CHAPTER EIGHT
Paolo
“What are you doing here?” Leo Salazar asked me as we sat at the premier table in Sugar together. He looked perplexed even though he had a big smile on his face.
“I… ah… have just really enjoyed it here lately,” I said lamely. I was looking around, but I didn’t see Jelly.
Leo gave me a skeptical look. “I thought you only came here a couple of times a year and always went to Cayenne. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you here…”
“Yes, Leo,” I snapped, cutting him off. “I’ve changed my schedule a bit. Is that okay?”
His eyebrows shot up, and, if possible, he looked even more amused. “It’s just fine, Paolo.” He started looking around. “Hmm. I wonder who caught your eye,” he said.
Fuck. Couldn’t get anything past a Salazar. I rolled my eyes. “No one.”
Leo, Joaquin, and Javy all gave me a look. They weren’t buying it.
I wanted to groan as I saw Nico striding across the club, looking roughly handsome in his suit, heading straight for us.
He plopped down in a chair, stole Javy’s glass of whiskey and tossed it back, and said, “He likes Jelly.”
“Get your own damn glass… wait,” Javy grinned at me. “Jelly, huh?”
I adjusted my tie. “Was that her name?” I asked, pretending I didn’t remember.
“As if you’d forget a name like Jelly,” Joaquin pointed out drily.
I felt my face turn a bit red. This was all new for me. I’d had plenty of women hunt me down after seeing me from afar. But I’d never had to do anything like that. Women usually fell all over themselves to get to me.
“She’s hot, man,” Javy said with a sigh. “That body. Those eyes. She’s pretty much perfect.”
I frowned. I didn’t like the way he was talking about her.
Nico saw and grinned. “I thought no trashy hostess from Sugar could possibly tempt you, Paolo.”
“What the fuck?” Leo stared at me. “Seriously? What’s wrong with you, man?”
I was starting to feel a little picked on. “Nothing. I just told Nico I needed a date for a charity gala, and he suggested I take someone from here.” I chuckled and took a drink from my glass.
“Why would that be funny?” The sound of her voice behind me almost made me spit out my drink. I closed my eyes. Why the hell was she always sneaking up on me? And hearing the worst possible things coming out of my mouth?
“Yeah, Paolo. Why would that be funny?” Leo asked, a huge grin on his face.
“Well, I… uh…” I stammered. “Just that it would be strange, you know? To take someone from here and expect them to rub elbows with the highest members of West Bay society.”
Jelly’s face looked wholly unimpressed. “Because one of us wouldn’t know what to say to all those society types.”
“Exactly,” I said, thankful she seemed to finally understand. I saw Javy wince out of the corner of my eye and realized my mistake too late. I glanced at her and saw her exchange a look with Nico.
“We’d probably embarrass you, huh?”
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
“I mean, if it was me that was lucky enough to go with you, I wouldn’t even know how to dance. Come here, Leo.”
He jumped up happily.
“This is probably how I’d dance because I wouldn’t be able to restrain myself.
” She started doing a scandalously inappropriate dance with Leo where it looked as if the two of them were basically having sex standing up.
At the end, when Leo tried to kiss her, she pushed him away with a laugh, and he sat down laughing even harder than she was.
“You know, because those are the only kinds of dances I’m exposed to working here at the strip club like I do.
” She bent over me, dropping low to show off her cleavage and leave me tongue-tied.
“I’d probably have to dance with all the men.
I wouldn’t be able to stop at just one.” She booped me on the nose with one perfect little finger.
“I really didn’t mean that you wouldn’t know how to act around…”
“Rich people?” she asked helpfully. “Yeah, I’m just not exposed to any.” She gestured around the large club, and I felt like a huge idiot.
Every single man in the club was at least a millionaire, and there were a few billionaires, too.
“Look, I’m very sorry. I obviously misspoke.” I was starting to sweat.
“Did you, though?” Her voice was fake sweet, dripping with sarcasm.
She dropped down with her mouth next to my ear.
“Or do you just wish I hadn’t heard you?
” She wrapped her arm around me in a half hug.
I tried to concentrate on anything other than how good she smelled or the clear view I had of her amazing breasts.
I couldn’t even answer her. For the first time as an adult, I was at a complete loss for words. It was partly due to how attracted I was to her and partly because she was right; I did think she would embarrass me at a charity gala. And she knew it.
“I feel terrible,” I finally said. As I turned to talk to her, I realized she’d already walked off and was flirting heavily with a group of good-looking men a couple of tables away.
“Wow. You are smooth, man,” Javy said.
Nico just grinned.
“Paolo, do you think maybe I could get lessons from you on how to talk to women?” Leo, the flirtiest, most notorious womanizer in the whole club, asked.
“Fuck right off. All of you.” I tossed back the rest of my whiskey and immediately wished for another. “Do you think she’s going to come back anytime soon?”
They all just laughed as if it hadn’t been a serious question.