
241
She pressed her thumb into the touch pad, then tossed the phone back into her bag and stood up. Face-to-face with Tahira, Ariana could see that the girl was spent. Her hair was soaked with sweat and her eyes were bloodshot. When she walked off this court, there was no doubt in Ariana's mind that the girl would burst into tears over her public humiliation. As long as she was alone. She definitely had too much pride to let anyone see her break down. Oddly enough, another trait Ariana admired.
"My father's man will be here in the morning with a briefcase for you," Tahira said smoothly. "Congratulations. You won the bet."
"Thank you," Ariana replied. "I'm impressed that you're being so gracious about it."
"Yes, well, that's the way I was raised," Tahira replied, reaching back to pick up her bag. "But I wouldn't be too excited about your little win here today," she said, brushing a hand toward the court as if it meant nothing. "There was something much larger at stake, and in that game, you definitely lost."
Ariana's heart slammed into her rib cage as Tahira stared into her eyes, all fire and brimstone. She meant the secret society, didn't she? Now that she had won, she had Briana Leigh's life back. And that life had to be perfect. She needed that secret society. A sizzle of trepidation zipped down Ariana's spine and it was all she could do not to shudder.
"You've just made a serious enemy, Ana," Tahira said with a sniff. "From here on out, I'd watch your back."
With that, Tahira strolled away, followed by Allison, Zuri, and
242
Rob. Ariana took a deep breath and let it out slowly, telling herself to stay calm. For all she knew, Tahira was throwing out an empty threat to save face. Ariana had dealt with much more formidable enemies in the past. Like Kaitlynn Nottingham. Kaitlynn, whom she now had to convince to wait one more day for her money.
But she knew Kaitlynn would comply. She'd have to. One more day was preferable to both of them going back to the Brenda T. Ariana tilted her head back toward the sun, closed her eyes, and just breathed. This time tomorrow, Kaitlynn would be on her way to the airport. And Ariana would finally be free.
243
SCREWED
"Good practice, everyone!" Palmer announced later that afternoon, tossing his towel on the bench in front of him. He ran his fingers through his damp hair and a few droplets of water hit his bare shoulders. The guys applauded and cheered, feeling good after their workout on the river. As they started to file out, Ariana gathered her things and followed. Slowly. She hadn't talked to Palmer since that kiss near the pond, and she wanted him to stop her. Wanted him to want to talk to her, too.There was nothing wrong with wanting to talk to her friend's boyfriend, right? Especially when he might be the leader of the secret society she was dying to be a part of. She needed to make sure she stayed on his radar. Kept his interest. There was an ulterior motive here that had nothing to do with her heart.
"We're screwed," he said.
Ariana froze. She turned to look at him. Did he mean "we" as in the team, or "we" as in him and her?
244
"What do you mean?" Ariana asked.
"That wasn't a good practice. I just completely lied. Our time was in the tank," he said, running his towel over his hair. "There's no way we're going to beat blue and gray. Their teams are stacked with crew team members and ours is ... not." He took a deep breath and blew it out as he straddled the bench. "I just hope we won the fund-raiser last night. If we did, we don't even need to worry about the race."
Ariana's heart clenched. This was very not good.
But it was all worth it, remember? Her life had depended on what she'd done last night and on her win against Tahira this morning. She had called Kaitlynn and convinced her to meet up the next day for the final exchange. The very thought of Kaitlynn getting on a plane and winging her way out of Ariana's life made her feel giddier than a girl on her wedding day. But Palmer couldn't know any of this. Would never know any of this.
"Well, they're counting the money from all three fund-raisers right now," she said slowly, trying to hold back the lump of nausea in her throat. "So we should know by the time we get back up to campus if we--"
"Palmer! There you are!" Allison stormed through the outer door of the boathouse, her pale skin flushed. Ariana wanted to reach out and pull the girl's curls for interrupting her alone time with Palmer, but managed to control her impulse. "You'd better come quick. Tahira is freaking out."
Palmer was on his feet in a second, his expression concerned and confused. Ariana, unfortunately, had a feeling she knew exactly what this was about.