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“Yes, I have.”
“Arguing over reality shows is not trying to talk. Winston’s a little serious, but so what, Steph? I really think if you gave him a chance—”
“Shh!” She quiets me as Winston and Maddox walk up behind us. Maddox grins at him, and Winston nods, which confuses me.
“Hey, so Adam just sent me a text message. There’s a party going down in West Hollywood, want to go?” Maddox asks.
Stephanie’s eyes widen with excitement. “Totally.”
“I would, but my mom just got back in town. I told her I wouldn’t be out too late, and catch her up on everything that Sebastian’s been working on in school.”
“Oh, come on,” Stephanie pleads.
“I can’t. She’s leaving tomorrow morning. Plus, I want to catch up with her myself.”
“I’ll go,” Winston chimes in.
“You guys go,” I tell them. Stephanie eyes Winston carefully, and I think she’s going to protest when Maddox speaks up.
“It’s supposed to be bangin’,” he says. “Plus, I think a few other celebrities are going to be there.” He looks over at Winston, smirking, then glances at Stephanie. “You two should ride together. You came with Cece, right?”
Steph pinches her lips together. “Yeah.”
The valet hurries back, and Winston’s titanium-colored BMW M2 drives up. Winston lifts his shoulders, which was his go-to move for the night, but his apprehensive and defensive expression I got used to seeing on him at the table is gone. Instead, he glances at Maddox, then heads toward his car door. “Text me the address, Maddox.” Sitting in the car, he glances back at Stephanie, rolling down the passenger window. “You want to go or not?”
Her suspicious mien stays in place, and her eyes shoot over to me. I shrug because it’s the only thing I can think of to do. Winston’s indifference is definitely a shift from earlier tonight.
“Sure,” she finally responds and walks over, getting into his car.
For a moment, a surprised expression falls over Winston’s face, and he looks back at Maddox. I glance over and see Maddox wink, letting out a low clicking sound of approval. My head snaps back to Winston as he glances at Stephanie, then looks ahead and the car pulls away.
“Okay, what in the world was that?”
Maddox chuckles. “I just gave him some advice.”
“Oh, I see. King advice?”
“Guy advice.”
“Here you go, Ms. Mavin,” the valet says, getting out of my Lexus LS.
“Thank you,” I tell him before turning back to Maddox. “You think it’ll help? Steph seems determined to belittle him.”
“You never know for certain, but I gave him some pointers. Most importantly, confidence. EJ used to have a problem with that.”
“I see. Yeah, you certainly don’t lack that.”
“Glad you think so, because I was almost losing it before finally getting you to go out with me.” He wraps his arms around me, and I almost melt against him. “You make me question everything sometimes.”
A small giggle slips out. “You are good with those lines.”
“It’s not a line,” he replies. “Lines don’t work on you, remember? It’s the truth.”
“Let me clear up any questions you might have, then.”
Laying my arms over his shoulders, I pull him closer and do what I wanted to earlier: kiss him. His arms tighten around me, and I feel like there’s no one around us. No valets running for cars, or the faint sound of traffic in the background. I don’t even feel the small drift of night air. His lips press against mine, his hands hold my face, and that’s all there is. Only us.
Finally breaking away, he keeps his forehead pressed against mine. “I may need you to kiss me like that all the time,” I whisper.
“That I can promise. Just don’t get upset if that’s all I want to do.”
“No more clubs or parties?” I joke, giggling.
“Not if they don’t include you.”
