Hidden Gem Short Story Collection (9781301405985) by India Lee Page A

me
already?”
    The question actually made Harper think. She
was already more interested in Zoe than she was in her friends back
home but maybe that was because she was sober. And because Zoe was
younger than her and already independent, with millions of dollars
that didn’t come from her parents. Harper shrugged. “I mean I
definitely don’t want to see you have sex with that douchebag,” she
finally answered.
    “ I mean I wouldn’t want
you watching, anyway.”
    When Harper stared, Zoe
stared back, deadpan for a second before bursting out laughing.
“ Joking . That was
a joke. I won’t have sex with him, okay? Jesus,” she said. “But if
I don’t, that means you have to find me a hot guy to lose it
to.”
    “ What do I get out of it?”
Harper asked with a smirk.
    Zoe barely needed to give
the question any thought. “I’ll bring you to a really good party
tonight. Like, really good. You haven’t been to a party unless you’ve been to this
party.”
    “ I’m from New York,”
Harper said skeptically.
    “ Yeah, where places close
at 4AM. Everything closes early in L.A so we have to have good
house parties. Wait for me once you wrap for today. I’ll have my
driver take us there together.”
    ~
    The virgin was
right , Harper thought to herself
wryly.
    No party in New York could be anything like
the one Zoe had taken her to – though it perhaps had to do with the
sheer amount of space available. Behind the gate and never ending
driveway was a European villa of nearly twelve thousand square feet
sitting upon a two-acre lot.
    “ You know Oro Records?”
Zoe asked, referring to one of the top four recording companies in
the music industry. Harper gave her look as if she’d asked an
utterly stupid question. “Okay, yes, duh. So, you know the head of
Oro? Cliff Westin?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ Well, this is his
house.”
    Harper raised her eyebrows. “Nice,” she
said, sounding less enthused than she was. Her voice never seemed
to convey its actual excitement. “So.” She looked around at the
house teeming with about a hundred teen actors and models and
people who, if they weren’t actors and models, certainly looked the
part. Pretty much every last one of them held a beer or drink of
some sort in their hand. “Why is Cliff Westin throwing a party for
a bunch of teenagers?”
    Zoe snorted, hooking her arm into Harper’s
and weaving her through the crowd of people saying hello, taking
her through the opulent white great room and out onto the deck.
There, on the outdoor onyx countertop, she fixed Harper a
surprisingly good martini with a twist.
    “ You didn’t look like a
beer drinker and this is the only cocktail I know how to make,” Zoe
explained when Harper accepted the glass with a lifted eyebrow.
“Anyway, Cliff’s obviously not the one throwing this party – he’s
in Paris right now. Levi’s the one throwing this thing.”
    “ Levi?”
    “ His son?”
    “ Was I supposed to know
that?”
    “ Yes?”
    Harper gave Zoe a look as she took a swig of
her martini, her expression asking, “Why?”
    “ Ugh.” Zoe shook her head
as she made a drink of her own. “I guess you have an excuse not to
know him if you’re from New York but basically, he’s king here.
Like, throws the best parties, knows the best people, is gorgeous .”
    “ Then why don’t you go
after him?” Harper asked.
    “ Aside from not wanting to
deal with that ?”
Zoe asked, nodding across the pool and over at the open cabana. All
Harper could see was a gaggle of about a half dozen girls in
bikinis or underwear but she assumed the famous Levi Westin was
somewhere under there.
    “ Yes.”
    “ Well, aside from not
wanting to deal with that, I still have a weird boner for Marco
Donovan.”
    “ Ugh.”
    “ I’m sorry . Sometimes dirty crushes turn
into real crushes, okay?” Zoe said, playfully defensive. “Besides,
if you don’t want me to jump Marco’s bones, go mingle and find me
another boy to like. Your challenge