Daniel wiped my hair behind my ear and gazed down at me. “Small town?”
“Not too small. Just the right size. Oh, we do have g*y people. We have a big pride weekend in August, but it’s not like in the bigger cities.”
“I grew up in LA. Everything I know about small town life comes from movies or books.”
Interesting. We were the exact opposite of each other. “There are magazines, if you’re interested.”
He touched my cheek, pulling away when he sensed my discomfort. Folding his hands in his lap, he said, “So, what’s your story? Is it true what they’re saying about you and Dalton Deangelo? Did you break his heart?”
“Hah! More like the other way around.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” He got a sly grin, his ultra-white teeth flashing brightly inside the limo’s interior. We were moving, driving somewhere, but I’d forgotten where we were headed. He said, “So, are you looking for a rebound?”
“Hah! Already taken care of. Long story. Doesn’t matter. But you should know, I won’t be doing anything with you tonight. I need to give my lips and heart a break.”
He shrugged. “Can’t blame a guy for holding out hope, though.”
“Why bother? I mean, why me? You could have picked up a dozen girls at the club. You could have taken two, on account of how small and flimsy they are.”
“Like those skinny sticks of gum.”
“Exactly. So, why are you attracted to me? Is it because you thought I was a sure thing? That you wouldn’t have to try as hard, like with a pretty girl?”
“You are a pretty girl.”
“You know what I mean. I’m not exactly Los Angeles material.”
He used his finger to tap me on the tip of my nose, once, like pressing a reset button. “Exactly.”
With that, I felt my whole brain shift. I’m not exactly Los Angeles material. Ah, it all made sense. I was the alternative option. The flip-side. The special kosher meal on the long flight. The road not taken.
Everything about my life made sense, the way it only can after a night of drinking, dancing with hot guys, and illegal lawn watering.
The car came to a stop, and Mitchell and Gunnar stopped kissing long enough to open the door and get out.
“I should go back to the apartment,” I said. “My friend’s place, not yours, Daniel. No offense. I’m sure you’re as tender and sensitive a lover as you are a good dancer, and you are a very good dancer.”
“This isn’t my place,” Daniel said. “It’s a friend’s and there’s the most amazing pool. We can watch the sun rise. Look how the horizon is pink. Won’t be long.”
“Come on,” Mitchell said, holding out his hand.
I grabbed the unopened champagne bottle from the ice bucket as I climbed out of the car. “I guess we’ll need refreshments.”
Daniel followed me out of the car, and we made our way along a path, past a gardening shed, to the back of a mansion. We passed a half-dozen security signs that everyone ignored. We were in another ritzy neighborhood—Malibu, Daniel told me as we walked through an unlocked garden gate. The houses here were quite far apart, but the two or three I could make out the shapes of in the dark looked impressive.
I got the hiccups, plus the giggles, which made for loud hiccups.
We located the pool, which was set on the edge of a hill, and had an infinity edge—the wall was glass, and the water line met the top of the glass. The guys all stripped down to their underwear and splashed into the pool.
My head was woozy. Time had been passing in jumps, but I felt good.
I popped open the champagne bottle and took a seat on a lounge chair next to the pool. A spot on the inside of my hip bone felt sore, like I’d bruised myself. I wanted to rinse off my sticky body, but I also wanted to put my feet up and rest. Just for a minute. Just to catch my breath.
I took a long, refreshing drink from the champagne bottle, and lay back with my head on the padded headrest. The horizon glowed a vibrant shade of orange-pink, and soon the sun would be coming up.
The guys splashed each other in the pool, laughing and horsing around. I didn’t know who lived in the main house, but it was so far away from the pool, they’d never hear us, nor would the distant neighbors.
“Not bad, Malibu,” I said to myself.
I thought about how a pair of sunglasses would make everything perfect, then I glanced over to my left and saw a pair of sunglasses on the table next to me. I hiccuped again as I donned the sunglasses.
The boys kept splashing in the pool, having a great time.
“This is more like it,” I said as I settled back into the chair to watch the sun come up.
CHAPTER 17
I woke up to a woman in mirrored, aviator-style sunglasses gently shaking me.
“Tell me right now, ma'am, do you have any needles or sharps on your person?”
“What?” I tried to sit up, but she pressed me down with one hand. The woman was strong, and she was wearing a shiny badge on her shirt. My grogginess evaporated instantly.
“Do you have any drug paraphernalia on you?” she asked.
“No, ma’am.” I took a closer look at her badge, noting the name of a security company. She wasn’t a cop, but that still didn’t mean I wasn’t going to get arrested and be made someone’s jail wife. I wanted to have some fun in LA, but not as a jail wife.
“If you’re not on drugs, why are you here?”
“We came here with Daniel,” I said.
“Daniel who?”
“Daniel… um. Big teeth. Really nice. Tall. I think he’s a model.”
“Are you sure you aren’t on drugs? Because your friend over there is not very tall.”
She nodded toward Mitchell, who was sitting on a lounger across the pool from me. He was doing nothing but looking helpless, with a plastic strap around his wrists.
This time, I sat up, shoving her hand away. “Oh, no. You need to untie him immediately. This is kidnapping. You can’t tie him up.”
The woman put one hand on her hip, delivering me a whole lot of attitude with a side dish of oh-no-you-didn’t.
“We’ll see about that,” she said.
As far as I could tell, she was the only person there besides me and Mitchell. I looked closely at her, but the dark sunglasses weren’t giving away much. She wore a necklace with a locket that had popped open, showing a photo of two little kids.
“Are you arresting us?” I asked.
“You will be charged with trespassing,” she said. “As well as theft.”