Page 29 of Treasured By Them
Caleb, who has been my quiet shadow, sits up front with the chauffeur. Good enough, I guess. Since the big discussion with Edmund and Troy, I’ve spent the past three days tolerating his presence. Tonight will be no exception. Where I go, Caleb follows. Yawn.
Wallace and Elias wrestle with a bottle of champagne, which pops open and startles Rita, who shrieks. We all laugh as they pour us glasses.
Leah clinks the edge of her flute with her fingernails. “This is the first toast of the evening, and I just want to say…Danica, you are my best friend. Ride or die. You are one of the kindest people I know. Smart, loyal, funny, fierce. Edmund is a lucky son-of-a-bitch. Also, he’s paying for our drinks tonight. So let’s get shit-faced!”
We laugh, clink glasses, and cheer.
My heart beats happily in my chest. I throw an arm around Leah’s shoulders and place a smacking kiss on her cheek. “I’m so fucking grateful to call you my friend.”
At Vice, a long line stretches down the block. I move to get at the back of it, but Leah waves me forward. “Nope. Special treatment tonight.”
“Edmund doesn’t have any sway here, does he?” I ask.
She grins. “No. But Gage and Dmitri do.”
An intoxicating beat filters into the night air, calling us forward. The five of us, plus Caleb, strut to the entrance like we own the place. And maybe we do, because the bouncers step aside with big smiles to let us through.
“Here comes the bride!” one of them sing-shouts into the club.
The crowd closest to the entrance—the only people who could’ve possibly heard him—break out into cheers.
My face hurts from smiling so much. Maybe the wedding is fake, but this celebration is real.
The only reminder that things are weird is Caleb lurking nearby. I resolve to ignore him.
Strobe lights flash in time with the thumping bass. My hips are moving of their own accord—we’re barely inside and I’m already dancing. The champagne I drank is moving smoothly through me as a nice, comfortable buzz.
“We have a room upstairs.” Leah points to a second level overlooking the dance floor. “Do you want to go up and check it out, or dance first?”
I grab her hand and Rita’s. “Dance. Definitely dance!”
Pretty soon, we’re rocking out. Wallace is one of the worst dancers I’ve ever met, but he does it so joyfully, it works. Rita and Leah teach him a new dance that Rita picked up from some social media challenge. Elias frowns, but eventually joins in, so I do, too. The five of us get the hang of it, and the dance spreads across the floor with more and more people joining in.
I catch Leah’s eye and we both smile.
“This is so much fucking fun!” I shout over the music.
“I know, right?” She executes a perfect spin.
The song blends into a new one, the beat maintained. We keep the dance going. The floor is packed, and I’ve lost sight of Wallace, Elias, and Caleb. Rita dances with a random guy, but she seems happy about it. I wave at her and she waves back, grinning.
“Let’s head upstairs for a bit, see if we can’t find Wallace and Elias on the way,” I say to Leah, before motioning to Rita.
Rita sends back a thumb’s-up, so Leah and I move toward the stairs. I glance around, searching for the boys. Wallace and Elias are dancing in another area, and Caleb’s standing nearby. Good, we’re all accounted for.
“Should we let the guys know where we’re going?” I have to shout to be heard over the music.
“Yeah, head on up—I’ll tell them.” Leah hands me a key card. “The reservation is under your name. I’ll order some shots to send up to our VIP room.”
“Sounds good!” I fight my way through the crowd, aiming for the wide set of stairs that lead to the club’s exclusive second level.
I haven’t even reached the stairs before a guy steps into my path. His brown hair is slicked back and his suit screams money.
“Excuse me.” I step around him.
“You’re the bride, huh?” He laughs.
I don’t turn around. “Yep.”
