RaShelle Workman: A Beauty So Beastly

I winked, knowing he liked when I did that. He rested a hand on my knee, his blue eyes sparkling with need. I pulled away. His hand was still covered in lotion. Will’s face fell. I knew it bothered him that I had no desire to get physical.

Eva crossed her legs, leaning into Greg. “I’m so sorry, Beatrice. I know you had your heart set on that yellow Ferrari.”

I laughed. It was hard and cold. “I got that too.”

Cassidy whistled.

“You driven her yet?” Will asked, massaging lotion into my shoulders. Some got on my hair. My maid Celeste had curled it and swept the front up, but the back was still down.

“Watch it,” I snapped, pulling the ends out of the way.

“Sorry.” Will sounded repentant.

“No, I haven’t driven the car yet,” I said, putting my sunglasses back on. “I’m thinking tomorrow or maybe the day after that.” There were several magazines on the table next to my chair and I picked one up, casually flipping through the pages. Of course I wanted to drive the car. Why wouldn’t I? But I didn’t want to take him.

“This is for you,” Greg said, handing me Eva’s present. I gave him my special smile, taking it. The paper was a bright yellow with an even brighter orange ribbon.

“Should I open it now?” I was playing demure. To fit in with regular people my parents had taught me at a young age what was expected during certain situations.

“Yeah.” Eva glanced at Greg. “We hope you like it.”

I tore off the paper and opened the box. Inside was one of the Fall collection Christian Dior bags. The colors morphed from red into orange and then yellow. It was gorgeous. Score one for Eva and the hot guy.

“Love it.” I set it back in the box and on the concrete ground.

Eva beamed with pride.

The look on Cassidy’s face told me that either the gift she got was too cheap or it was the same gift. Without focusing on her, I watched her push it back and under her chair.

“Do you want me to open your gift next, Cassidy?” I asked, purposely putting her on the spot.

Her already pale face got whiter. “No, I—I’ve brought the wrong gift. This one is for my aunt.” Her face turned red as my bikini. “I’ll bring you the right one tomorrow.”

I raised an eyebrow, telling her with my expression that I wasn’t happy with her efforts. “Whatever,” I sniffed, lifting my nose.

Ashley handed me hers. “Happy birthday.” Her present was long and thin, like a hefty envelope. It was wrapped in yellow paper with a black bow. It reminded me of a bee and I randomly wondered if she’d done the colors on purpose. I didn’t ask. When I took the box I waited a few seconds for her to comment on the color scheme, but she didn’t.

I could see she was a little worried. The skin around her eyes was tense, but she was also less willing to bow to my desires than the others. If the gift was lame it was because she’d had enough of my bitchiness and I would drop her like a hot plate.

“What could it be?” I ripped off the paper and opened the envelope. It was a trip for two to Belize. I was actually impressed. She’d remembered that I’d mentioned I’d wanted to go to Belize a few months ago. Maybe she wasn’t worried about me so much as something else in her life. “This is great. So unexpected.” Then I smirked. “I suppose the second ticket is for you?”

She played it cool. “Whoever. I’ve been to Belize a bunch of times.”

“Right. I’m sure I can find someone.” I set the envelope with the tickets in it on the ground next to the Dior bag.

The only one left was Will. He handed me his present. “It isn’t anything big, but when I saw it I thought of you.”

I took it and untied the ribbon. In the distance came a yowl, like a cat, only the sound was louder than a house cat. Living on the side of a mountain, it wasn’t uncommon to hear strange noises. There were bobcats living in the higher altitudes.

What was strange was the way Will glanced in the direction of the noise. “Afraid of bobcats?” I asked, smirking.

One of his eyes twitched. “No, not really.” He chuckled nervously.

Since the box was from Tiffany’s I expected to find diamond earrings or a tennis bracelet or even a pretty diamond necklace. I mean his dad worked in diamonds so believing I would get diamonds didn’t seem far fetched, even if whatever it was would seem trivial next to my amazing white and red diamond tiara.

I opened the box.

There were no diamonds inside. Instead I found a key chain with a yellow and onyx textured leather bee with palladium-plated wings on the end. I picked it up.

“Read the back. There’s an inscription,” Will said, leaning closer so that I could smell his spicy cologne over the strong chlorine from the pool. I turned the bee over and read aloud, “ You’ll always be my Bea. ~ Love, Will”

It was corny and cheap and totally stupid. “Wow.” I forced myself to smile, internally debating what in hell I was supposed to do with it.

“You see,” Will said. “It’s a bee and you’re my Bea.”

I nodded, gritting my teeth. “I get it.” I bit my cheek. “It’s… it’s…” I studied his features, wondering why I even bothered to keep him around. He had black hair he spiked in the front with gel. His eyes were a dark blue and his lashes were black. He had olive skin and even though school had only been out a couple of weeks, he looked like he lived in the sun, his tan was so deep.

“You hate it?” His expression was filled with hurt.

It would have been proper to thank him and move on but I couldn’t. The present was stupid. Eva and Ashley had each spent several thousand dollars. His probably cost a hundred, if that.

“I don’t exactly hate it,” I said, and took a deep breath. Blowing out, I tossed the bee into the pool.

He gasped, his eyes getting wide.

“The gift is stupid, Will. My parents gave me an eight million dollar tiara and bought me a million dollar car. Ashley got me a trip and Eva got me a bag worth thousands of dollars.” I tossed the box onto his lap. “Don’t you care about me?”

Will’s mouth opened and closed, his eyes permeated with pain and anger. I turned away, watching the Tiffany’s bee sink to the bottom of the pool. “It’s pitiful.”

He stood, clasping his hands into fists, letting the box crash to the ground. “I’ve got to go.” He walked a few steps and glanced back. “Happy birthday, Beatrice.” A cruel grin spread over his face. It was a look I hadn’t seen on him before and I couldn’t decide if it was new or if I just hadn’t paid enough attention to his facial expressions before. “I hope you get exactly what’s coming to you.”

He stomped past Isaac, who carried a tray of drinks. “Are you leaving?” he asked Will.

“Hell, yes.” Will shot me a final glare.

Disappointment settled on Isaac’s features. His bright brown eyes locked on mine. They spoke volumes about how I should be more understanding, that I could show my friends, if not kindness, at least respect. But he said nothing, which was a damn good thing. It wasn’t his place. Isaac cleared his throat, set the drinks on the patio table, and walked away without a word.

Those who remained spent the afternoon with me outside, by the pool. Mrs. Dotts brought out a lunch of marinated salmon with mango-kiwi relish. After we ate and had a few cocktails, Ashley, Eva, Greg, and Cassidy swam. I didn’t. I wasn’t a fan of spending long periods of time in the water. No one mentioned what had happened between Will and me. They kept the conversation on easy stuff, like summer plans, parties, and college.

I hadn’t decided where to go yet. I had no idea what I wanted to study. Ashley was going back East to Harvard. She wanted to study law, which fit her perfectly. Most days she wore black horn rimmed glasses and kept her short, dark hair pinned back. She was short, like me, and had brown eyes, not like me. Mine were hazel.