I cringe. I am a tiny bit bothered—couldn’t he have texted that so I could have grabbed something to eat? After all, he had invited me to a “dinner party,” and I only mentioned how hungry I was a half dozen times. I take the tiniest sip. I’m all for letting loose, but everyone knows that drinking on an empty stomach is a recipe for disaster.
Wes must pick up on my annoyance. “Actually, hold tight. Let me see what I can find.”
“Okay. Thank you.” I stand there, watching him walk away. On my other side, Freddy tries to chat up a girl—a new one—completely ignoring me.
My phone vibrates. It’s Mari and Anya, along with a flurry of photos: a bottle of prosecco with a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries and tiramisu; Nico pouring the prosecco into champagne flutes; Anya trying to pour the bottle into Nico’s mouth despite his best attempts to refuse. Nico must manage to escape soon after, becausethe rest are pictures of Mari and Anya feeding each other chocolate-covered strawberries and tending to the stray cat, who is now getting a bath in our hotel room sink. I laugh. The bubbles have clearly set in.
Love you both!I text, with a bunch of heart emojis.
Love you too! Hope you’re having fun on your walk!Mari writes back.
I swallow and text Nico because it’s easier than trying to digest the guilt.Grazie! For delivering the treats and being a good sport.
Wes returns with a small plate that holds one cube of cheese, one shrimp, and one almond cookie, and I can’t help but be appreciative. The rations may be meager, but the gesture isn’t. “Thank you, Wes. You didn’t have to scavenge for me.”
“I fought a little old lady for that last shrimp, I’ll have you know.”
“I sure am lucky.” I beam. The nourishment makes me feel instantly better. It’s not Wes’s fault this party was running low on food. Not to mention he’s been surrounded by friends. He was probably just distracted and forgot to let me know it was a formal cocktail party. I take a lingering sip from my champagne.
We walk around the grounds some, playing a tipsy round of giant lawn chess in the orange grove and sneaking up the front steps to peer through the floor-to-ceiling windows until a chef snaps the curtains closed, sending us tumbling back down laughing hysterically. We make ourway back to the main party, picking up another glass or two of champagne along the way.
But a sadness creeps into my happy. I wish my friends were here. We’d be standing in a corner picking out our favorite dresses and running off to explore every luxurious corner and staging some very cheesy photo ops. I wish this was a memory we could share. I wish I could tell them about it at all.
The lead singer of the band is wearing a floor-length red crystal gown. She sparkles as she sways in place, holding the microphone, belting out a slow, romantic song, and even though I can’t understand the words, I’m swept up in it.
Like he can read my mind, Wes extends a hand. “You’ve always been my favorite dance partner, Sora. Want to take another spin?”
I grin, heart racing. It’s impossible to ignore how heads turn when Wes walks through a crowd. Even harder to ignore how it feels, being on his arm, because he’s chosen me out of everyone. We sway to the music, my arms wrapped around his neck and his around my waist. One of his hands is under his jacket that I’m wearing, skirting the top hem of my skirt. He draws faint lines on my bare skin, back and forth, and it buzzes from his touch. I tug lightly at the hair at the nape of his neck, and Wes lets out a quiet groan as he rests his chin against my temple.
We’re spinning when fireworks burst over the water. Suddenly the ocean is a glossy pink and purple and blue.Trails of smoke fall toward the Mediterranean Sea. I am dizzy with endorphins. It’s magic and love and lust all wrapped up into one. This moment, I swear, even Wes feels it. I gaze up at him. The way he stares back makes me think he’s finally going to kiss me.
“I know the perfect place,” he whispers, hot and breathless in my ear.
“Okay.” And then he’s pulling me toward the gardens. We grab fresh glasses of champagne. My heels crunch atop the pebbled walkways, and I hang on to Wes to keep myself steady.
The immaculately pruned wall of cypress trees is flanked by statues carved out of Carrara marble. We snake through flower beds and shrubbery until we reach a maze. Tipsy from the champagne and with almost no food in my stomach, I stumble in, giggling. Wes keeps touching me, trying to keep me upright, taking me farther into the darkness. I turn around one corner, then another, and I’m starting to feel dizzy. I trip on a twig and fall to the ground, taking Wes with me. We are laughing in a heap, and suddenly it feels like it’s just us at this enormous party.
Wes shifts so his face is hovering over mine. He snakes an arm around my waist, pulling me in close. He slowly tugs his jacket from my shoulder to play with the thin strap of my sequined camisole. “You drive me insane, Soraya. You’re all I think about. It’s not healthy.”
“I could think of way worse diseases,” I tease. He traces the contour of my collarbone, running a finger along it. Ifeel every skin cell he touches, synapse by synapse.
Wes dips his head to press kisses onto my neck. They start just below my ear and descend downward, edging closer and closer to my breasts. I moan quietly.
I gently pull Wes’s face up. “Kiss me already.”
Wes grins. He leans in slowly. His lips are millimeters from mine when rustling in the bushes jolts us apart. Freddy tumbles out, laughing hysterically.
“Dude.” Wes sits straight up. “What are you doing?”
“I couldn’t find my way, so I decided to just go through all the bushes.” Freddy’s eyes are red and wild.
“How much have you had to drink?” Wes asks him.
“Not going to lie, I lost count.”
“That tracks,” I say, too quiet for anyone to hear.
“Man, let’s get out of here.” Freddy teeters on his feet just as Graham arrives.
