Then, when he’d heard about the Instagram competition, he urged me on along with Elle. I decided to focus on my drawing of the surfer that William liked. It was my favorite too, and I’d put all my energy intoperfecting it before the deadline.
Having him confide in me at breakfast was the first time I got to be his support for a change. I knew he had a lot going on back home, but he always refused to talk about it. It was like he was finally seeing me as an equal.
I drew the muscles I so longed to touch and his steady, penetrating stare that seemed to hypnotize me into a stupor.
But when I looked back up to refocus on class, Luke was bent into a pretzel, giving every artist a close-up of how effective anal bleaching could be.
***
Later, I was thankful to walk into the pub, hoping a stiff drink would erase the memory of Luke’s puckered butthole.
The sign out front seemed to be back up, the old English script shimmering in the streetlights with gold-leaf lettering.
Elspeth stood behind the bar, looking sexy as hell in her element, like a modern-day Joan fromMad Men. I headed straight toward her with a silent plea for help. I couldn’t see William anywhere and was grateful not to introduce him to the idiot currently on an Instagram live next to me.
I put my hand on his arm and made the introductions. “Luke, this is my friend Elspeth.”
Luke finally put his phone down, and his eyes bulged. “Has anyone ever told you you’d look great with veneers?”
Elspeth scowled. “Unfortunately, no.”
William walked up from the back room, carrying a crate of glasses and looking handsome and dangerous. He wore a fitted pair of dark jeans and a gray tee,the medallion on his necklace dipping low against his muscled chest.
Luke must have noticed the way William was staring and put an arm over me as if staking his claim.
William strode toward us with confidence, his wolfish grin getting bigger as he surveyed the scene in front of him. It was menacing and off putting.
He reached out a hand. “I’m William.”
Luke grabbed it firmly. “Luke.”
“Oh, this is Luke,” he said with mock amusement. “Nairie’s told me all about you.”
“All good things, I hope.”
William gave a murderous grin. “Nope.”
I grimaced at Elspeth. “Can we have some alcohol?”
Elspeth laughed. “You came to the right place.”
Luke squeezed me tighter against his side, and I stiffened. “I’m taking Nairie to a huge influencer event. I do a lot of campaigns for brands on social media, actually.”
William crossed his tattooed arms over his broad chest. “What kind of campaign, exactly?”
“Gummy laxatives.”
The side of William’s mouth ticked up. I avoided eye contact by sipping the drink Elspeth placed in front of me.
“Is there a lot of money in that?” William asked.
“Definitely, I could try to get you hooked up with an agent if you’re interested.”
“No, thanks.”
Luke and I eventually found a half-circle booth while William and Elspeth went over the night’s schedule and spoke to some of the bartenders and waiters.
Luke tapped on his phone, making sure to tag hislocation on the selfie he just took, and posted it to all his social channels.
