Love & Gelato(46)

I cringed. Okay, start moving. Maybe copy Elena? Sway back and forth. Move hips. Pretend not to feel like a total idiot. I glanced at Thomas. He was doing this awkward back-and-forth step that kind of made me want to melt into oblivion, because how cute was he? He couldn’t dance either. Maybe I could take him up on a walk through Florence later.

And then something crazy happened. The music was so loud it was like it was pounding and rattling through my bones and teeth and everyone was having such a good time and suddenly I was dancing. Like actually dancing. And actually having fun. Well, maybe not as much fun as Ren, who was dirty dancing with Mimi, but still. The DJ pulled a microphone close to his mouth and shouted something in Italian and everyone cheered, raising their drinks over their heads.

“He is my friend! è mio amico!” Elena shouted.

“Lina, you’re doing great!” Ren shouted. Mimi was doing this crazy hip-rolling thing that looked like it required intense concentration, but when she heard Ren she looked up, sending me the polar vortex of all looks.

I was getting the feeling she didn’t like me.

Thomas nudged me with his shoulder. “Have you ever been someplace like this before?”

“No.”

“It’s weird, you’d have to be twenty-one to get into a club like this in the States.” We were so close I could see the tiny droplets of sweat in his hair. Even his sweat was sexy. I was officially disgusting.

Ren disentangled from Mimi, then came up on my other side. “Having fun?” He was out of breath.

“Yes.”

“Good. I’ll be back in a few.” Mimi grabbed his hand and they disappeared into the crowd.

Thomas made a face. “He’s kind of protective of you, isn’t he?”

“It’s because of my dad. He keeps messing with him, so Ren’s afraid that something will happen to me and he’ll be the one to blame.”

“Nothing will happen to you—you’re with me.”

Sort of cheesy, but I grinned. Idiotically. Thomas pretty much obliterated any control I had over my facial muscles.

He raised his chin, looking over the crowd. “There he is. Looks like he and Mimi are talking.”

I stood on my tiptoes, taking the opportunity to rest my hand on his shoulder. Ren and Mimi were leaning against a wall and she had her arms crossed in front of her chest and looked pissed. But maybe that was just her regular face.

“So they’re together, right?”

“Yeah. He’s been into her for like two years. Guess persistence pays off, right?”

I nodded. “Right.”

“Hey, I have to go call my dad, and then I’m going to get a drink. You want one?”

“Sure, thanks.”

He flashed me one of his bone-melting smiles, then disappeared into the crowd.

“Lina, dance with me!” Elena grabbed my hands and twirled me around. “What is happening with you and Thomas? Is it amore?”

I laughed. “I don’t know. This is only the second time I’ve ever seen him.”

“Yeah, but he likes you. I can tell. He is never interested in anyone, and last night after you left he asked me if I’d gotten your number.”

“Ooh la la!” Marco said. “New girl and Thomas.”

Elena rolled her eyes at him. “You sound like a child.”

“Oh, yeah? Could a child do this?” He bent his arms at the elbows and started doing the robot.

“Marco, basta! You are awful at that.”

“Want me to do the worm?”

“No!”

The song faded into a faster-paced one, and soon the three of us were holding hands and jumping up and down like little kids. No wonder my mom had liked it here. It was pretty fun. Except for the fact that the temperature kept rising. Didn’t this place have AC?

“Where’s Thomas?” Elena asked. Her bangs were plastered to her forehead with sweat.

“He went to get a drink.”

“He’s been gone for a long time.” She fanned herself. “Fa troppo caldo. I am sweating like a pig.”

Suddenly the room tilted from under me and I stumbled.

Elena grabbed me by the arm. “You okay?”

“I just got dizzy. It’s too hot.”

“What?”

“I’m too hot.”

“Me too!” Marco yelled. “I’m so hot!”

“I need to sit down for a minute.”

“Lina, there are couches. There.” She pointed to where Ren and Mimi had been standing. “Want me to come with you?”

“No, it’s okay.”

“I will tell Thomas where you are.”

“Thanks.” I made my way over to the side of the room. The couches looked like breeding grounds for some kind of infectious disease, but I was desperate. I suddenly felt like I might pass out.

The first couch was mostly taken up by a scrawny guy sprawled out on his back. He was wearing gold chains and an enormous pair of sunglasses and every few seconds he’d twitch, like a fly had landed on him or something. An older-looking man sat smoking at the other end and when he saw me he smiled and said something in Italian.

“Sorry, I don’t understand.” I pushed my way past. My head was pounding along with the music. Hopefully there was an open seat somewhere. Otherwise I was going to have to buddy up with the passed-out wannabe rapper.