I sighed and shook my head while he laughed. He stopped mid-laugh with a quizzical expression.
“Wait, does this mean you and the fiancé haven’t . . .”
I put a hand over his mouth. The cameras were everywhere, and even though they’d left us alone a minute ago, now we had like five of them pointed right at us. My relationship with Sterling was my personal business, and all of America did not need to know about it. His eyes sparkled with mischief, and I pulled my hand away.
“No, we haven’t.”
That grin got bigger, and I decided to ignore it.
“Challenge accepted,” he said.
“What? What challenge?”
“The no alcohol thing.” The bartender came back with Dante’s drink, but he waved it away. “It will be my first task.”
His first task? “What in the world are you talking about?”
But before he could explain, a petite brunette was at his elbow, tugging at him to come and talk. “I’ll tell you later,” he said as he allowed himself to be led away.
I didn’t know how much time had passed, because I had nothing to do but drink my soda and watch the women preen and posture as they tried to get Dante’s attention. He seemed to be loving the situation and had nothing but smiles and compliments for everyone. Always so polite, always so charming.
It was early summer in California, and despite the open windows, I was hot. The overhead lights, all the bodies, the weather—everything contributed to making the room stuffy and unbearable. I didn’t know how Dante was doing it in that tuxedo. I was pulling my jersey away from my body to try and let some breeze through, while he looked cool and calm.
Genesis had wandered off, and I’d lost track of her hours ago. Taylor had told me that the producers would be pulling the girls aside for interviews and what they called “In The Moments,” or ITMs. She told me that some of the crew called them TMIs, because it wasn’t uncommon for a contestant to share way too much information.
Somebody kissed Dante on the cheek, leaving pink lipstick. I quite literally had a flash of red before my eyes as she giggled and wiped his cheek clean.
I’d had about all I could stand, so I escaped to the backyard to get away from the heat, the alcohol-induced fights, and the raging hormones.
There was a pool, and then a massive yard behind it with trees, rows of flowers, and open green spaces. It reminded me of our ranch back in Georgia. I found a massive old oak and sat on the side opposite to the house. Taylor could yell at me later.
I looked up at the full moon and realized that I had no idea what time it was. I was totally reliant on my phone for everything, including checking the time, and so I never wore a watch.
Thankfully, by this time tomorrow, I would have my phone back and things would return to normal.
“Hiding out?”
I jumped, putting my hand over my heart. It beat fast and heavy. Whether that was from being surprised or him being close to me, I didn’t know. “You almost gave me a heart attack. What are you doing?”
Dante sat down on the grass next to me, looking out of place in his tuxedo. “Running away. You?”
“Same.”
“You are going to owe me for this, Limone,” he said as he took off his jacket and placed it on the ground.
“Owe you? Pretty sure you owe me now.”
He flashed that smile that always turned my stomach to jelly, and I forced myself to look back up at the sky, searching for stars that couldn’t shine through the layer of pollution.
“I owe you?” He let out a short laugh. “Don’t worry. I plan on paying you back.” His voice sounded weird. Ominous. Un-Dante-like.
Before I could ask what he meant, he said, “I heard things got crazy in there earlier.” He sounded like himself again. So I told him about the catfight that had taken place. He was laughing as I told the story. I, admittedly, played up the comedic aspects. I liked hearing him laugh. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy.
A twig snapped behind us and we both turned. I was worried that we’d been caught and they’d force us to go back inside.
“It’s only Marco.” I heard the relief in Dante’s voice. Marco was his primary bodyguard, and was one of the nicest people I’d ever met. One of the deadliest, too. I saw him practicing hand-to-hand combat in Monterra once, and I pitied the person who ever tried to get at Dante.