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“Hm,” I grunted, swinging my legs over the sofa. “I’m not sure about that. He said he needed the money and his other candidates had bailed.”

“Take my word for it, he must think you’re okay. Normally he throws women out of here. Before Ethan moved in, Kaden had a girl living here, and like an idiot he couldn’t keep his hands off her. She fell in love with him, and he… ” She made a gesture like tearing her heart from her chest. “After she-who-will-not-be-named-under-any-circumstances moved out, there was an absolute ban on ladies. In the end it got out of control. I think she even mixed hair removal cream into his shower gel. Can you picture Kaden without any hair on his legs and arms!”

I let out a huff.

Laughing, Monica shrugged and turned to call someone else in the living room. Then she looked back at me. “If you want, come on out and join us. We don’t bite.”

Hesitant, I looked down at myself. I was in my pajamas, no makeup—not exactly ready for a party. Especially since I hadn’t gone out without makeup since my eleventh birthday. My mother had always insisted on the importance of putting on your face before going out. The notion of leaving this room without makeup was absurd.

“At least most of us don’t bite,” Monica continued. “With Kaden you never know.” She jerked her head toward the living room. “Come on. The beer’s on me.”

It was my turn to grin. Her uncomplicated nature was just as contagious as Dawn’s. “Give me a second. I have to change.”

She raised an eyebrow and let her gaze fall on my cleavage for a meaningful moment. “Yeah, if you hadn’t suggested it, I would have! We don’t want Ethan’s eyes to pop out.” She laughed aloud at her own joke, which made my smile even bigger. Then she stepped out and closed the door behind her.

I got up and rummaged in my dresser for a pair of pants that were comfortable and not too tight. I picked out a pair of stretch jeans, left on my lacy top and threw a button-down sweater over it.

Then I glanced in the small mirror standing on my desk. My eyes looked tired. For a moment I considered at least putting on some concealer, but no. What would it say about me if I did?

That you’re still the superficial bitch you always were, who always takes everything for granted,a hateful voice echoed in my head. I silenced it.

Instead I looked at my new hairstyle again. I ran my fingers through my hair, went to the door and counted to three. If anyone acted stupid, I would just go back to bed. With a determined smile I stepped out of my room.

The apartment was in such chaos that I couldn’t even take it all in at first. There was a crowd in the kitchen, and the balcony was also packed with people smoking and talking loudly. Music droned from some kind of device on the kitchen counter. Red Solo cups, glasses, and bottles of various alcoholic beverages littered every surface. No idea how I’d managed, but I’d slept through the noise.

Automatically I scanned the room for Kaden. I spotted his brown, styled hair sticking up behind the blonde head of a girl who was perched on his lap. She whispered something in his ear, her hair pouring down over his chest. It didn’t seem like her attentions were making him too happy.

“Hey, there you are!” called Monica, grabbing my hand.

Surprised, I let her lead me into the kitchen. “Want a beer?”

“No, thanks,” I said. Noticing her disappointment, I added, “Beer isn’t my thing.”

“Ah. Let’s see what we have here. I think Spencer brought some of his dad’s expensive wine.”

“Wine would be great,” I said.

I thanked her and sipped the wine. On the fly I could name the type, even guess the vintage, thanks to my dad. For the past few years, I’d started to feel like my father was only proud of me when I was talking about a rare vintage with his business friends. Even though, strictly speaking, Dad was breaking the law, since I wasn’t twenty-one yet. Nevertheless, I’d developed an extensive knowledge of wine.

“Allie, you’re still awake!”

I turned toward Spencer’s voice. He was sitting on one of the high stools at the bar and waving me over.

“Yeah, I guess so,” I mumbled into my glass. I looked at Monica; she laughed, grabbed my hand and pulled me over to Spencer. She immediately began to report on Ethan’s impressive foray into my room, and Spencer spat out his water, he was laughing so hard.

“So, Allie, what brought you to Woodshill?” asked Monica finally, after we’d rescued Spencer from choking.

I leaned against the bar.

“I just wanted to see something else.” That was my standard answer. I had rehearsed it, and the shrug that went with it, to perfection.

“Same for me,” added Monica, lifting her beer bottle toward me. We toasted and I took another sip of wine. I was thawing out. It wasn’t bad at all—I was a normal girl at a normal party talking to normal people. No one here knew me. I could make a new impression. Maybe it had been really worth it to get out of bed.

“I’m only here because I wasn’t accepted in Portland,” sighed Spencer.

Monica wanted to punch him, but he ducked and grinned.

“Woodshill would not have been my first choice, but I won’t say more,” he added, throwing her a bone.