Currents

Thirteen ~ Flirtations

"I think Mia's doing remarkably well given how hot all your friends are."

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Mia taking a long gulp of her drink. A smirk still flickered across Brooke's lips, and I wondered if she was trying to suss me out just as much as I was trying to suss her out.

"It is remarkable," Brooke said. "Especially considering that it doesn't usually take much for her to...you know."

Wow. If you're going to slag off your friend so publicly, at least have the guts to do it properly. My protective instincts kicked in, and despite telling myself I wouldn't get involved in something that didn't concern me, I couldn't resist putting a slut-shaming bitch back in her place.

"Actually, I've been here for five weeks now and she's not, 'you know', with a single person. Where I come from, that's impressive."

"I guess we do things a little differently over here."

"Evidently so." I began to turn back to Mia, signalling that this conversation was over, but Brooke's next jab froze me in my tracks.

"For example," she said, raising her voice, "we don't invite random guys into our house if we've got a boyfriend."

Everyone else had stopped talking, Brooke and I becoming the centre of attention. I normally didn't mind that, but after her last comment, I wanted the ground to swallow me up.

"Come on, Brooke, don't be a bitch," Austin said. Despite his efforts to keep his tone jovial, his voice shook.

She held up her hands in defence. "I'm just saying it how it is."

My eyes hadn't left Brooke's—mainly because I didn't dare look elsewhere. However, once the initial shock and humiliation wore off, it occurred to me that someone had been talking, and it wasn't Mia. 

Trying to maintain composure, I sipped my drink—partially for Dutch courage and partially to wet my dry mouth—before speaking up.

"We all do stupid things when drunk," I said.

Brooke smiled and nodded at my cup. "You better be careful tonight, then."

I didn't reply. She was clearly determined to have the last word, and I would not sink to her level. Despite that, I refused to walk away, no matter how much I wanted to. She'd intended to embarrass me, and I would not give her the satisfaction of seeing she'd succeeded.

"Well, now you two are introduced," Austin said, his cheerful voice diffusing the tension. "Mia's a slut, Rosalie's a slut, everyone's a slut—let's get drunk, yeah?"

For the first time, he'd used my proper name, no doubt because of nerves. It didn't take a genius to work out who'd spilled the beans.

"I'll try not to get too drunk, Austin," I said. "Otherwise I might end up inviting you back."

Everyone laughed, and Austin appeared relieved to see me making fun of myself rather than getting upset. Sometimes laughing at yourself is the best way to stop everyone else laughing at you. At least, that's what I'd been taught...

Brooke soon occupied herself with a different conversation, and Mia and I took a stroll towards the water's edge. Eagerness to say something radiated off her and, sure enough, she blurted it out as soon as we were alone.

"It wasn't me, I swear."

"Relax. I know it wasn't you."

"I just don't understand why Brent would talk. He's so private about that kind of thing, and I think he was equally embarrassed."