Fun at Parties: A Novel - Softcover

Harrow, Jamie

 
9780593474846: Fun at Parties: A Novel
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0593474848 ISBN 13: 9780593474846
Verlag: Penguin Publishing Group, 2025

Inhaltsangabe

In this swoony estranged-friends-to-lovers romance, a celebrity spin instructor and her longtime crush take a spontaneous cross-country road trip that turns into an unexpected but epic party hop, and end up en route to love.

When online cycling instructor Quinn Ray has a mid-class meltdown after a bad breakup—dramatically off-brand for someone whose vibe is sunshine and rainbows—her boss orders her to take a few weeks off work. And that’s fine. In fact, a quiet road trip through America’s most tranquil scenery is exactly what she needs.

But then Nate Reed, who’s barely spoken to Quinn since their friendship imploded two years ago, asks to hitch a ride so he can reunite with their chaotically lovable pal Logan to discuss something important. Unfortunately, Logan seems to be dodging them on purpose. Meanwhile, the internet rallies so strongly behind Quinn post-breakup that her boss orders her to seize the opportunity to rebrand herself as everyone’s favorite emblem of fun, empowered singledom.

So Quinn and Nate put aside the awkwardness between them and follow Logan 450 miles to a Las Vegas nightclub. And then chase him to a rooftop rager . . . baby shower? . . . in Denver. A rain-soaked country-western music festival in Kansas. A rowdy Nashville bachelorette party. As Quinn's peaceful road trip becomes a tour of America's biggest party spots with the guy she didn't know she still wanted, she realizes Nate might just be the silver lining she never thought to look for.

Die Inhaltsangabe kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Jamie Harrow was born and raised at the Jersey Shore. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Villanova University and lives in New Jersey with her family. Her debut novel, One on One, was published by Dutton in 2024. Fun at Parties is her second novel.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Chapter 1

I've always had a knack for making the best of a bad situation.

"Everything is an opportunity," Mom used to say. Today I'm using the fact that the bags under my eyes are deep enough to hold a Costco grocery order as an opportunity to wear the electric fuchsia lipstick that's been biding its time at the bottom of my makeup bag for months. It's amazing. It's wrong for my skin tone. And today, it's going to distract everyone from the top half of my face.

At least that's what I tell myself as I crowd the mirror, filling in my lips. The camera picks up every detail in high definition, so each swipe needs to be perfect, the corners precise.

My chest is tight, and I can feel my heartbeat in my head. Everyone has seen the video.

Michelle, my friend and roommate, pops her head into the dressing room. "I told everyone to give you space. You have five minutes."

"Great!" I force some chirpiness into my voice. If I act like I'm okay, eventually I will be. And whether I'm okay or not, this needs to go smoothly.

I close my eyes and mist my face with setting spray. I'll be talking and sweating for forty-five minutes, so this paint can't budge.

Michelle's face is circumspect as she watches me. She's older than me, early forties, with closely cropped dark hair and a knack for seeing through bullshit. She's a CycleLove instructor too, but today she's only here for moral support. "People are on your side, if that's any motivation," she says. "But if you want to cancel, you absolutely can. Or I can sub in."

"No. Thanks." My voice wavers this time. "I have to do this. Can I just have a minute alone?"

"You can have four." She grabs the door handle. "I'll be in the studio."

I usually don't need reminders about the time. I'm always prompt. "Let's be early girlies," Mom used to say before every Jolee sales "party," and while she may have been wrong about ninety-seven percent of things, I agree with her on this one.

Normally I spend the last few minutes before class listening to the day's playlist and doing visualization exercises. Yes, I know, shut up. It works for me.

Today I pull up the video instead, ignoring the ashamed, sinking feeling in my gut that tells me this is a terrible idea. I don't need to watch it. I've already done that plenty of times in the twelve hours since it's been posted. In the video, my ex-boyfriend, fellow CycleLove instructor and indiscreet asshole Caleb, is sitting in a booth at a restaurant, cozied up to our colleague Paige. He's talking shit about me, clear as day, oblivious to the person filming surreptitiously from several feet away.

I skip to the comments.

She's annoying as hell. Too peppy. Don't know how he put up with her for 2 years.

Umm CULT. They broke up and now he's with Paige? Or was there overlap? Are these people only allowed to date
each other?

He's kinda right about her tho. I always thought she looked dead in the eyes even with that big smile.

Was not expecting the people who tell me how to ride a bike to give me so much drama but I. AM. HERE. FOR. IT.

