Sensual Persuasion

Chapter 3, Lindsey's Indifference

Lindsey's View

"Who the fuck is that?" Natasha asked me. I stood fuming in anger. I had broken up with Luke long before, so why did it bother me that suddenly he's on to some other bitch?

"Lindsey?" Natasha asked me curiously.

I watched as Luke conversed intimately with Cameron as if they knew each other. I saw the way he lured her into the car and I was more than aggravated. I tapped the tip of my new Louis Vuitton boots against the hard cement and was tempted to strip away the ridiculous Ralph Lauren cashmere sweater that I had changed into. The school uniform was such a cruel punishment. What the hell kind of institution would force us to wear uniforms when our parents were paying top-notch dollars for us to even get admitted? It was too hot in this weather. I threw a glance at Victoria who was preoccupied with James.

Suddenly a heavy arm draped across my shoulder. I turned to my left and spotted one of Luke's closest friends, Thompson with one of his lascivious grins plastered on his face.

"Don't look at me like that," I responded icily, without so much as a glance. His gaze quickly traveled from my bare thighs that were exposed deliciously by my Calvin Klein denim, mini-skirt, to my face.

He laughed and whispered in my ear, "Can't help it. I'm a red-blooded, Italian male. What did you expect?"

I rolled my eyes and shrugged out of his half-embrace. About half the parking lot had glanced toward the direction of where the two were and embarrassingly, Thompson had followed the line of my gaze. He smirked and said, "Luke's already doing work." He turned to me and said, "Why, you look jealous."

"I'm not jealous," I responded. "I'm curious."

Thompson laughed. He was such an ass and he hardly took anything seriously. His only commitment was to girls and soccer and it grated on my nerves that a guy like him could so easily detect even the smallest of emotion that I effortlessly learned to conceal. When you have rich-ass parents who were way deep in the corporate world and bent on monopolizing their industries in practically every country, showing emotion was something you could not afford to let your opponent see. However, Thompson always had a way of seeing things that other people missed. I didn't like it, which was part of the reason why I detested him so.

"Curious about Cameron?" Thompson said. "I wouldn't blame Luke for going after her. She is hot."

"You think every girl is hot," I responded. "You don't need any excuse to do anything with a vagina do you?"

Thompson gave me a grin and James and the other guys standing around gave him knowing looks. I rolled my eyes. It gave no doubt that the exchange of looks indicated that they shared the same mentality.

I didn't bother to answer him. Chelsea, who had been preoccupied with Katie, walked over and said in a low tone that I had to lean in to hear, "So you want to go back to your place? We have a lot of planning to do for the party this weekend."

I blinked. In all of what I had witnessed in the past couple seconds, I had completely forgotten about my party, which was really weird since I had planned this to be the biggest one ever. How had I let that slipped?

I nodded and with Chelsea beside me, we headed in the direction of my Corvette. Thompson noticed my departure and said, before I could take a step, "Leaving so soon?"

I glanced at Thompson who had an expression of either distaste or interest, I couldn't tell. Victoria glanced at me and disentangled herself from James. Katie tilted her head in curiosity, but with her platinum blonde hair and innocent-looking gray eyes it just made her look like a regular dumb blonde. "Where are you guys going?" Victoria asked, as she walked toward Chelsea and I.

"We're going back to my house to plan the party. I have to drop a call to Marco," I said as I quickly texted Marco to arrive at my house.

"You mean the gay guy that plans all this shit for you?" a familiar male voice called. I turned in the direction of the voice to spot Nathan. His tanned, muscled forearms were stuffed in the pockets of his Levi's and his broad shoulders filled out his gray Oxford polo rather well. His light-caramel colored hair was mused, as if the wind had run through it and his green eyes hinted at mischief.

I had hooked up with Nathan at Chelsea's summer party at her parent's beach getaway in the Hamptons. Word had gotten out that we had and it had become the biggest pieces of hot gossip in school. The usual jittery feeling overwhelmed me and I couldn't help but feel slightly buttery in his presence. In fact, even Victoria and Chelsea were looking a bit dazed. Nathan was more of an enigma than I had begun to imagine. No one knew what this guy's deal was. He was a mystery, an enticement and in the heat of the party I couldn't help but want to hook up with him. We had had sex so many times, I lost count. He was amazingly good. Besides there's nothing more alluring than a guy with a shroud of mystery surrounding him.

"Yeah," I said. "He's pretty damn good at his job, for a gay guy anyway."

Nathan laughed and quickly switched topics. "I hear that Luke found himself a new girl."

My expression hardened and the tone of my voice turned deathly icy. What the hell? Where had that come from? "What was that? A dig? If I recall correctly at least Cameron is responding to him."

