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convince herself .   He’s your friend’s boyfriend.   It’s not worth it.
     
    Forgetting about Lucas proved to be easy.   He was usually too busy working for his dad’s custom carpentry business to hang out with Madison and her friends.   Madison often pouted and complained, but it was nothing Pinkberry and a mani-pedi couldn’t temporarily solve.   The few times he did hang out with the girls, Gemma was thankful he never brought up her near-death incident at the lake.   With Gemma, he usually just made small talk about Gavin’s latest troublemaking or the progress he was making on Mira’s porch.
    It wasn’t until a night out in Manhattan that things began to change.
    “Oh, I know this place,” Kate gasped as she struggled to walk on the cobblestone street in her braided espadrilles.   “It’s opened by that guy Andrew.   No Andre.   He’s dating that actress.”
    Leah rolled her eyes and bopped Kate on the head playfully.   “Yeah, you totally know this place.”
    Along with the girls, Madison had invited Lucas to a new club in the Meatpacking District.   Everyone but Gemma had fake IDs, but Jillian assured Gemma that there would be no problem getting in because she was “friendly” with the cute bouncer.   With a wink in Jillian’s direction, he bypassed Gemma while checking IDs.
    “See, I told you.   The guy loves me,” Jillian smiled as they sauntered through the doors.   Gemma dared to cock a curious eyebrow at Jillian, who guffawed.   “Get your mind out of the gutter, Gem! He’s totally just a family friend.”   Madison snorted.
    Gemma bit her lip nervously upon setting foot in the club.   It was dimly lit in amber and gold hues.   An enormous circular bar served as the centerpiece of the room.   Even the cocktail waitresses wore chic metallic mini dresses.   Gemma hadn’t thought to add nightclub attire to her wardrobe during her summer of shopping overseas.   Everything she had purchased was worthy of high tea at The Peninsula rather than grinding with Leah in the Meatpacking District.
    Prior to leaving the house, she had begged Mira to let her wear something out of her Queen Bee wardrobe for the night.   While the haute couture fashions were in storage, the smaller pieces that she had worn had been placed in the attic.   “Something small – like this!” Gemma grabbed the leather Valentino miniskirt that she wore to an autograph signing in Prague.   “No one would recognize it! Please, please, please .”
    Mira didn’t budge and Gemma ended up leaving in a sequined sweater dress by Stella McCartney.   It was cute, but she didn’t feel sexy in it.   Especially not with Madison waltzing about in her skintight Herv é Leger bandage dress.   Her bright pink lipstick matched the dress perfectly and her normally straight blonde hair had been styled to be wild and wavy.   “Like sex hair,” she said.   “Except I haven’t had sex tonight.   Yet .”   The girls laughed and Gemma tried not to grimace.
    She tried again not to grimace when Lucas gave Madison’s butt a quick squeeze as she leaned over the bar to order drinks.   Their public displays of affection were generally on the tame side and Gemma had grown accustom to those.   She couldn’t quite stomach the raunchier displays.   She looked away as Madison trailed her finger down Lucas’s chest and whispered in his ear, flirting as if they had only just met.
    “Having fun yet, gorgeous?” Leah suddenly appeared, forcing a flute of champagne into Gemma’s hands.   “Ugh, are you still bummed about what you’re wearing?”
    “No, I’m not.   Really, I’m not.”
    “Good, because see that hot-ass guy over there? He invited us to join him in the hot tub.   And if you are still bummed about your dress, this is the perfect opportunity to take it off.”
    “There’s a hot tub here?”
    Leah tossed her hair over her shoulder.   “Of course.”
    “You brought a swimsuit?”
    “Would a