The Billionaire Escape Plan

Most girls dream of marrying a billionaire.Me? I'd rather make fun of one. Especially if the billionaire in question is Alexander Grant.Excuse me - Xander Grant. That's right - the "mega-hot" entrepreneur who's appeared on both Modern Startup Monthly's "Richest Innovators Under 35" list and Celebrity Spark Magazine's "Hottest Eligible Bachelors" list in the last year.To me? He's still the guy who once ran naked down Main Street with "Free the Goats!" painted across his butt cheeks. My partner in crime until we went off to separate colleges and he and his buddy went on to sell the dating website they designed for a cool twenty-three million dollars. Practically overnight, he became known as one of the hottest young entrepreneurs in the country - a far cry from the guy I knew with the overlong hair and the weird obsession with dinosaurs.Alex and I have seen each other a handful of times since his first big deal - his mom has always tried to badger him into coming home for holiday

I look up at myself in the bathroom mirror. Long days in the summer sun have brought out the gold and red tones in my otherwise light brown hair. They've also brought out the freckles on my cheeks and upper chest - the latter of which are on full display in my pale blue sun dress. Wes always liked my freckles - he always teased me that he was on a mission to kiss every single one - but now I can only picture him kissing Madison Harris. I wonder how many freckles he's kissed on her.Just make it through the party, I tell myself. Just get through the next hour. Make small talk with the friends and neighbors, say hello to Alex, and try to ignore the fact that something has changed about him. That you might not know him anymore. I think that's what's freaking me out the most - I thought that by coming here today I'd see a familiar face, find comfort with a friend who's known me longer than anyone outside of my immediate family. Instead, seeing him has made me aware of how much time has pa

"Mae?" someone says.I blink, coming out of the fog of my thoughts. We've finally reached the table of food. Oh, sweet merciful cheeseburgers. Thank you for rescuing me from my despair."How have you been?" Eliza asks as she passes me a paper plate. "And where's Wes? I would have thought he'd come with you today.""He couldn't make it," I say quickly."Ah, that's a shame," says Collette. "He's always such a gentleman. So handsome.""And so sweet," chimes in Eliza.Until he sticks his cock in another chick. I press my lips together and help myself to a giant mound of coleslaw."He's still coming with us to the Apple Festival next week, isn't he?" my mom says. "Your dad and I still have to give him his birthday present."This is too much. "I...I'll have to ask him.""We've already got a festival ticket for him," my mom says, frowning slightly. "I thought you told me he could go.""I'll ask him," I say again quickly. I look up from the table, only to find Collette staring quizzi

I'm desperate for a drink."Fine," I say to Alex. "What do I have to do?""Just get out of the water," he replies. "Then I'll give it to you.""Wait - are you afraid I'll drop it in the river? I wasn't the one who got butterfingers during the flag football championship - ""I still maintain that the sun was in my eyes," he says. "But no, that isn't the reason. I'd just prefer to get you out of the water. Just in case.""In case of what?" I cross my arms. "Are you afraid I'm going to hurt myself? It's hard to hurt yourself in a foot and a half of water.""But not impossible."I can tell he's not going to budge on this, so I quickly weigh my options. Which is more important - to feel the cool water rushing around my legs, or to feel the sweet burn of alcohol on my tongue? Today, the alcohol wins.I wade back to the riverbank and step out of the water."I promise I'm okay," I say, reaching out for the flask. "I'm just...just feeling a little crazy, that's all." And like I want to

"I never brought Wes down here," I say abruptly. I don't know why, but I need Alex to know that. This was always our place - mine and Alex's. "It didn't seem right. Not that you and I were ever like me and Wes. We weren't romantic or hooking up, I mean." God, this alcohol is making it hard to explain what I mean. Or maybe it's just that Alex - or Xander, or whoever he is now - is making me nervous for some reason.I grab another little rock and toss it into the water, laughing to cover up this weirdness that has settled over me."You know, Lucy still refuses to believe that nothing ever happened between us," I say. "Some people just can't seem to accept the idea that men and women can just be friends." I tilt my head back and look up at the leaves overhead. In my buzzed state, the patterns they make are mind-boggling."None of my guy friends ever believed it either," he says. "Though they liked to tease me about never being able to seal the deal.""And look at you now," I say. "One