You've Got Fail(63)

“Ready?”

“To rip that dress off you?” He grinned. “Yes.” He wore a formal black suit, not as dressy as a tux, but almost. His tousled hair tickled his ears, and, thankfully, the welts from the bath bomb had disappeared from his neck. With his tall frame and Clark Kent glasses, he was a showstopper.

We entered the venue. Large vases decorated the sides of the walk, but instead of flowers, they were filled with busts on sticks. One appeared to be a bunch of multicolored Julius Caesars, the next a cotton candy-colored arrangement of Darth Vaders.

Willis shook his head. “Artsy types. Jeez.”

Music drifted from a room to our right, and we followed the flow of people into a wide ballroom filled with glitterati. Bigger than the prior events, the Vanity Fair people held nothing back. Waiters circled with full drink trays, and several round tables laden with food were scattered throughout the room. Jewelry everywhere. Men with fat wallets desperate for female attention. So many people.

“Be strong.” I wasn’t sure if I was pep-talking Willis or myself.

“I am. I work out three times a week.” Willis eased a hand to the small of my back and guided us through the crowd to the nearest food table. He picked up a cheese tart and popped it into my mouth. So creamy and good.

“How did you know?” I said around the tasty treat.

“You get kind of jittery, and food always seems to take the edge off.” He snagged a chocolate bonbon and downed it. “Too bad they don’t have any chicken wings.”

“If it isn’t Scarlet Rocket!” Jina, wearing what could only be described as the carcass of a giant peacock, walked up and air-kissed my cheeks. “I was so hoping I’d see you here this evening.”

“Yes.” I smiled and hoped there wasn’t any cheese stuck in my teeth. “Have to keep hyping up the book, you know.”

“No rest for the wicked, my dear.” She winked. “I have an advance copy of the book on my desk just waiting to be opened. But I would like to see one more live demonstration before I take the plunge.”

No pressure. “I’d be happy to take a few questions.” I eyed the food that I wouldn’t get to eat.

Willis grabbed two glasses of champagne from a passing tray. Handing one to me, he edged closer. “You’ve got this.”

I drank half the glass as Jina turned and announced, “Does anyone have a question for Scarlet Rocket?”

“Pushy,” Willis whispered.

A few people turned to look, but no one volunteered. Relief coursed through me, and I grabbed another cheese tart and wolfed it down like a linebacker at a team dinner. Maybe I could do a guest blog entry for Willis entitled “Stress Eating: Yeah, It’s Deffo a Thing.”

The live band kicked up a notch, and a dance floor cleared in front of them.

“Want to dance?” Willis held his hand out in a formal request.

“Jina, would you mind if I—”

“Go ahead, dear. I’ll have some questions lined up for you when you return.” She smiled and shooed us away.

“That’s comforting,” I grumbled as Willis pulled me onto the dance floor where only two other couples swayed to the music.

“You’ll do great.” He gripped my waist, and I wrapped my hands around his neck like we were at high school homecoming.

“Do you think Jina is planting crazy questions for me. Like maybe someone’s going to ask, ‘If I have a dick in my ass, my pussy, and my mouth, and I sneeze, will that cause my vagina to explode?”

He laughed. “Well, we all know the answer to that question is yes.”

I giggled and rested my forehead against his lapel. “This feels so good.”

“I know.” He kissed my crown.

I closed my eyes and pretended it was just the two of us. No room full of strangers, no Pauly, not even a Hannah at that moment. Just Willis and me, dancing without any hard realities bearing down on us. We moved together slowly, each sway drawing our souls tighter and tying them together with a double knot. I couldn’t pull away from him without damaging us both.

“What are you thinking about?”

I turned my head so I could hear the steady thump of his heart. “Us.”

He hugged me tighter. “I was thinking about us, too.”

“Yeah?”

“About us ditching this party early so I can strip that dress off you and make you scream.”

My knees weakened, but he held me up.

“Sound good to you?”

All I could do was nod.

“Good. Let’s get to work and then get out of here.”





24





Willis





The third person in line stepped up, her wide smile verging into Toothy Todd territory. “Hi, Scarlet?”

Scarlet smiled and took her hand. “Yes, what can I do for you?” She’d answered the first two questions with spot-on accuracy as Jina made notes.

“I have sort of a more personal question.” Her eyes darted to mine.

Scarlet turned to me. “Willis, could you give us girls a moment?”

“What?” This was a bad idea. The worst.

“She clearly wants to just tell me.” Her smile strained the slightest bit as she cut her eyes toward Jina, who continued her furious typing.