Tossing the squashed-up can on the coffee table in front of where I sit on the floor, I smile sheepishly. “I don’t know what happened. One second, it was just a can, and the next, I saw your face.”
His foot grazes my shoulder.
“Back to what I was saying,” Trinity stresses, holding her out-of-control boyfriend down when my foot lands on his ankle. “We are only young once, and we’re in Amsterdam. What are we doing, locked inside at night?”
“That right there is a lady who knows the way to my heart.” The minute Axel finishes his sentence, he slaps his hand over his mouth, looking at Leonidas with wild eyes. “I didn’t mean that. Please don’t kill me.”
His glare even scares me, and I’m not the one it’s being directed at.
“You’d better count your blessings because if I didn’t have my woman on my lap, you would be face-first in the ground right now.”
“Is that a kink of yours, Leonidas?” I wiggle my eyebrows at Trinity.
Her smile speaks volumes. Grinning up at him, she shares a look with him that needs to stay in the bedroom.
“Are we going out or what?” Rowan gets up from the couch, and the jolt on the cushions sends Lily into Axel’s lap.
“Whoa there, girl. If you want me, just tell me.” He puts his hands up in surrender when she scrambles off with a blush coating her cheeks.
Amelia grabs the girl who’s pretending my existence is nonexistent as she slouches further into the blanket that is wrapped around her like she’s a burrito. “Come on, Lily. Let’s get ready for the night.”
All three of them giggle and run into Amelia’s bedroom that she’s sharing with Levi, and the door slams shut.
“We have a wild night ahead of us, boys,” Rowan says, unfazed by all the chaos.
THIRTY
LILY
Being famous has lots of perks.
One being not having to wait in line to get into a club and being ushered to the best table. I don’t know how I’m going to go back to the crowded main dance floor after experiencing the VIP section.
Private restrooms, fast service, plush seating, privacy, and a lot more room to breathe. This is what heaven is like.
Sipping on an espresso martini, I’m glad I decided to wear my oversize red knit sweater with a white tennis skirt. My long boots end just under my knees, along with my white socks. The AC is blasting, sending goose bumps along my sun-kissed skin.
When I walked out of my room, feeling all self-conscious about what all the supermodels were going to wear and how effortlessly beautiful they all seemed to be, Trinity made all my insecurities vanish when she whistled and called me a sexy school teacher.
Trinity’s confidence radiates through this entire club. Standing on a table, she sways her hips to the music, making a come-hither motion to Leonidas, and he instantly stands up from his seat.
“So, how good of a student is my little troublemaker?” Levi plops down beside me, holding a bowl full of green olives. Seeing the conflicted look on my face, he teases, “You can be honest; she’s not here right now.”
“I wake up excited to teach her every single day.”
A ghost of a smile brings up the corner of his lips.
“Stella is so smart for her age; she’s ready and happy to learn new things. I think you got a special one on your hands. Maybe a doctor … lawyer.”
“She wants to be a race car driver.” He avoids my gaze as he chews on an olive. “I promised her I would sign her up for lessons when the tour was over.”
“Have you changed your mind?”
He sighs. “I want her to chase whatever dreams she may have—you only live once. But a part of me is scared if she starts and she loves it and continues on seriously when she’s older … I’ll be living in fear during every race.”
I gulp, imagining little Stella in a fast race car. “Is it that dangerous?”
“Over nine thousand deaths have been recorded.” Avoiding my eyes, he places his elbows on his knees. “I wouldn’t be a good big brother if I didn’t worry about any possible outcome in any given situation.”
