I’ve already had one brownie and have just taken a bite of another one when Thalia touches my arm. “Didn’t you already eat one?”
I laugh. “Yes. So what? I barely ate dinner and these aresogood. They’re a little different than what I’m used to in the States. Did you use a box mix?”
The girls all go silent. Thalia narrows her eyes like she’s trying to decide if I’m kidding or not.
And then suddenly, it hits me.
I drop the rest of my brownie like it’s on fire, staring down at it in horror. “I thought these were regular brownies!”
Mia bursts out laughing. “Whywould they be regular brownies?”
I raise my voice, suddenly sounding shrill. “Why would theynotbe regular brownies?”
Thalia laughs and picks one up. “You do realize we’re on Ibiza…”
I press my hand to my forehead. “Oh my god.”
Annika touches my shoulder, comforting me. “Don’t freak out. You’ll be fine. I mean… aren’t you from California?”
“Yes. I…”
She’s right, of course. I know I’ll be fine. Some of my friends enjoy edibles. It’s certainly not uncommon. But though it’s legal in California, De Vere does random drug screenings, and I never wanted to disappoint my father or make it seem like I wasn’t taking my job seriously.
“Doing drugs was on your bucket list, remember?” Simone says, trying to turn the situation around. “Winnie wanted this!”
Yes. She’s right. It’s not that big of a deal. It’s just that had I known, I probably would have opted for half a brownie rather than a whole one—plus, oh god, I took ahugebite out of the second one, too.
Annika laughs, watching me struggle through my mental calculations. “Didn’t you taste it?”
“Between the burn from the vodka and all the melted chocolate chips sitting on top,NO!”
She shakes her head, not bothering to conceal her amusement. “You’ll survive.”
I know. I know that. And at the very least I’ve provided her with some much-needed comedic relief after a horrible day.
“Just sit back and enjoy the ride.”
Everyone runs around doing one last layer of lip gloss, a safety pee in the bathroom, a quick spritz of perfume, and then we’re heading out the door.
“Wait, hang on a sec. Before we leave, let me snap a decent photo of you for your grandmother,” Simone says, shooing me to step back into better lighting.
I smile and pose awkwardly, feeling like a complete dork, then she laughs. “It’s a video.”
“Ugh!”
“Do something!”
Thinking fast, I blow a kiss toward the camera and add a little wink. By the time Simone hands me my phone, I see she’s already texted it to Cristiano,notLita.
“Simone!”
“You’re welcome.” She winks. “Now c’mon, the club awaits!”
Chapter Twenty
Isabel
I’ll never drink vodka again. Even just thinking aboutvo—
