Page 72 of Risk
“Do you guys want to get out of here?” Landon asks. “Leah, doesn’t a burger sound way better than this…” He pokes the food on his plate. “What the fuck even is this?”
“Pate.” I stab another crouton on my plate.
“I’m game to leave if you guys are,” she says happily.
“Oh, thank god.” Gage tosses his napkin on the table.
“Where do you want to go, Princess?” We all turn our attention to Leah. She looks at each of us like a deer caught in the headlights. Then a devilish smile spreads across her lips.
“Dancing.” She looks directly at me. “I think we should go dancing.”
Landon wraps his knuckles on the table and hops out of the booth first. “You heard the lady. She wants to go dancing. And what Leah wants, Leah gets.”
“Ohhh I like that.” She shimmies out of the booth next. “Can we make that a thing?”
“Absolutely.” I’ll live by that rule for the rest of my life if she lets me.
Gage follows Leah and Landon down the steps, leaving Kerrington and me going last.
“What the fuck is going on, Mase?”
“What do you mean?”
“I haven’t seen you this happy in… forever.” Kerrington slaps a stack of cash on the table to pay for the meal we’re not sticking around to eat. “And I know damn well it’s not the money that has that goofy ass smile on your face.” He tilts his head in Leah’s direction. “She do this?”
“Yeah.” My cheeks hurt from grinning so hard.
“I didn’t even know you were dating anyone. Especially with the whole Nicole thing.”
The mention of her name is like ice water poured down my back. “Do me a favor, Ker. Don’t mention her name.”
His pace slows down. “Fuck, Mase.”
“It’s a nonissue, and it’s staying that way.”
“How long have you and Leah been together?”
“Three days.” Or is it four now? Wait… when did we first get together? “Maybe a week and a half?”
Kerrington freezes. “You’re fucking joking.”
My glower tells him I’m not.
“Shit.” He looks over at Leah, who’s talking animatedly with Landon. “You better know what you’re doing, man.”
I don’t. But I’ll figure it out.
Chapter 23
Leah
We hit two clubs before we find one that has a vibe we all like. An hour in, and I’m drenched in sweat and smell like way too many people’s perfumes. The music is fantastic. Beat after beat, the energy on the dance floor spreads like wildfire and everyone’s grinding and swaying in a huge mass.
I spot Mason watching me from the second-floor balcony with Kerrington. Gage is going strong, dancing all up on a woman in a tight red dress. He lifts his beer bottle up in the air when she spins around and drops it low, putting her face at dick-level.
Landon went to the bar.
It’s so crowded, it’s dizzying. Laser lights streak the club in blues and purples. The DJ’s wearing an oversized mask that makes them look like a bobble head on the stage. They’re mixing songs, driving the crowd wild with beats that hit us smack in the chest.