Penn killed Lexi, Liv was supposed to be your replacement. But after Lexi died and you were still part of the circle, Penn thought it’d be good to have someone on the inside gathering dirt on you.”
“And you didn’t think that was a bad idea?” Gemma asked, then lowered her voice, trying to make it sound slightly menacing. “I mean, she could gather some dirt on you, too.”
Thea finally let her eyes meet Gemma’s. “What was I supposed to tell her? ‘No, you can’t spy on Harper because you’ll find out my dirty secrets’?” She shook her head. “I just went with it and hoped the two of you weren’t stupid enough to say anything in front of Liv.”
“Why wouldn’t you just tell me about this?” Gemma asked.
“Penn didn’t want me to, and I’m already putting myself at enough risk helping you, all right?” A flicker of fear shot through Thea’s emerald eyes. “I’ve put my neck out for you much farther than I ever should have, and if this all goes to hell—which I’m certain it will—I need to have my back covered.”
“You don’t think I can break the curse?” Gemma asked.
Thea looked over to where Penn was still busy on her phone, too distracted and too far away to hear anything they were saying. “As far as I know, the curse is unbreakable.”
“Then why’d you even bother to give me the scroll?” Gemma asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Honestly? I don’t know. I think I was just sick of Penn destroying everything.”
“Do you regret giving it to me?” Gemma asked.
“Not yet.” Thea paused, then said, “If I live long enough, I might. But soon, it’ll be a moot point.”
“What do you mean?”
“If that curse isn’t broken soon, Liv will destroy us all. But either way, there aren’t going to be any sirens around for much longer.” Her lips pursed together in a thin smile.
Marcy had been standing on the other side of the room, but she’d refilled her plate with shrimp and made her way over to where Thea and Gemma were talking.
“What are you guys talking about?” Marcy asked through a mouthful of food.
“How much fun this is!” Thea said with far too much exuberance. Then she rolled her eyes and walked away.
Marcy wiped her mouth on the back of her arm. “What was that about?”
“I don’t know.” Gemma shook her head and sighed. “Everything just kind of sucks right now. And Liv is horrible.”
“Duh. She’s an evil, murderous sea wench. If she isn’t being horrible, then she isn’t doing her job.”
Gemma knew she was right, and that was the worst part of it.
“So anyway, who’s that foxy guy?” Marcy asked and pointed vaguely to the middle of the room.
“What guy?” Gemma asked, glancing in the general direction that Marcy had pointed. “Aiden?”
Marcy scoffed. “No, that guy’s a dick. That cute one with the nice butt.” She pointed again, and this time it was directly at Kirby Logan. He was at the appetizer table, and he sniffed a cracker before putting it back down.
“Kirby?” Gemma asked.
Marcy nodded. “Yeah, him.”
“You’re into Kirby?”
“No. Maybe. Why? What’s it to you?” Marcy narrowed her eyes at Gemma.
Kirby was cute, so that’s not what surprised her about Marcy’s liking him. It was mostly just the fact that Marcy liked
“Nothing,” Gemma said. “He’s just like a lot younger than you.”
“So? I’ve always fancied myself a cougar,” Marcy declared. “Is he nice?”
“Yeah, he’s really sweet.” She paused before adding, “He’s a pretty good kisser, too.”
Marcy wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Gross. You kissed him?”
“We dated for like a minute.” Gemma waved it off. “It doesn’t count at all. If you’re into him, then by all means, have at him.”
“Saliva stays in your mouth for three months after you kiss someone, so his mouth is all full of your germs,” Marcy said.
“I’m pretty sure that’s not true. And even if it is, I’m not all that germy. I promise.”
“Whatever.” Marcy handed her plate to Gemma, then wiped her hands on her jeans. “I’m going in.”
Gemma picked at what little food Marcy had left on her plate and watched as Marcy went up to Kirby. She considered moving closer so she could overhear them because she couldn’t imagine how Marcy flirted. But Kirby was a nice enough guy, so it hopefully wouldn’t be a total disaster.
ELEVEN
Flirtations
“Hey, Gemma,” Harper said, and Gemma glanced over to see Harper and Daniel approaching her, hand in hand. “Sorry it took so long for us to get here. Daniel had to clean up and get the set ready for tomorrow.”
That’s what Harper said, but she lowered her eyes when she said it, and her dark hair looked a little mussed. Daniel’s shirt was also buttoned crooked. If Gemma had to guess, she would’ve said they’d stayed behind a little longer to get in a quick makeout session.
Not that she blamed them. They were new to this long-distance thing, and as much as they both insisted it was fine, being away from each other had to be hard. So it was good when they could get a moment alone together.
“I understand,” Gemma said, smiling to herself.
“You were great in the play tonight, by the way,” Daniel said. “Or at least you looked that way from backstage.”
“Thanks,” Gemma said. “The set looked amazing.”
“It really did,” Penn chimed in, and Gemma had to fight back a groan as Penn smiled up at Daniel. “You are quite the handyman.”
Daniel had been here for all of a minute before Penn found him. Gemma didn’t completely understand what was going on between the two of them, but whatever it was, it couldn’t be good. She trusted Daniel not to do anything to hurt Harper, but Penn’s interest in him was definitely getting more intense.
“Hello, Penn,” Harper said, smiling tightly at her. She’d been holding Daniel’s hand, but he let go and moved away from her slightly. “I didn’t know you were coming to this party.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Penn winked at Daniel, who shifted uncomfortably. “So how are your studies going, Harper?”
“Better, now that you’ve taken my roommate off my hands. It’s much quieter.” Harper kept smiling at her. “So thanks for the favor.”
“You know me.” Penn’s tone got even more seductive than normal. “I love to serve.”
“I think I’m gonna go get a soda,” Daniel said, taking a step away. “Do you want anything, Harper?”
“A bottled water, please,” she said.
“I’d like a glass of wine,” Penn told him before he’d escaped.
He hesitated, glancing between Harper and Penn, then asked, “What kind?”
Penn smiled broadly. “Red. Merlot.”
“I’m not sure if the bartender will serve me without ID, but I’ll see what I can come up with,” Daniel said, and hurried away to the bar.
“Your boyfriend is very eager to please,” Penn told Harper as she stared after Daniel.
“Liv seems eager, too,” Gemma interjected, and pointed to Liv. “She’s coming on pretty strong, actually.”
She was mostly just trying to change the subject because the tension between Penn, Harper, and Daniel was almost painful. But Liv had gone beyond flirting. She and Aiden were all over each other, and they were still standing right in the middle of the room.
