Queen of Diamonds

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"Oh my God, that was amazing," I said completely satisfied after downing a full plate of greasy food.

"You can't be done yet," Sarah replied, delicately dabbing her mouth with a napkin. "Chef loves making dessert and today is baileys mousse cake."

"Wow," Kara and I both breathed in pure bliss. "Are all your boat excursions like this?"

"Pretty much," Sarah shrugged tossing a fry into her red lip stained mouth.

"I for one am ready to get back on the water," Justin remarked, getting up from the table. "I have a lot of training to do before September."

"Oh yeah, you wakeboard, right?" I asked remembering that tid bit of information in Sarah's rundown of the black diamond kids at the bonfire.

"Yep," he proudly smiled zipping up his scion life vest. "Top 5 on the east coast. I got the Masters in Florida coming up and I need to be on my A game if I want to make the podium this year."

"You got this bro. Just don't forget to thank me in your winners speech," Greyson said hyping up his best friend for a victory.

"And don't forget to thank me too," Talan chimed in after chugging down another beer.

"Oh yeah, can't forget to thank my party buddy that lets me be hungover for practice sessions," Justin rolled his eyes.

"Hey! I'm not just a party boy with a pretty face," Talan corrected him.

"Who said you had a pretty face?" Justin replied confused.

"I mean, it's not ugly. It is really smooth and tan," Kara commented nonchalantly rating Talan on a hot or not scale.

"It was a joke Kara," I enlightened my naive friend as everyone roared laughing as she turned three shades brighter.

"No, don't worry, you're right. The tans about all he's got going for him," Justin chuckled approving of Kara's inadvertent shade.

"Dude, yeah right. Do you see these pecks?" Talan barked as he made his chest flex and dance. "I can't tell you how many girls have used these as pillows."

"I'm sure you could count them all on one finger," Greyson retorted furthering the banter of Talan's swipe probability.

"Whatever bro. You wouldn't be invited to any parties if it wasn't for me."

"No, I'm pretty sure that's Grey," Justin corrected Talan on his popularity.

"What about the Christmas in July Party?" Talan countered, refusing to be discounted as unattractive and useless.

"No, that one was Grey too," Justin laughed as Greyson patted himself on the back for a job well done at his social game.

"Um, excuse me," Sarah interjected, asserting her female dominance in the group. "I actually think it was me that got you goons invited to that party."

"I thought Andrew invited them?" I whispered to Sarah.

"Technicalities, Lennings," Sarah shh'ed to me. "Besides, King probably only invited them because of my influence in both groups anyway," she whispered back in a rush.

"Wait, you guys are all actually going to that party?" I asked the boys as it just dawned on me that they were in fact going to go.

"Of course, are you kidding," Talan immediately responded. "Wouldn't miss an opportunity to size up the competition. Or to trash the King's palace," he added.

Maybe that really was Andrew's intention for inviting the black diamond kids, to scope out the competition. Not to build a friendly bridge between the two groups. Like Sarah said in the Archbolt closet, "he's just keeping his enemies close".