Elite (Empire High, #2)(95)

Hang out? As in the three of us? That sounded like my worst nightmare. Isabella had her own friends. Why was she trying to steal mine?

“Yes!” Kennedy said and stumbled forward.

Isabella grabbed the other side of her to keep her up straight.

“It’s okay, Isabella,” I said. “I got her. We’re gonna go find Miller.”

“Don’t worry about Miller. Donnelley will drive us home. And I’ll have him text Miller and let him know you’re safe with me.”

Safe and Isabella weren’t two words that made sense in the same sentence. “I don’t know…”

“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Isabella said and started walking toward the doors, dragging Kennedy and me with her. “We can stop for milkshakes. I know how much Kennedy loves milkshakes.”

“Oh, I do love milkshakes!” Kennedy said. “They bring all the boys to the yard.”

“That’s one of my favorite songs!” Isabella said.

“Me too!” Kennedy squealed. “Kelis is a lyrical genius. I bet she’s going to have a million more hits.”

“Absolutely,” Isabella said.

I hated this. I hated tonight. I hated the fact that I didn’t know Kennedy loved milkshakes or Kelis songs. And that I didn’t know what the elephants are coming meant. “Really,” I said as we pushed through the ballroom doors. “We’re just going to look for Miller. I’m sure he’s here somewhere.” I looked both ways down the hall, hoping Miller would just be leaning against one of the walls, but he was nowhere in sight.

“But milkshakes,” Isabella said.

Kennedy turned toward me. “Please, Brooklyn. I really want a milkshake.” She stuck out her bottom lip.

“And we rented a limo.”

“A limo!” Kennedy looked so excited. “I’ve never been in a limo. Please, Brooklyn.”

I’d been a terrible friend all night. The least I could do was let her get a milkshake. And maybe then she’d sober up and remember that Isabella was the worst. “Okay…”

“Yay!” She threw her arms up and almost fell over.

Isabella and I caught her before she could face plant on the marble floor. The three of us walked out into the chilly autumn night. Isabella’s driver, Donnelley, had already pulled up to the front of the hotel. He was smoking a cigarette and it took a second for the puff of smoke to drift away from his face. He looked so sinister.

I really didn’t want to do this. I looked around once more for Miller, but he wasn’t out here either.

“This is so exciting,” Kennedy said.

Exciting for her. Torture for me.

Donnelley tossed his cigarette on the ground and rubbed the heel of his shoe against it before opening the back door of the limo for us. Kennedy practically jumped through the door with a squeal of delight. Isabella followed her with a laugh.

“Will you text Miller and let him know I got a ride home with you instead?”

He didn’t even bother to look at me. “Mhm.” His voice sounded weirdly high-pitched like he was nervous.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“What? Yeah, of course.” He wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead, even though it was freezing out here.

“Are you sure? You seem nervous about something.”

He laughed. “You try driving a huge limo in this city. It’s a nightmare. I had to circle around the hotel like 5 times because I couldn’t merge.”

Oh, that made sense. “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to drive it around either. I’m sorry about that.”

He lowered his eyebrows as he looked at me. “Thanks.”

I knew that look. It was the same one Justin gave me when I asked him what his goals were. And the same one Tiffany gave me when I thanked her for the food. Donnelley was underappreciated. The Pruitts didn’t treat him like a human. I’d never be like them. “I’ll try my best to keep them quiet back there. So we don’t distract you.”

“Thanks, I really appreciate that.”

“No problem. Thanks for driving us home.” I followed Kennedy into the back of the limo and Donnelley closed the door behind us.

Wow. I’d never been in a limo before either, and it was pretty awesome. There were lights along the roof of the limo and everything was glowing. There were even glasses of what looked like champagne sitting there ready for us. And strawberries. Yum.

Isabella’s little demon dog, Sir Wilfred, jumped up on the seat beside me. He wagged his tail and looked up at me like he hoped I had treats. Had he been sitting in this limo all night? I reached out to pet him and was relieved when he didn’t bite my hand off.

“We’re going for milkshakes,” Isabella said as Donnelley climbed into the front seat. The little separator between the front and back of the limo was down.

“I think I should just take you girls home,” Donnelley said.

“No. We want milkshakes.”

“But…”

“Milkshakes, Donnelley!” Isabella screamed.

“Isabella,” I said. “Maybe we should just go home.”

She stared at me like she was going to rip my face off when I said the word home. But it was just for a second. Her face morphed into a fake smile right away. “We can go home after we get milkshakes,” she said loud enough for Donnelley to hear. “Give me one second, chicas.” She went to the separator and started whispering at Donnelley. But it seemed a lot more like she was hissing at him.