Page 19 of Kiss Slay Replay

“Let’s go eat and drink and party!” Jace shouts as he passes us, Steph beside him with her bouquet lifted overhead like a trophy.

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Luke says, stepping onto his chair and promptly backflipping off it. He lands with a smirk then struts toward the bar.

“Why do straight men love doing flips?” Wyatt asks.

“I wish I loved to do anything as much as straight men love to do flips,” Evan says.

“Is that a thing?” I ask.

Cassie shuts her eyes, grits her teeth, and does one of her epic sighs. “I can’t with him. All right. Let’s go. I’m starving.”

I follow my friends, but my eyes travel back to the woods.

6

Everyone gathers in the cocktail area for more drinks and hors d’oeuvres. I make my way to the bar and get a whiskey sour, hoping steady alcohol consumption will miraculously cure my anxiety. Or at least numb me to it, even just a little.

This is going great.

I get stuck in conversation with Olivia, who is lovely but makes very intense eye contact. She tells me about her recent trip to Italy, sparing no detail. Turns out, everything is better in Italy. Who knew?

“You haven’t eaten pasta until you’ve eaten pasta in Italy,” she says.

“I’m actually gluten-free.” I don’t know why I say it, why I lie, why I’m being a dick. She’s not trying to be obnoxious.

“Me, too! I’m gluten-sensitive, but I’m telling you it doesn’t matter over there because of the quality of the food. It’s amazing.”

I have no idea how to politely exit this conversation. My drink is gone, and I swear I’m thiiissss close to gnawing on the cherry stem in case it absorbed any liquor. Olivia talks so fast she’s not leaving me any opportunity to kindly excuse myself to go get another. I send ESP SOS signals to Evan and Cassie that go unanswered.

“I was standing in front of the Madonna della Pietà just crying. Weeping,” she says. “And I’m not even religious!”

“Those Catholics,” I say, staring into the bottom of my empty glass, considering prayer.

“Excuse me. Olivia. Sorry to interrupt.” It’s Danny. “Can I borrow Willa for a second?”

“Oh, of course,” she says.

“Nice chatting with you,” I say. “So glad you had fun on your trip.”

She’s already off looking for someone else to talk to about Vatican City.

“Thank you,” I say to Danny.

“Don’t thank me yet. I’m about to wax poetic about limoncello.”

The joke catches me off guard and I snort while laughing.

“Nerd,” he says, which makes me laugh even harder. “I was wrong. You’re not cool.”

People are looking at us. Now I have my friends’ attention, of course, now that I no longer need it. Evan furrows his brow. Cassie sucks on her vape. Ravi angles his face away, rests his hand on the small of Tanya’s back.

This subtle gesture turns me into a green-eyed monster, into something wild and intrepid.

I lean in closer to Danny. “Do you smoke cigarettes?”

“No. Yes. When offered.”

“I’m offering.”