in one, and I watched with glee as he enjoyed it for the first time like an awe-struck kid. I also managed to convince him that pre-gaming, including a couple of shots, were a necessity to get through a night like tonight. His work excuse flew out the window the second I held up the bottle of liquor.
This is the first Starfish Gala, and since my parents are huge advocates of helping ocean life, it was one of the events I didn’t have a say in attending.
I don’t think Wren is going to be who she’s expecting when my mother insisted I bring a nice man as a date when I spoke with her earlier. I still haven’t spoken to them about what happened with Dani or how my apartment was trashed. If we’re able to find her safely, I may never open my mouth to have that conversation with them. It wouldn’t be the first time I kept secrets from my parents for Dani.
“What just happened?” Wren asks with a silly smile. “Your face just transformed from happiness to depression.”
I quirk my lips back up into a half-smile. “I don’t really like attending these kinds of things.”
“Really?” He honestly sounds surprised. “It seems so glamorous.”
He sweeps his arms to indicate the luxury car we’re traveling in.
“It grows tiresome after a while,” I mutter.
I expect him to get that same look on his face that Deacon gets, the one that says oh you poor spoiled brat, but he just looks wistfully outside the dark-tinted window to watch the building move by slowly.
“I guess glamour isn’t always glamorous,” he whispers.
“Tell me about yourself.” I nudge his shoe with the tip of my heel. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
“No.”
“Single and looking?”
He turns his head back in my direction. “I game.”
“Like hunting?” I tilt my head in confusion.
“Not hunting. Games. Online stuff mostly.” He frowns. “I’m awkward when it comes to women that aren’t aware of the score.”
“The score?” Is he drunk after just a couple of shots?
“I, umm…” He lifts his hand and squeezes the back of his neck. “I meet girls on hookup apps. I find it difficult to walk up to women in person without having set up arrangements previously.”
“Hmmm.”
“You can say it. It’s weird. I’m fucking weird.”
A laugh erupts from my throat before I can stop it.
“Ha, ha,” he deadpans before looking out the window again.
“No,” I scoot closer and grip his arm until he’s turning back around, “I’m not making fun of you. I just thought you were joking.”
“I’m not.”
“What about the girl you lost your virginity to? You approached her, right?”
His cheeks beat the land speed record for turning red as an apple.
“Oh, Wren, no. Really?”
He shrugs, breaking eye contact, and I think he may be close to tears. “She knew, so it’s not like it’s a big deal.”
“There are girls online looking for that sort of thing?”
He refuses to look at me again when I tug on his tux sleeve.
“She was a professional.”
Another bubble of laughter threatens, but I manage to hold it back. This poor guy.
“Are you saying you hired a hooker to lose your virginity to?”
Finally, he looks in my direction, his brows drawn together tightly.
“Don’t be so crass, Annalise Grimaldi. They’re called escorts. It’s not like I drove around town in my mom’s Camry with twenty bucks in my pocket looking for chicks on the street corner. It seemed normal at the time, and I’ll have you know she thoroughly enjoyed herself that night.”
“I bet she did,” I agree wholeheartedly. “It’s jus—”
“What? I swear I’ll never talk to you again if you tell Deacon what I just confessed.”
“I’d never tell Deacon.” And I mean it, because despite just having met this guy, I feel like we could eventually become real friends. “It’s just that I’ve met Brooks and Flynn and Ignacio. They all seem very sure of themselves. I didn’t expect your story to turn out like it did.”
“Those guys have mad skills picking up women. Quinten is great too.” He’s grinning again, and I’m certain we’ve managed to avoid a meltdown. “Those guys spend time traveling, and I’m always sitting in my office on the computer. It takes a lot of time to do what I do. I don’t always have the time to socialize.”
“Well,” I tell him with a smile of my own, “we’re going to socialize you tonight, my new friend.”
The car rolls to a stop at the front of the building where the Starfish Gala is being held.
“Are you