The Price of Inertia (The Seven Sins #4) - Lily Zante Page 0,71
him.
“Want another G & T?” he yells into my ear, trying to get heard over the sound of the music.
“What happened to my other one?” I yell back, directly into his ear.
“I gave it to Raleigh.”
I give him a thumbs up and order a big glass of water instead.
“You’re looking ....” I don’t hear the entire sentence because the music has suddenly gone up a notch, and the base reverberates along the wooden floor. I can feel it in my soul.
“What?” I yell, cupping my ear, indicating that I haven’t heard him.
“You look .... “ he shouts something again, this time up close and right into my ear so that I can feel his hot breath on my neck, but the beat is loud and thumping. I still can’t hear him no matter how loudly he shouts.
I shake my head, and he reaches for my hand and then pulls me up. “Let’s go outside!”
I grab my glass and totter out with him, with one hand on my glass, trying not to spill the water, and also trying to get my hand out of Jamie’s grip. He’s pulling me along but I’m in my heels and I can’t walk that fast. We head out towards a grassy section with chairs and tables, but I trip in my too-stupid-but-sexy sandals, and fly straight into Jamie’s arms. The glass goes flying and lands on the grass, thankfully unbroken.
“Hey,” he says, holding me with both hands on my arms as if he’s worried that I’ll topple over again. “You okay?”
“It’s these silly heels,” I complain, looking down and examining the ends to see if they were still intact. I wish I’d worn my Converse sneakers.
“What happened?”
“You were pulling me along,” I complain. Why the heck he wanted to go outside, I don’t know. “What are we doing here?” I ask him, as a passing server picks up the fallen glass.
“I couldn’t hear you in there.”
I fan my face. “It was so hot in there.” I need the fresh air. Jamie has suddenly gone quiet, and I look around for Raleigh, or some other familiar faces. But I hear the notes of a new song playing. It’s one I really like. “Let’s go back,” I cry.
“Stay out here a while,” Jamie pleads. “We’ve barely had a chance to talk.”
But I don’t want to talk. I want to dance. “Aw, come on. I like this one.”
He makes a face. It doesn’t look to me as if he’s heading inside anytime soon. I want to go inside and get back to dancing. I look around for some of our friends. “Who are you looking for?” Jamie asks.
“Raleigh. I noticed you two were busy catching up.”
He cocks his head, as if not understanding.
“With Raleigh,” I say. “She looked so happy to see you.”
“She was happy to see us all.”
I poke him in the shoulder gently. “She looked especially happy to see you. Have you asked her?”
“Asked her what?”
“Come on, Jamie. Don’t pretend. You liked her.”
“I did not.”
I frown at him in disbelief. “You did, too.”
“She’s not really the one for me.”
I find this hard to believe and fold my arms and frown at him again. “She’s besotted by you. Can’t you tell?”
He clears his throat and shakes his head. “Nope. Can’t see it.”
Another group of our friends comes over and we end up talking to them. The conversation soon changes to what we’re all doing now and where we’re working.
“I’m housesitting,” I say, my eyes shifting to Jamie and praying that he won’t tell them the truth about me. I don’t care that the guy I’m a housekeeper to is a famous author, I care more about my ambition and what my friends will think of me in my new role.
“Housesitting?” someone asks.
I tug at my earlobe. “Um-hmmm.”
“Let’s go and party at your place then,” someone else suggests. The idea is popular with everyone.
“You don’t want to do that,” Jamie says, “I’ve seen the place. It’s a dumpster. The guy has dogs. Five of them. It’s so not a party place.”
There is more talk about what to do after the club closes, and someone mentions a few parties that are going on tonight. People umm and aaah about which party to go to with nothing decided. They leave to go back to the bar, leaving me and Jamie outside again. I thank him.
“Why didn’t you tell them where you’re working?”
“Because I’m fickle and I don’t want people to know I’m a housekeeper.”