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“Another drink?” Matteo asked. When we walked into the party, he’d made a beeline for the bar, and there was a fully stocked bar. “James here can make you anything you want. He’s the bartender at Butter.”
I made a note of agreement in the back of my throat. I had no idea what Butter was, but I assumed that it was some upscale bar.
Draining the glass, I placed mine down on the bar. “Sure,” I told him.
“Alright!” He slammed his own glass on the bar. “Another round, good sir.”
The bartender filled our glasses quickly. We took them, turning back to the party. We’d only been here for a half an hour, and outside of saying hello to his cousin, Matteo hadn’t left my side.
“This is quite the event,” I said, looking around. “When you told me we were going to a house party, I expected…”
“A keg?”
Nodding, I brought the glass up to my lips, taking the time to take in my surroundings. We were in a house, a nice one.
“We don’t really party that way. After all, you are amongst the most blue-blooded blood there is.”
There was a bit of contempt in his voice. Matteo might pretend to be a good time, but it was clear he held the people whose booze he drank in contempt. It was one thing that he and Eli appeared to have in common.
“That doesn’t impress you, does it,” Matteo asked.
“Should it?”
The people around me were rich. The richest in the country. Many of them were the children of major power players. They might not be part of the mob, Bratva, or cartel, but their parents wielded their own sort of influence.
“I guess not,” Matteo commented. His warm eyes looked me over, and I stiffened.
Sighing, I sipped the liquid in my cup, allowing the warmth of it to slide down my throat and into my stomach. “Did you bring me here just to see how I would react?” Matteo appeared more easygoing than Eli, which is why I’d come with. I could use a distraction. Now, though, I felt naïve.
“Would it bother you if I did?” Matteo pressed me against the bar. The tip of his finger slipped itself down my cheek. “I’m sure that you react to certain things very beautifully.”
I laughed loudly. I couldn’t help myself. The vodka I ingested was making me lose, and Matteo coming on to me was comical. Probably because it was way too much.
Placing my hands on Matteo’s chest, I pushed him off me. “Does that kind of thing normally work for you?”
Matteo chuckled. The sultriness was gone from his gaze, and in its place the sparkle of good-natured mischief returned. “Normally.”
This made me laugh even louder. “I think I like you,” I admitted.
His brow rose and that sultry look in his eyes returned. I shook my head. “But not like that.”
He laughed. “Pity.”
Before we could joke further, a small bundle of energy bounded toward us. “Carla!” Sophia exclaimed. Her eyes were wide and slightly dazed. It was clear she was drunk. “You made it.”
I nodded. “I did.” Had Sophia told me about the party during class today? She’d yammered on about all kinds of things, and honestly, I had not paid a ton of attention.
“I told Matteo to drag you out of the house.” She reached out and took his arm. Her eyes sparkled slightly when she looked at him. “Glad to know you can do something.”
Matteo grunted and finished his drink. “I’m going to go see what Luca is up to.” He walked away without another word, appearing much more irritated than he’d been when he was standing with me.
“What was that about?” I asked, turning to my new friend. Out of the casual clothes she wore to school, Sophia looked incredible. Her pale skin was wrapped in a blue, silk dress that made her already dark hair seem purple black. Her lips were painted a soft pink, and she looked like the living embodiment of Snow White.
Standing next to her in my jean cut offs and knit crop top, I tried not to feel out of place. I’d never been a fashionista. I’d never cared before, but as the girls of the party passed by me, each one giving me a look, I felt uncomfortable.
“Matteo and I aren’t exactly friends,” Sophia told me. She reached over to the bar and grabbed two shots. “Here.” She held out the shot. I looked at the liquid, tequila from the smell, and nearly didn’t take it.
But drinking had always made me feel better, and right now, I wanted to be out of my head.
