“I’ve never been,” Kami says.
She and Em look at each other and then point at me. “Road trip!”
I jump a little at the volume in their voices, but laugh at their enthusiasm. “Sure, I can show you guys around. Although I do recommend waiting until it gets a little warmer, when everything is open.”
“It’s a done deal.” Em sticks her pinkie out toward me and Kami. Kami intertwines hers and waits for me to join. Finally, I put mine in, and both give me approving nods. And just like that, I know we’ll get along at least for the meantime. I’ve been nervous as hell about making new girlfriends since Tiffany, not that we were as close as she and Andrew were, even before sleeping together, but I can’t keep comparing others to her and Andrew.
Everyone continues speaking while the girls attempt to keep me looped into the conversation.
Ten minutes or so must pass before Levi makes it back to the table while Cam finishes catching everyone up on his and his cousin’s tattoo shop opening early next year in Brooklyn. He also manages to keep eye contact with everyone, nobody keeping me out of any conversation. It’s a nice change of pace compared to how Andrew’s friends treated me, and why am I comparing everyone and everything to Andrew and his friends,again? I need to stop doing that.
Levi sits in the tiny space left next to me and hands me my bottle of water. I try sticking my ten-dollar bill into his hand in exchange, but he puts it back in mine. Narrowing my eyes at him, we do a little back-and-forth until he relents, finally grabs my purse, and unzips the small pocket inside.
No, not that one.
His hand stills for a second before stuffing the bill next to my daily pills and emergency meds. He puts my bag back down between us and takes a swig of his beer.
“Next time we go out, you can pay for my drink,” he states calmly, and winks at me.
Breathing out the tension in my shoulders, I nod, relieved at his easygoing nature.
He leans closer to me while everyone else talks amongst themselves. “Okay, what do you want to know about them?”
I look at him, surprised. “What?”
Another sip. “Now, I won’t tell you everything, Stevie, but you have to be curious about some of them.”
Of course I’m curious about them, especially since one is practically a billionaire and Emma comes from money too, but it’s not fair to ask about that when they know nothing about me.
“Tell you what. If I get close to them and tell them about myself a little more, that’s when I’ll ask, okay?”
Levi bites his lip and tilts his head in contemplation. “Fair enough.” He takes another swig of his beer. “I do have one more question for you, Bambi.”
“Yes?” I ask skeptically, annoyed at the use of the pet name. I’ll have to ask him for his reasoning later.
“Do you know how to dance? Because I can guarantee you that in less than five minutes, Kamila and Emma here will be pressuring everyone to go out onto that dance floor whether they like it or not.”
Crap.No, I do not know how to dance. Sing? Yes. Act? Pretty decently. But the one thing I am terrible at is dancing.
“No—”
“To the dance floor!” Kami and Em yell at the same time. Everyone downs their drinks as if knowing the drill and scoots out of the booth.
I’m forced out, and Levi raises a brow.
Em grabs my hand while speaking over the music, “I have no idea how to dance the way they do either, Stevie. We can be uncoordinated together.” She pulls me toward the group, and Levi’s laugh follows me down to the middle of the floor, where “When I Grow Up” by the Pussycat Dolls plays.
Em spins me until I’m in between all the girls, utterly lost in what to do next. I look to Levi for help, only to find him and the other guys watching us on the sidelines. That is, except for Jake, who already has a girl he’s dancing with, and by dancing, I mean dry humping.
This group is quite outgoing, and that’s putting it mildly.
Suddenly, the music changes from 2000s pop to EDM. Kamila gives a loud grunt, clearly annoyed by the abrupt change in music. Not that I can blame her. EDM does suck.
“I’m texting Nick,” Kami yells at Em.
“Who’s Nick?” I ask.
“He’s the DJ tonight, but don’t tell Cam,” she says in a quieter voice. “They don’t get along very well.”
