Page 51 of Heartstruck at Dawn
“And do you enjoy what you do?”
“I love it.” He smiled, and I smiled back at him. He seemed really happy. This was a wholesome, mature, sexy, funnyman.
Oh, was I in trouble …
1“Is Tony Montana your date?”
2“No, not at all! We’re all going as friends.”
THERE WERE A COUPLEof guys at the door, making sure everyone coming in had a costume on, and if anyone arrived without one, they provided guests with eye masks.
“You’re gonna need a mask to get in, boo,” one of the guys said to Caleb. I had to bite the inside of my cheek really hard to prevent myself from laughing. Caleb protested but was left with no choice but to wear the black mask or leave. His bad mood was becoming apparent. “You too, big guy.” Aaron received a mask, but he put it on his face without objection. He would probably toss it once inside.
The other guy posted at the entrance was taking care of David.
“I’m out of black masks, sugarplum. I hate to ruin your all-black, fierce ensemble, but I’ve got me some hot pink or neon green for you to choose from.” David raised his brow at the guy, seemingly amused. “What’s it gonna be?” David grabbed a hot pink mask, and we all finally stepped inside the party. Big Mike stayed behind and waited for us outside.
CJ greeted us dressed up as Hades from the Hercules animated movie. His costume wasamazing. The pointy teeth, the crazy blue hair, and the makeup had all been professionally done.
I gave CJ a big, warm birthday hug, then introduced him to my friends. He pinched my arm when he saw Tobias. “Billie, what the hell?” he whispered without removing the prosthetic, fangy smile off his face. I hadn’t told CJ about William, his revealed identity, or how the entire Sjöberg family lived in my building. He’d never run into any of them the few times he’d been to my place either.
“We’ll talk later,” I assured him.
“All right,” CJ said with a smile. “I’ll go see if David wants to be my Persephone.”
I laughed, and Nathan placed a hand on my shoulder.
We moved further inside the gallery while CJ approached David, who beamed when he saw CJ’s costume. Aaron and Caleb had their scary bodyguard faces on.
The party looked like a lot of fun. There was a bar installed at the very end, and a bunch of people were already dancing. We claimed a high table, and Nathan helped me out of my coat.
Nathan approached Caleb in the near distance and asked him for his lighter. He came back and lit up Sophie and Cecile’s cigarettes. “Do you want me to light you up?”
“Um, sure.”
Caleb took his lighter back, shot me a disapproving look, and joined Aaron and David, seeming utterly vexed.
“You look so badass,” Tobias said to me. “Although I don’t think that Bil—” he trailed off after I widened my eyes at him with acut-it-outkind of look. Why was he insisting on mentioning William? Yes, William didn’t like to see me smoking. I knew that.Stop bringing him up!
The five of us walked to the bar. Sophie and Cecile had a higher tolerance for alcohol than me, while Ren, Tobias, and Nathan were barely getting started.
“What are you having?” Nathan asked.
“Red wine?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he replied. “You don’t want to mix your poisons. You should stick to tequila. Perhaps a margie? Your friends ordered a couple.”
“Sounds good.”
Nathan ordered one for me and tequila with club soda for him.
He took a sip of my margarita and said, “Mmm, scrummy.” He licked his lips, clicked his tongue, and handed it over to me. My first margarita ever was delicious—anotherfirst.
Some guy pulled Cecile to the side to talk. Tobias didn’t look too pleased. “I kinda like her,” he said to Nathan and me.
“Well, she has a boyfriend back in Paris,” I informed him.
“Who cares?” He laughed and I gaped at him. It was apparent that respecting other people’s relationships didn’t run in the family. “Ifthatguy doesn’t care that she has a boyfriend, then why should I? I would rather have it be me than him.”
