Sand, Sequins & Silicone by Pia Mia

CHAPTER THREE: WHITE LI(N)ES

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We barely speak for the rest of the night. I'm too busy enjoying my time with the girls, but I feel John's gaze on me everywhere I go. On the dance floor, his eyes slide like warm hands over my body. At the table, he's a dark shadow in the corner of my eye. In conversation with other people, I overhear his one-word answers and know without looking that he's watching.

"Why's Emma waiting in line for the bathroom?" Val says with a short laugh as we approach later on.

I'm giddy on my high heels, the bass thumping through my bones.

"Emma?" I tug her out of the long line of girls waiting to get in and pull her with us toward the bathroom door. "We don't wait in line. Come on."

Inside, the bathroom's crowded, chaos and commotion everywhere as girls wait around to use the stalls and stand in groups at the sinks reapplying their makeup. A couple of pretty blondes I don't recognize gossip by the hand dryers, and they gasp, their eyes going wide, when we walk in.

"I fucking love your new song, girl!" one of them slurs, clearly drunk.

"Thanks." I press my lips together in a polite smile as we push through.

"We should get the big stall." Val directs Jessie to the end of the row and reaches out for my hand.

"There's someone in there, Val," Jessie says.

"Hurry it up!" she calls through the door and starts to pound her fists on the wood, making another girl dart away as if she just remembered she didn't need to use the bathroom after all. "Period and a white dress out here—there are, like, eight more seconds until you're responsible for a crime against my dignity!"

I laugh out loud. Val's crazy when she's drunk.

"Emma!"

We all turn around at the sound of her name. When Emma sees the tall girl standing behind us, her eyes light up over a smile.

"Hey! I was looking for you!" she says.

"This is such a sick party, Princess," the stranger compliments as she throws her arms around Emma in a tight hug, beaming at me. Her eyes are dark, her pupils as wide as saucers beneath her glittery gold eye shadow. I don't know who she is or how she got on the guest list, but Emma dives into excited gossip with her before I can ask, and beside us, the door to the big stall opens up.

"Finally!" Val grabs Jessie's hand, and Jessie grabs mine. "Come on, Emma!" she calls over her shoulder as we step in, heels click-clacking on the shiny tile.

Emma and her friend follow us inside, locking the door behind them. While Jessie helps Val out on the other side of the stall, I touch up my makeup in my compact, adding another layer of glistening lip gloss. In the reflection, I see the tall girl reach into her bra and pull out a small vial containing what looks like white powder.

"My treat." She giggles and catches the door to steady herself as she sways on her high heels. "Take as much as you want, Em."

"You're the best." Emma takes the vial from her.

Capping my lip gloss, I watch through the mirror as she pours some of the powder onto the back of her hand.

Classic.

Emma lifts her hand, one finger pushed against her nose, and winces as she sniffs the powder in. Behind her, the other girl moves over to Jessie and Val, her voice way too loud for the enclosed space.

"Oh, fuck! I just realized, you're Valerie Vance! Valerie Vance!" She grabs Jessie's shoulders to steady herself, shaking her head in wide-eyed disbelief. "Your family owns, like, half the hotels in the world!"