The Baths were one of the largest structures of Roman life; brick, concrete, and marble mixed together to create a towering complex. Like almost everything from ancient Rome, it fell to ruins over a millennium ago.
The ruins are beautiful in their own right, but a few times a month, the Rome Opera House sets up a stage within the structure. It breathes new life into the crumbling construction and gives audience members a one-of-a-kind experience.
Inez gathers the pile of fabric onto her lap. “Quinn, this is an actual gown. Why did you pack a gown?”
My brow furrows. “I said I packed for every potential activity.”
Her eyes bug out. “Some people will be in jeans and t-shirts, and you can’t wear a sundress?”
“Just becausethey’regoing to be underdressed doesn’t mean I have to be. There are?—”
“Few opportunities to get dressed up, and the opera deserves our respect,” Colton finishes in a ridiculous impression of me. I toss my pillow at him, and he stretches one arm straight in front of him, snatching it out of the air before it comes close to making contact. It’s hot, and I hate him for it.
Inez stands, shaking out the dress so she can lay it flat on my bed before heading to the door. “I personally didn’t pack something fit for the Oscars.”
“Boo,” I call at her back, and she laughs, her long dark curls shaking behind her. “I’m gonna look silly dressed up all by myself.”
Colton walks over to the bed, tossing my pillow back and forth between his hands. “Don’t worry. I have a suit.”
I’m too busy picturing Colton in a suit to notice the pillow flying at my face.
Fuck me,that’s a suit.
This isn’t my first time seeing Colton in one, but that was back when we were in school, when what he wore was practically an ill-fitting bag, a hand-me-down from some guy in his hometown. He used to yank the sides of the gray jacket over his chest, like tugging the fabric would make it magically alter to his slim body. It’d been almost compulsive when we sat at the banquet forthe Harrow Fellowship, a bunch of kids dolled up just in case we were the one out of five to have their lives changed overnight.
This isnotthat suit. The black fabric’s perfectly fitted to the lines of his body, his sleek tie the perfect, tempting tool to grab and yank him forward. He still fiddles with his clothes, but now when he tugs on the sleeve of his shirt, it’s like watching one of those ridiculous but somehow still hot as hell cologne commercials play out in real life.
Colton’s eyes land on me, and I can feel his gaze as it follows the path of my formfitting dress, clocking the slit that comes to my upper thigh. I shiver under his watch, and all my concerns from earlier come flying back. How are we supposed to move forward with all of… whatever this is between us?
His eyes settle on the curve of my hip, and I heat up to the point of near combustion. I have to tell him this is too much, that I need time and space to reset and get rid of this sexual tension so we can be us again. I’ll never move past it when he looks at me like that.
“You may want to pull the dress out of your underwear before we leave,” he says with that little lip quirk, and all those warm, confusing feelings fly out the window.
He isn’t checking me out. My ass is hanging out. Anyone would notice that, and thankfully he’s kind enough to point it out instead of awkwardly ignoring my little show.
I tug the material and smooth it out. “You’re a fashionista now?”
He chuckles, and I love that rumbling sound. “Don’t need to be a fashion designer to know dresses aren’t supposed to break public decency laws.”
“Tell that to Rihanna.”
He keeps fiddling with his sleeves and jacket. At first, I think it’s because he feels as awkward as I do with all of this, but then he starts bouncing on his toes like he’s physically incapable of staying still.
I eye him speculatively. “What’s going on with you?”
“What do you mean?” he asks, the words coming out in a rush as he glances at his watch. “Do you think Inez will be ready soon? We should probably get going. It may get crowded.”
“It’s less than fifteen minutes away. We’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll take care of a few things since we have the time,” he says, gathering the books I left on our dining table and dropping them in my room before rushing back to fold the throw blanket on the couch. When he moves on to straightening the decorative bowls on the shelves, I know something’s up.
“Are you on something?” I ask him, only half joking.
“What? No, of course not,” he answers, still moving.
“In all the years I’ve known you, you’ve never talked like that. Ormovedlike that. What drugs did you take?”
He stops walking suddenly, his body swaying forward like it hadn’t expected to stop. Colton brings his hand to his heart. “I swear to you, no drugs are in my system right now.” He starts moving again, then abruptly stops. “I lied to you.”
