Something to push all thoughts of cancer and sex tapes to the recesses of my mind so I can enjoy myself.
When was the last time I enjoyed myself? Longer than I can remember. I’m here tonight with a handsome billionaire I used to crush hard on back in high school. If I can’t have fun tonight, maybe there really is no hope for me.
I wish Everly was here tonight, but I already texted her after I agreed to come with Garrin, and true to form, she avoids these things whenever possible.
I find Garrin where I left him, standing alone with an agitated expression on his face.
“Still pissed off?” I ask, sipping my champagne.
The crease in his forehead deepens. “You should know, I’m rarely happy.”
I nod. “Good to know.”
“But I’m not angry at you.”
I rock my body and sip my champagne. “Well, that’s something, then.”
He sighs and removes his hands from the pockets of his tuxedo pants. “I’m sorry if I was overbearing earlier. I—”
I raise my hand to stop his apology. “Can we just enjoy the rest of the evening? I really need to have fun tonight.”
His broad shoulders relax a little. “Of course. Do you want to dance again?”
I sip from my champagne flute and shake my head, knowing I’m too tipsy to dance right now. “Can we play a game?”
He raises his eyebrows and his expression radiates arrogance and intrigue. “Are we back in high school?”
“Not even you looked this good back in high school.”
If he’s surprised by my boldness, he doesn’t show it. “What did you have in mind?”
“When I was young and my parents used to drag me to these things, they were always so boring and so I’d make up stories about the people. What kind of people they were, what I thought they were talking about, what their private life was like.”
He gives me a blank stare and I immediately regret the glass of champagne I downed at the bar.
“Never mind, it’s stupid.”
“See the woman in the purple dress with the large bow on the back?” He nods toward a woman speaking with another older woman about twenty feet away. The older woman is dabbing at the chest area on her dress. It looks like she’s dropped something on it that’s left a stain, perhaps one of the hors d’oeuvres.
“Yes.” A smile grows on my face at his willingness to entertain my childish game.
“She’s explaining to the other woman that she wears a bib when she eats now to avoid getting stains on her outfits because she has too much Botox in her face and she can’t chew properly anymore. She said it’s just like coming home numb after getting dental work done.”
I laugh and hold my hand over my mouth as if someone would know why I’m laughing.
“Your turn,” Garrin says with a grin.
“Okay, let’s see.”
I glance around the room, looking for someone interesting. I sip my champagne for a minute before I finally spot a short, stocky man in his sixties. He’s balding and has a prominent belly. He’s speaking with two women, one of whom probably has ten inches on him in her heels, while the other is closer to his height. The women are gorgeous and at least twenty years younger than he is, and the first thing that comes to mind seeing them all together is the Sesame Street song “One of These Things Is Not Like the Others.”
“Okay, do you see that group over there?” I motion with my hand in their general direction. Something I probably wouldn’t do if I weren’t so tipsy. Or maybe I’m veering toward drunk now—I’m probably not the best person to assess my current state.
“The one with Humpty Dumpty?” Garrin says.
I chuckle because now that’s all I can envision when I look at the man. “He’s trying to convince them to have a threesome, and they agree, but because he’s into S&M, they’re trying to decide on their safe word. The tall one likes Napoleon, but the other one prefers rainbow, so they’re arguing about whose to use. He’s afraid of losing them both and is trying to keep the peace.”
“Actually, that’s Monty Sinclair and he’s more into being dominated than doing the dominating.”
I swing my head around to look at him. Yikes. Maybe a little too fast because now I’m dizzy. “Are you serious?”
Garrin nods.
“How do you know that?” I ask, my mouth hanging wide open.
He shrugs. “There isn’t a lot I don’t know about anyone in this room.”
I finish my