This is BS. She's a genuine ray of sunshine. I look forward to her rides every week.

That one. That last one, that's why I need to suck it up and get out there. Approximately fifteen hundred people are clipping into their spin bikes at home right now, waiting for me to show up and kick their asses with rainbows (metaphorical) and glitter (occasionally literal, though not today) so they can feel good in their bodies.

I straighten my sports bra-fuchsia, to match my makeup-and pull up the waistband of my metallic black leggings. I may have the sad brown eyes of a basset hound right now, but I also have the lipstick, and my recently highlighted horse mane of a ponytail is as perky as ever. There is nothing I can do about the video, or the things people are saying about it on the Internet. The only thing I have control over right now is what I do when I walk out of this room.

I lift my chin and open the door.

My producer, Isabel, is hovering outside, an unfamiliar pinched line between her eyebrows. "Oh, thank god," she says. As we stride toward the studio, she scrolls through metrics on her phone. "There are a lot more people than usual taking your class today. You're up, like, thirty percent."

"Awesome!" My heart thumps. "You're a star for helping me with the playlist. I don't think they'll be disappointed."

She blinks. "And you're, uh, good?"

"Of course."

The tension in her face disappears. "That's my girl."

I slap the faux graffiti on the brick wall just outside the studio, like every CycleLove instructor does before class, putting enough oomph in it to make my hand sting. guts, it says in white spray paint. I used to get chills every time I performed this ritual. It felt like a miracle that Tracy, our VP of Content, chose me to join the ranks of the largest interactive fitness platform on earth.

I still love the wall. It's a symbol of determination, only keeping you out if you aren't tenacious enough. Or if you can't find the door.

"Morning," I sing as we enter the room. Aran, our camera operator, waves, a new Dodgers hat atop his head. "I knew you'd cave and get the black one eventually." I make my way to the bike.

He flashes a sheepish smile. "I couldn't resist it."

"Hey, I will never argue against you buying yourself a treat, Aran."

The studio is dark and minimalist. Neutral tones, a plain background, the only lighting focused on me. Other than Aran and Isabel, the room is usually empty during my classes. This is a recent change, and it took some getting used to. Before Tracy recruited me, I taught live to big groups of people, and for my first eighteen months here, we had in-studio riders.

The company got rid of them after a shake-up with the board of directors-something about a meddling investor and a failure to maximize our stock price. At the time, I didn't pay much attention. I didn't realize corporate politics would have such a big effect on me. Maybe I should've watched Succession.

But then they implemented "strategic changes." New music licensing deals that oblige us to highlight certain artists. Odd brand partnerships, including one that required me to apply deodorant on camera in the middle of class. And toughest of all, scrapping the in-class riders.

I always used to feed off everyone else's energy. Now, it all has to come from me.

I climb onto the bike and clip in. My water bottle is here, and my sweat towel is neatly rolled in the left cupholder, exactly where I like it. My plan for class is cued up on the monitor to my left.

But something isn't right: Tracy is in the corner of the room, with her chunky round glasses, meticulous gray bob, and suit-and-sneakers combo. My stomach lurches. Tracy is great, but she rarely watches my classes live. This can only mean one thing: She saw the video.

CycleLove has over fifty instructors, and I'm not dead last in terms of popularity, but I'm not near the top either. It didn't concern me before the board shake-up-I get paid generously to do what I love full time, and that was enough-but then people started getting fired. Replaced with instructors who better fit the new strategy.

Tracy's always had a brilliant vision, and she's committed to nurturing talent. She spends time with each of us individually, reviewing recordings of our classes, critiquing fairly, and listening to us when we express an opinion. She's a badass who goes toe-to-toe with the other executives and uses words like stakeholder with confidence, but she's also perceptive and creative. With everything happening at the corporate level, she's under a lot of pressure. The last thing I want to do is let her down.

Besides, I don't have a choice. This job is the best...

„Über diesen Titel“ kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.

Verlag
Penguin Publishing Group
Erscheinungsdatum
2025
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0593474848
ISBN 13 
9780593474846
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
400
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Dutton
https://www.penguin.com/dutton-childrens-overview/

Im Mittelfeld 25
K?ln
Deutschland
51105
Deutschland

Weitere beliebte Ausgaben desselben Titels

9781529433067: Fun at Parties: the perfect friends-to-lovers road trip romance for fans of Abby Jimenez and Jessica Joyce

Vorgestellte Ausgabe

ISBN 10:  1529433061 ISBN 13:  9781529433067
Verlag: Quercus, 2025
Softcover