Chapter 2: I kissed Adrian Vaughn 

(Meghan’s POV)

Sitting up straight on the sofa with a laptop on her knees, Sofia said, “You’re home late, and why do you look like you want to kill someone?”

I slammed the front door behind me, and my hands shook as I set my backpack on the kitchen table.

“I had a terrible shift,” I said, as I went to wash away the fragrance of expensive rooftop liquor from my body.

“Did you get another penny from some arrogant person?” Her voice was light but tired as Sofia rubbed her fingers against the plastic casing of the laptop.

“Worse,” I said, rubbing my palms under the cold water of the tap until they were clean. “I kissed someone tonight.”

Sofia placed her laptop on the cushion so fast that she might have broken the screen against the armrest. “Wait, what? You actually kissed a human male? The girl who hasn’t been on a single date since college because she claims men are a waste of time?”

“I actually kissed Adrian Vaughn,” I said, turning around slowly to face her, wiping my damp hands against my denim jeans.

“Meghan, don’t joke with me right now. You mean the same Adrian Vaughn?” she replied.

“The very same,” I said, my throat tightening as the memory of his mouth against mine flashed through my mind.

“How on earth did you even get close enough to touch him?” Sofia demanded, a massive grin spreading across her face as she slid her legs off the couch. “Did you spill wine on his suit? Did you trip and fall into his arms?”

“It was a game,” I said, walking into the living room and dropping heavily into the armchair opposite her. “It was a bet. They literally bet on kissing the easiest female staff in there.”

A grimace of protectiveness and disbelief crossed Sofia’s face, and her grin was gone in a flash. “Are you serious?”

“His brother handed him five hundred dollars the second I pulled away from him,” I said, clenching my teeth as heat flooded back into my face.

Sofia whispered as she leaned across the small space between our seats and took my wrist, “Oh, Meghan.” Her fingers were hot, but her grip was tight with concern. “I’m sorry. That’s so messed up!”

“I don’t need your sympathy,” I said, easing my wrist back so I could grasp the arms of the chair.

“So, what is it you guys are up to?” Sofia lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper as she shifted on the couch. “Have plans for revenge?”

“Revenge?” I couldn’t help but smirk at the flashing red alert on her open laptop as I told her that revenge wouldn’t get her the one hundred thousand dollars she needed for her final tuition payment.

Sofia shook her head against the back of the sofa and let out a soft, dry chuckle. “Meghan, don’t worry. I’ll reapply for the college program next year, or I can just find a normal office job and save my own money.”

I snapped, “No, I won’t let you do that!” The words jumped out of my mouth before I could even think them. “This is what you’ve been working so hard for.”

“And how are you going to get one hundred thousand dollars in five days?” Her smile faded into a tired, realistic line as Sofia asked, “There are no rich uncles and no house to mortgage. We have about four hundred dollars in our savings account.”

“I’m going to get two more jobs,” I said, leaning forward on the sofa cushion, my knees resting on it. “That’s what I can do. I can take the morning shift at the restaurant down the corner, and I can take the night shift at the corporate office downtown. That way, I can meet the minimum payment schedule the university requires.”

The laughter died down into a grumbling, defeated sigh. “Meghan, be serious. You can’t raise that kind of money by Friday, even if you work twenty jobs and don’t sleep for an entire year.”

“You need to stop talking like that,” I said, my fingers biting into the material of my chair until my knuckles cracked. “There has to be a way out of this. There has to be a way to keep your future alive.”

“You’re going to collapse from exhaustion before you find anything,” Sofia said quietly, looking down at her hands.

“Speaking of jobs,” I said, changing my tone to something smoother and colder. “There’s a big private party I’m supposed to work tomorrow night, and they said it pays double.”

Sofia rose to her feet, her eyes scanning my face. “What party?”

“The Vaughn family gala,” I replied, the sense of darkness and heat building in my chest uneasily as I pictured the sprawling size of their estate in the hills. “It’s at their home. The manager said the whole family will be there.”

Sofia didn’t look away from me, but she slowly laid the computer down on the table as she continued to study me.

Then she leaned back against the cushions and looked at me through her lashes. “Meghan, what’s the real plan for tomorrow? How are you going to get back at Adrian?”

I got out of the chair, picked up my bag, and stared her down.

“I have just the perfect plan.”