Chapter 55: The Self-Control Test

The party ended soon after the dance, once the guests had finished presenting their gifts to Tessa, of course. Apparently, birthday parties weren't officially over until everyone had handed the birthday girl something expensive enough to justify being invited.

By then, the music had quieted down, and guests were beginning to leave in small groups.

I was standing beside one of the tables with a glass of sparkling apple juice, watching Nicole say goodbye to Rebecca, Tessa, and two other girls whose names I'd already forgotten. Not that I'd ever known them well enough to remember in the first place.

She'd told me she'd say goodbye to them, and then we could leave. I'd already said mine, but apparently, my goodbye had an expiration date, and hers required a whole separate ceremony. Not that I was complaining. They were her friends, after all, and it wasn't like I had somewhere else to be.