Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 102355 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102355 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
I laugh. “Yes. So what? I barely ate dinner and these are so good. 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. “Why would they be regular brownies?”
I raise my voice, suddenly sounding shrill. “Why would they not be 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 a huge bite 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, not Lita.
“Simone!”
“You’re welcome.” She winks. “Now c’mon, the club awaits!”
Chapter Twenty
Isabel
I’ll never drink vodka again. Even just thinking about vo—
Oh god.
My stomach rolls. My eyelids are so heavy. How long have we been at this club? The pulsing music doesn’t even faze me anymore. My ears are numb to it. Go to a crazy dance party was on Winnie’s list. Check. Never doing it again.
“He’s almost here,” Simone says cheerily, leaning over to pat my shoulder in an attempt to lure me back to the land of the living. “Time to rise and shine, princess.”
Who’s almost here? I don’t even care.
“Just leave me,” I protest. I’ll sleep wherever I am. Is it the bench seat at our booth at Solaría? Is the cool leather pressed against my cheek? I can’t look. My bones are useless. The brownies have set in, swirling with vodka shots (blech) and Jell-O shots (double blech) and all the other cocktails Annika has shoved into my hand tonight. I might as well be in a king bed with eight-hundred-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets.
“Do you want me to carry you or are you okay to walk?”
That voice.
I blink open my tired eyes. Two Cristianos stare down at me. Double the trouble, double the fun. I unravel what I hope is a lazy come hither grin, but then I hiccup and it’s ruined.
The Cristianos smile and bend down to scoop me up, sadly converging into one person instead of two. I open my mouth to try to assure him I can walk, but his body is so warm and his scent so intoxicating I’m happy to keep quiet. With my arms wrapped around his neck and my cheek pressed to his chest, I relax against him and close my eyes. I can’t keep them open for the life of me.
“I was going to have the best night out, maybe even make you a little jealous or something,” I lament as he carries me out of the club. “I really tried, but then I fell asleep in the booth because I ate a pot brownie and chased it with every drop of alcohol in this place.”
I feel his laughter, but then he drops a kiss to my hair and lowers his voice. “I wish you had gone to Aura, where Ramón could have watched out for you.”
I nestle into him even more. “I’m fine. I have you.”