It was Nathan's turn to glower. The guys went "ooooooohhhhhh," like they usually do when they hear a good insult and started laughing. Nathan had tried to get together with Cameron once by asking her out, but she had flat out rejected him with an indifference that bordered on harsh. For a while, people had thought that with Nathan's hot, dangerous looks and mysterious personality and Cameron's intense, bad-girl, model-gorgeous appearance the two would be the ultimate couple at Rorington. However, that wasn't it turned out. According to eyewitnesses, Cameron had been pretty apathetic throughout the whole time Nathan was trying to convince her to go out with him. It was almost pathetic in a way and I had even been slightly jealous that Cameron was completely cool even in the face of his allure and his persistence. Everyone thought that they were going to be the ultimate it couple. However, that was just one more mystery to add to Nathan as well as Cameron. No one knew why Cameron had rejected him and why Nathan had given up his pursuit of her. In fact, people had described his pursuit of Cameron almost bordering on winning persistence. The guy really had a way with persuasion.

Victoria laughed and Chelsea shook her head in dismay, but I could see the teasing smile. Even she, the goody goody two shoes over there, knew how pathetic Nathan was in trying to win Cameron's affection.

I glanced at Nathan and tilted my chin higher in a challenge to strike back verbally in the face of all our peers. Nathan's earlier countenance dropped and in its place was a good-natured calm one. He said, "No surprise there. I was just simply stating the obvious. No reason to act like a frigid bitch."

The guys once more went "ooooooooohhhhh" and I colored a deep shade of red as I could feel the heat blossoming on my face. While everyone else thought nothing of the slight emphasis on frigid, I knew exactly what he was talking about. He was embarrassingly referring to the period of doubt when I had frozen up in the middle of having sex with him. I had even pushed him away frightened of getting caught by some partygoer. Once I had calmed down and we resumed what we were doing, I had been tense the entire time and he had pointed it out when I had gotten up early that morning and rushed to put my clothes on. During that time, I had thought about having sex with him, but doubts had crept in, even in my alcohol-blazed mind of doing this with someone like Nathan. I had never felt all that comfortable around Nathan. He seemed like this good guy on the outside, but I had once or twice spotted an odd almost violent look in his eyes like he was ready to murder someone for no reason, or even crazier, because he had some strange proclivity to do so because he knew it was wrong, for the sake of the fact that's it wrong.

Okay, I seriously need to stop obsessing over this. It was probably because I had been reading Poe in English class.

"Well this frigid bitch needs to get everything ready for the sickest party of the year instead of standing around and stating the obvious," I responded. I turned to Chelsea, "Let's go." Chelsea glanced from Victoria to Nathan then back at me.

"What about me?" Victoria asked.

"I don't need you to plan this party. You and Natasha can do whatever," I said really not caring, as Chelsea and I began to walk away.

"But I want to help plan the party," Victoria whined, as she ran up to catch up to us.

"Sorry, but I already have enough people to fill that position," I said.

"But we've been best friends! Lindsey, just let me help you plan the party. You said you would let me anyway," Victoria said.

"Well I'm saying you don't have to come," I responded.

Chelsea timidly spoke. "Maybe next time Victoria." Victoria's face fell and as she turned to walk away, Chelsea turned to me from the other side of my corvette. "You didn't have to be so mean."

As I got in on the driver's side, buckled my seat belt, and adjusted myself in my seat, I turned to Chelsea. "So? I wasn't being mean, I was being honest. We already have enough hands. Besides, you know Victoria. She's bound to tell everyone who would pay two shits to actually care what she says about the party. I want it to be a surprise."

Chelsea looked down at her lap and bit her lip as I revved up the engine, backed out of my parking spot and drove by the blur of students who milled together. I exited the school and before we knew it we were headed onto the main road that led to my house.

Chelsea was the typical quite, introspective, observant girl, who know one really had a problem with, but everyone couldn't help but admire her almost ethereal-like qualities. If three-year-olds didn't know any better, they would think she was some kind of fairy with her wispy mannerisms and her kind, glowing demeanor. She had been my best friend since seventh grade and our mom's practically menupaused together.

Which was something I didn't like to think about.

"What are you planning?" Chelsea asked.

A few minutes later, we arrived at my house. I parked the car in the garage and smoothly climbed out of the car, as Chelsea did the same. We entered the house and were immediately surrounded by a few of the hired helpers and those who were decorating for the party as well as Marco, who was organizing all of this. Chelsea on the one hand looked bored and waited for me to finish talking to Marco who seemed intent on trying to please me. The room was swashed in a glamorous/night club theme and there was a DJ table located in the ballroom of the house, which was where the party was going to take place. The outside was also swathed in mysterious lights that gave party-goers extra privacy, as well as a whole host of rooms upstairs for those who were up for a little more.

I laughed inside. Would I be one of them? I didn't know. After all, it is a party.