INAMORATA || 18+

01| pressure

"Is that supposed to make a difference?"

Selene stares at me as if I'd grown two heads. "Uh, YES. Dove, Hudson fucking Whittaker is throwing a party! Here! In Myrtle Beach!"

The name elicits pictures of one of the biggest playboys of our generation. He never grew out of his frat boy phase. At this point, his entire personality was getting drunk and sleeping around. I don't know him personally, but from what I am aware of, it makes me want to go even less.

"I don't know," I sigh. "I just wanna get some rest, term just ended. We have time to party for the rest of the summer."

"Dove, you know I have the biggest crush on him! Stop being so selfish, this could be my one and only chance to meet him. Don't ruin this for me," she snaps.

Instinctively, I flinch away from Selene. "Alright, we'll go. Sorry."

She smiles at me as if I'm her favorite person in the world. I'm not.

"We have to go shopping! There's no way I'm going to this party in something old," Selene says as we pull out of Coastal Carolina's parking lot.

I sigh. "Whatever makes you happy."

. . .

Selene pulls into the parking lot of Coastal Grand Mall. "As much as I adore your normal style, you can't wear literally anything in your closet."

"Why not?"

"First of all, you aren't really...glam. Second, it's a beach party so you've got to wear a bikini."

I laugh, not sure if she'd really said that. "Seriously? A beach party?"

"Serious as a heart attack. Come on, I know the perfect store." She turns off the jeep and gets out, but I stay glued to my seat.

"You didn't tell me it was at the beach. I never would have agreed if you had," I say.

"That's why I didn't tell you," she rolls her eyes so hard it looks like it hurts. "Ever since him, you've been such a prude! Now come on, those bikinis aren't going to buy themselves."

Ouch. She didn't need to bring him of all people into it. I sigh and get out of the car. There's no point fighting with Selene, she'll always win. On the outside, she's such a charmer, but deep down there's something dark inside of her. I'm inclined to think it's genetic, it seems like that same darkness runs through her family and it intends to ruin any and everyone that gets in the way of its goals, whatever they may be. Selene's look of satisfaction only makes my stomach do a nervous somersault. Who knows what she would have said if I hadn't gotten out when I did.

She links arms with me and quite literally drags me into the mall. "I saw this super cute bikini in Victoria's Secret last time I was here. All I needed was a push to buy it and now I've got the perfect occasion! You on the other hand, you're not allowed to choose what you wear. If I let you do that, you'd end up in a fucking wetsuit."

"That sounds like a pretty good idea to me," I respond, only half joking.

Selene shoves me playfully. "Don't be a killjoy! This is supposed to be fun. F-U-N. We're going to a millionaire's party, not your grandma's bingo hall."

"Deal. But if you're buying a bikini for me, then I'm going to need a lot more concealer."

"Oh, Dove," her gaze softens in one of her few tender moments. "You're beautiful. Scars and

all."

I smile. "You're about the only person in the world who'd think that. Come on, your bikini's not going to buy itself."