LUCIFER » SIMON MINTER

Chapter 56

We spent the majority of our first day in Croatia looking around, taking pictures of each other on the balcony with the sunset in the background, and unpacking. When the sun was finally down, we got a call from some of the boys who were staying in the hotel that was not too far from our villa.

"Are you guys up for going out tonight?" Calfreezy sounded from the phone.

"Like dancing?" I asked, already feeling excited. I was itching to explore the country and go dancing and listen to some good songs with the company of my best friends.

"Ahem, excuse me, but what about the one who is eating for two?" Freya asked in a sassy voice. The four of us were sitting in the living room, with Josh's phone placed on the dining table, all of us leaning forward to listen in on the conversation. Freya was now in her third trimester, with her due date looming over her. We all prayed that she wouldn't go into labour on the plane flight back home.

"Well, we were thinking of going out to dinner first and then partying?" Harry offered, and I could tell by the shuffling that he snatched the phone from Calfreezy. I even picked up a little pissed-off 'hey!' from him.

"Sounds fun, did you already make a reservation? We're quite a few people." Josh answered.

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Around two hours later, the entire squad was sitting at one long table in a special section of the restaurant. If you went out the back door, you'd be lead to a small porch where you'd have to walk up a small staircase to find a terraced area in the middle of a bunch of plants and tall trees. There stood our giant table, lit with real candles and decorated with grand wine glasses as well as several flowers. It looked like something you'd expect at a wedding.

I sat down next to Simon, who sat next to Josh and Freya. I smiled at the happy couple when Josh quickly took Freya's empty wine glass away from her and set it back down out of her reach. "Do you mind?" Freya laughed, and Josh just placed his hand on her tummy and a kiss on her temple.

"You have to think of the little one," He reasoned.

"You look breathtaking," Simon murmured under his breath, leaning into my side. My heart fluttered, because even though we've been dating for two years (basically), things like that still made me question what on Earth I did to deserve this. I was wearing a body-hugging dress with sequins that shifted from purple to gold in the light.

"Look who's talking," I told him. He was dressed in a navy blue suit, seeing as this was quite the high-end restaurant. He wore a white button-down shirt underneath, and a purple tie that matched my outfit.

On my left sat someone who I didn't recognise, which was unusual. He had his back faced towards me and was deeply in conversation with Vik, who sat on his other side. I strained my ears to listen to their conversation, and it seemed they were talking about recording videos together about some sort of game. Then it clicked. This must be the friend from Australia he brought along.

"Isn't this nice?" Simon asked, clearing his throat. I snapped my head back to look at him, my lips sinking into a comfortable smile.

"Yes, it is." I agreed, pretending to be super interested in all of the plants that surrounded the dining area. Everyone had gotten lost in their own conversations with each other, so much so that none of us realised the waitresses already handed us the menus. "What are you having?" I asked him.

"Not the seafood," He joked and I hummed happily. Of course he wouldn't. Even if we were in Croatia. Typical Simon. "Tagliatelle sounds pretty good though," He began, but paused when I felt a polite tap on my shoulder and whizzed my head around again to see who it was.