Hello Adventure

Chapter 28

"Wait! Wait! Wait! He told you he was engaged and then asked you to be his piece on the side when he's back in Boston?!" Brooke screeched. "If I ever see Sebastian I am going to cock-slap him right across the motherfucking face!"

"Shh!" I nearly cuffed my hand over Brooke's mouth. Her suite was filled with people. She decided to host a "small soirée" for a bunch of her friends who were in town, which I knew from her blog was one of her favorite things [see the blog post: "How To Throw A Rager In A Fancy-Ass Hotel (and not get kick out)"].

"Will you keep your voice down? I think that Jonas brother heard you threating to cock-slap someone!" I glanced over my shoulder. Somehow the "small soirée" turned into the party of the year.

"Not that I don't appreciate the thoughtful gesture," I added to her in a hushed voice.

Brooke opened her mouth wide to respond, but I stared her down in warning. "Will you please use your indoor voice?"

"I can't use my indoor voice—I'm drunk as fuck!" Brooke nodded her body along to the heartbeat of the music.

I gave her another look, but she was totally lit and there was no stopping her. There was no stopping any of this. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Leo got into a wobbly crow pose to impress this group of art world girls. "You see, bellas!" he was muttering, red-faced and not at all at ease. "So easy!" he called before literally face-planting.

No one else from the team was here: Cai didn't drink, Dale used all his spare time to work, and Samuel was off doing Samuel things. So I was relying on Brooke to distract me for a few hours. All I had been doing was obsessing about the essay. I couldn't even sleep.

I was half-relieved, half-disappointed that Dale was nowhere in sight. I wouldn't know what to say to him, but then again I wanted to talk to him. I couldn't stop thinking about the other night, how he held me like that and the things he said to me.

"Don't worry! Me being drunk is totally on-brand!" Brooke said. "Now, back to Seb!" She smacked my arm hard, and I recoiled.

"He did not use those words exactly, but yes—Seb tried to get me to be his side chick. He also tried to get me to write his admissions essay for me because he dad is going to cut him off if he doesn't get into this masters program," I said to Brooke, leaving out the pill part and the whole blackmailing bit because she was drunk and who knows how'd she react.

What am I going to do? I asked myself, pushing my face into my drink. I can't have my career ruined—but I also couldn't bring Seb back to Boston.

I thought of Dale again. He was the only one who knew about the pills and who may understand. I scanned the room again like I could conjure him into appearing, but it didn't look like he would be making an appearance anytime soon.

Champagne was everywhere and two girls in slippery, short dresses were dancing on an antique coffee table, swigging gin straight from the bottle. A man with black, greased-back hair was laying in the bathtub. The whole thing looked like an outtake from The Great Gatsby. How the hell did Brooke pull this off with such short notice? She truly was a genuine rock star.

"I hope you told Sebastian to eat a bag of dicks!" she yelled over the music.

I shook my head in disgust at the thought of him. "You should have heard him, Brooke. He tried to make it sound all fatalistic and romantic!"

"That's probably just his Euro-trash accent." Brooke seized another flute off champagne off a table and guzzled it without stopping to breathe like it was a beer at a frat party.

"He was all like, 'it's our time, ma souris." I mimicked his accent in an exaggerated Pepé Le Pew voice. "He was always saying 'I'll have my turn.' He tried to act like this was my chance!" I shivered in revulsion." Like this is what I've been waiting my whole life for, and I should be grateful for the opportunity."