AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We make our way through the crowd and onto the grounds of the wedding venue. It’s an orchard, with rows of apple treesoffering us the perfect cover. We walk carefully in our heels down one of the rows until it feels far enough to stop.
“It’s great to see you, at least,” says Isabella, fishing a dispensary pre-roll and a lighter out of her purse. “How was backpacking in Europe?”
“It was amazing,” I sigh. “Just to have that much freedom. I feel like it was the first time it really hit me just how restrictive my upbringing was. You know, how much I’m used to my parents always telling me what to do and expecting me to live up to their standards. In Europe, I woke up whenever I wanted, went wherever I wanted, even got lost a few times. I loved it. I’ve honestly been dreading this month where I’m stuck living at home again before the semester starts.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet. I think it’s so cool that you took a gap year.” She flicks the lighter and takes a big drag. “I should have done that. I can’t wait for you to come to school, though. If you weren’t living in the dorms I’d say we should be roommates.”
“Next year,” I say, taking the joint from her. “Do you think that…” I trail off, coughing heavily. “Damn, I should have started slow. I haven’t smoked in a while.”
She laughs, taking it back from me. “You’ll be fine. What’s the craziest thing you did last year? I still can’t believe you didn’t lose your virginity to some hot Spanish guy or something.”
“Uh, I dunno. I didn’t do anything that crazy. Maybe wore a thong on the beach in Italy?”
“You absolute slut,” says Isabella, smoke trailing out of her mouth. She does her best impression of one of our mothers. “Now no man will want you! How will you ever find a husband?”
A sound catches my ears. “Hey, wait… maybe I’m just high, but do you hear someone coming?”
She goes silent, and sure enough, that’s the sound of footsteps. Not coming from the venue, but from the other direction, the farside of the orchard. The shapes of two men appear, walking down the row of trees in our direction.
My eyes fall to the joint. “Should we hide this?”
She shrugs and takes another hit. “Eh, who cares? It’s legal now, anyway.”
I watch uneasily as the figures approach us. Maybe it’s just being around family again, but I have this annoying sense in the back of my head that I’m going to get in trouble. College really can’t come soon enough.
“Hide it, hide it, put it out,” I hiss, my anxiety getting the better of me. For all I know, that could be mydad, out for a walk with one of his associates. And sure, what I’m doing might be legal, but getting caught would guarantee that my last couple of weeks at home would be a living hell.
Isabella rolls her eyes at me, but extinguishes the joint on the tree trunk behind her.
The men stop. They’re both tall, fit, and handsome, and maybe 10 years older than us? The one with curly hair looks like he wants to chat us up, but his friend clearly couldn’t be less interested. This guy radiates pure, brooding darkness, barely looking at us.
“Oh, wow, I wonder what these ladies could possibly be doing out in the trees at night?” says the curly-haired one in a playfully innocent voice, gesturing with his wine glass. “We were out for a walk and we thought we smelled someone smoking weed. Maybe they walked by here and you saw them? Or maybe they’re hiding behind you?”
Isabella breaks into a fit of laughter, and even I can’t help but giggle. My friend holds out the joint. “Okay, busted. Want a hit?”
The other man, the one with the dark hair and the darker eyes, takes a deep breath, as though being offered a hit of weed is just one more in a long line of tortures he’s been forced to endure.
“You might want to keep your buddy away from knives and other sharp objects,” I say to the friendly one, riding a nice buzzfrom the hit I just took. “I think this might be the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Isabella snorts.
“Sorry, this is Alessandro,” he introduces his friend, waving away the joint. “And I’m Dominic.”
Isabella shrugs and sparks the joint back up. “Isabella and Ava.”
“Nice to meet you,” says Alessandro curtly, facing pointedly back toward the reception. “Dominic, shall we?”
“What’s his problem?” Isabella asks. “Up past his bedtime?”
“Yeah, that’s a good question,” Dominic chuckles, looking at the other man. “As far as I can tell, this has been one hell of a good day for you. But for some reason, you’ve spent the whole night looking like someone just put your dog in a blender.”
Smoke goes everywhere as Isabella chokes on a laugh in the middle of a hit. “I can’t believe you just got me laughing about a dog in a blender.”
“Why’s it been a good day for you?” I ask Alessandro. There’s something familiar to me about him. Or maybe I’m just a sucker for the tall, dark, and brooding combo.
He looks right at me, possibly taking me in for the first time. I’m shocked at how naked I feel as he scans me up and down. Suddenly, his eyes aren’t empty anymore, replaced by a piercing, almost predatory hunger. I know I look good in my form-fitting green dress, so there’s a certain sense of power mixed in with the vulnerability of the moment.
“Let’s just say I got promoted at work,” he says in a deep voice, not breaking eye contact.
