Diamonds in the Rough. Michelle Madow

from the balcony!” a junior guy Savannah recognized as one of Nick’s football teammates yelled from Jackie’s balcony, jumping into the pool with a huge splash. He emerged from the water, threw back his head and gave a Neanderthal roar with his fists in the air. Everyone watching cheered and clapped, screaming various versions of “Yeah, man!” and “That was awesome!”

      “Savannah!” Brooke called from the shallow end of the pool, where she was hanging out with a few of the girls on the team and some guys who were flirting with them. They all had red Solo cups in their hands. “Come swimming with us!”

      “I didn’t bring a bathing suit,” Savannah replied.

      “You don’t need one.” Jackie laughed and threw back her long brown hair, which had reverted to its natural curly state in the water. “We’re all in our underwear. Although Alyssa said she would get naked if Drew got naked, so things are about to get interesting!”

      “We could do it,” Evie said, soft enough that only Savannah could hear.

      “I’m wearing a see-through thong,” Savannah whispered. Even the drink she’d had since that first shooter wasn’t enough to make her feel comfortable shedding her clothes in front of everyone. If Peyton was here, she would do it in a heartbeat, but Savannah wasn’t as daring as her oldest sister.

      “We’re actually heading back inside,” Evie said to the group in the pool, and Savannah smiled gratefully at her. “Just wanted to check out what the commotion was out here. Have fun!”

      “Bye!” Brooke yelled before one of the guys dunked her underwater. She held her cup up high, and it miraculously escaped being submerged with her.

      Savannah didn’t know many people yet, and not wanting to look unoccupied, Evie had the brilliant idea to take pictures of themselves with the party in the background—­probably because she wanted to show off to everyone at Fairfield High that she’d been to a party like this. They got every background they could, and there were a lot to choose from, so they were busy for a while. More people were jumping off the balcony and into the pool, a big group was smoking hookah on the porch and some guys—including Oliver Prescott, the son of Adrian’s main rival and possible business partner, Logan Prescott—were gathered around the kitchen table, which was covered in lines of white powder that Savannah suspected was cocaine. She accidentally got a picture of Oliver doing a line, and she almost deleted it but stopped. This was the jerk who’d made a bet to sleep with her and her sisters over the summer. She would never put the picture online, but it might not hurt to keep it on her phone.

      Once she and Evie had taken enough photos, she texted the best one to Nick.

      are u coming to Jackie’s party tonight? I was hoping to see u here…

      Can’t L Busy w/family stuff. I’ll cya in school on Mon

      Savannah frowned, but she wasn’t surprised. Nick was always too busy to see her out of school.

      “We’re about to play Survivor!” a senior guy yelled from the rec room. “Anyone wanna join?”

      “Do you know what that is?” Savannah asked Evie.

      “I have no idea.” Evie grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the rec room. “But let’s find out!”

      When they got inside, Savannah saw the last person she’d expected to find standing around the cluster of tables—Damien. He and his friends normally hung out on the Strip, eating at the trendiest restaurants and seeing popular DJs spin at clubs. He rarely came to house parties with the sports crowd.

      “Great game tonight,” he said when he saw her, giving her a high five. Their hands connected, and a warm tingle rushed up her arm.

      “Thanks.” Her mind raced for something more to say to him. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here tonight.”

      “Oliver and I decided to do something different for a change.”

      “Survivors ready!” the guy who had started the game yelled before Savannah could reply.

      She quickly introduced Damien and Evie, then situated herself between them, trying to pretend like she wasn’t clueless about this game. Damien picked up the pitcher of beer in the center of the table and poured a small amount in her and Evie’s cups, and a little more in his.

      “Have you played this before?” he asked.

      “No, but we played flip cup earlier,” she said. “Evie wasn’t bad at it, but I was terrible.”

      “This is similar to flip cup, but everyone goes at once,” he said. “Each round the last person to flip their cup is eliminated, until there’s one person left.”

      “Doesn’t sound too hard,” she said. Except for the flipping-the-cup part.

      “Go!” the leader of the game yelled. Savannah forced herself to drink the beer—it was from the keg and tasted gross—and prepared to flip her cup. Damien got his in one flip. Evie got hers soon after. They both cheered her on, but after multiple unsuccessful tries, everyone’s cup was flipped but Savannah’s, so she was the first out. Which meant she had to leave her spot around the table and stand off to the side.

      Not having anywhere else to go, she watched the next round. Now that she was out, Damien and Evie were standing next to each other. They both flipped their cups quickly and gave each other high fives. Was it just in Savannah’s imagination, or was Evie tossing her hair more than usual, purposefully letting her arm brush against Damien’s and shooting him her trademark flirty smile that Savannah had seen her use on guys in Fairfield? And since Savannah was out of the game, all she could do was stand there and watch. Her blood boiled, and she crossed her arms. She didn’t want to look pissed off, but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t want to see this.

      Maybe inviting Evie this weekend had been a mistake. Savannah loved her best friend, but Evie had always overshadowed her in Fairfield. Why would she have expected any different in Vegas?

      Damien glanced over at her, and she took out her phone, pretending someone had sent her a text. The next round started, and his cup-flipping skill somehow vanished. He was last and was kicked out.

      “Have fun, guys.” He high-fived the senior leading the game, then walked over to Savannah. “You looked upset, so I wanted to make sure everything was okay,” he said so only she could hear.

      Giddiness swirled through her body, and she put her phone away. “You got out on purpose?”

      “You’ll never know,” he teased. “But let’s find something better to drink—that beer tasted like ass.”

      “Glad I’m not the only one who thought so.” She made a face, because the beer really was sour and warm. “But let me check with Evie first. I don’t want her to think I’ve abandoned her.” She walked over to where Evie was still playing Survivor and was now flirting with the senior leading the game. “Hey.” Savannah squeezed Evie’s arm to let her know she was behind her. “Damien and I are going to grab a drink that isn’t beer in the kitchen. We’ll be back soon. Are you okay here for a few minutes?”

      “Of course.” Evie smiled and thanked the senior guy, who had filled an inch of her cup with beer. “I’m rocking this game. See ya in a few!”

      Savannah followed Damien into the kitchen, but the cheap beer and liquor in there didn’t meet his satisfaction, either. After some exploration, they discovered a walk-in wine closet near the garage. He switched on the light, illuminating the rows of wine. It was more of a small room than a closet, with walls of granite, tiled marble floors and wooden refrigerated shelves. Savannah doubted Jackie would be pleased that they were considering raiding her parents’ wine collection, but she was too happy to be there with Damien to say so.

      She shut the door so no one would follow them inside and get the same idea. Jackie’s parents wouldn’t notice if one bottle was missing, right?

      “This is what I’m talking about,”