“For the time being, yeah. I earn enough that I don’t need his money right now. When I do, I’ll kick him where it hurts and call a Realtor.”
“Okay. What else?”
“I was given a fair incentive to keep it.”
“My dad,” Jared said frankly.
“Yeah. He’s a complete douchebag, Jared, if you don’t mind my saying.”
“Not at all. I can’t stand the man. Has he still got a bug in his ass about me being gay?”
“Just a little bit,” Hadley said. “He palmed you off like a fucking pregnant teenager to an aunt in another state who will look after you so he doesn’t have to see the ‘evidence of his failings as a parent’.”
“He actually said that?”
“Word for word.”
“Bastard,” Jared muttered.
“Sorry, sweetheart. You’re a nice kid, you really are. You don’t deserve the shit he gives you.”
Jared took a deep breath, playing with the ring-pull on the can. “I need a tutor,” he said on a long exhale. “I’m failing the classes they didn’t offer at my last school because I’m behind.”
“I’ve got it,” Hadley said immediately. “Don’t worry.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. It’s not your fault you got sent to that horrific place, sweetie. I’ll call your dad and get the money out of him.”
“Please don’t tell him I’m failing,” Jared said. He didn’t care what his father thought about his sexuality or what he was getting up to on the other side of the country. But he didn’t want to have to listen to the awful lecture that would surely follow hot on the heels of that news.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Hadley said and crossed the kitchen to touch Jared’s arm lightly. “You’re at one of the best schools in the country. I know your dad wants you to go Ivy League, and I’m sure that’s still not out of the range of possibility. We’ll get you there. As long as he’s paying.” She winked.
“Thanks,” Jared said with a laugh. “How come I wasn’t allowed to move in with you before now?”
Hadley sighed dramatically. “Oh, I’m a terrible influence, of course. Black sheep of the family. Or I was, until Richard’s son decided to be gay, and all hell broke loose.”
“Did I steal your crown?” Jared said, teasing.
“Yes! I should be very annoyed with you.”
“Please don’t send me home.” Jared was only half-joking.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Tell me about work?”
Hadley was an artist, which annoyed Jared’s mom no end. There were buildings all over the west coast with her murals painted on the side, all in her distinctive, graffiti style.
Most of her connections were in the cities where she liked to hang out, which meant anywhere along the coast where the sun shone. Jared realized he didn’t know much about the woman he’d been staying with for a while now and felt a little guilty. Hadley had done him a favor by opening her house to him, even if she was getting a decent financial reward from his father. She was nice, and she didn’t have to be. Jared decided to make more of an effort.
He listened as she fixed dinner and chattered about her commissions and projects, and he tried to nod and smile and mm-hmm in all the right places. Truth was, he’d never really understood the art world, and Hadley was so immersed in it she barely knew anyone who wasn’t.
They stayed in the kitchen to eat, sitting across from each other at the breakfast bar. Jared had to admit it was good.
“Hey,” Jared said on impulse. “I don’t suppose you know the Hemlocks, do you?”
Hadley snorted. “Sure. It’s hard to live in this town and not know them. Old man built half the businesses around here from the ground up.”
“The kid is in my class.”
“Adam?”
“Yeah.”
“Is he a brat?” Hadley asked.
“He’s….”
“Uh-oh. Do you have a crush on him?”
“No,” Jared said, hoping to inject the right amount of derision into his tone. “He’s gay, though. The girls I hang around with seem to want to set us up.”
He took another bite of his lasagna and tried not to look too interested in what Hadley was saying. Even though he trusted her, he wasn’t ready to admit his feelings for Adam to himself yet, let alone his aunt.
“Well, they’re filthy rich, so if that appeals to you, I’d say go for it. And don’t get me wrong, it’s not all about the money, but it certainly helps.”
“He’s good-looking,” Jared conceded.
“I bet. His grandparents used to run this place. His family was one of the first to settle here, god knows how many years ago. Didn’t his dad die?”
“I don’t know,” Jared said.
Hadley leaned back and frowned. “His mom is an architect, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah,” Hadley said, clearly remembering now she’d been prompted. “Her husband died when Adam was a baby. I can’t remember how. I know he was in the army at some point, but it wasn’t a military funeral, so I don’t think he died in service.”
“How can you know this?” Jared asked with a laugh. “You didn’t even live here when all of that went down.”
Hadley shrugged. “One of the most important things to know about high society is anything that’s anyone else’s business. You’ll figure that out soon enough.”
“These kids gossip like old ladies.”
“Oh, god, yeah. As long as it’s someone else’s private life, they want to talk about it.”
“Do you know the Metagos?” Jared asked, aware he was the one gossiping now but wanting to know as much as he could. Hadley was an untapped source of information he hadn’t anticipated.
“Yeah,” she said darkly.
“Their daughter is in my class too. Clare.”
“If she’s anything like her mother, she’s beautiful and evil.”
“That sounds about right.”
“The Metagos are old money as well,” Hadley said, licking her fork clean and pushing her plate away. “Their sense of entitlement is ridiculous. I never got on with Sharon Metago when I was with Mark. She called me a tramp once.”
Jared laughed. “Seriously?”
“Yeah,” Hadley grinned. “Oh, I was wrong for this place right from the start. Too young, too artistic, too liberal.
