“Well, she’s not a princess to me. She’s just a human being, that’s all. In this town everyone is a child of someone who has credit to their names, but it doesn’t really matter to me. I dish out what I’m given to work with—simple.” Unless it was work related… sometimes.
“Oh yeah, you and I are going to be friends.” She smiled. “I grew up in Las Vegas. The money comes without the bullshit. I never got to say it, but I love your music. It’s beautiful. I hope we get to work together in the future.”
“Thank you. I’m not sure about the music part though. But I’ll think about it. You mind giving me a moment
?”
“Oh, sorry.” She jumped down. “See you out there.”
I waited for the door to close behind her. Taking a deep breath, I stared into the mirror.
What was I doing here?
Theo
“So, where is she? Everyone is talking about your waitress.” Arty placed a hand on my shoulder as he poured something into my drink from his flask before taking a gulp of it.
I handed the drink to Walt, and we both watched as he absentmindedly drank it.
“Oh God!” He coughed, and I grinned as Arty laughed and patted him on the back. “You guys are dicks.”
“You make it too easy.” I couldn’t count how many times we’d given him moonshine, and he drank it each time.
“Anyway, where is this Felicity?” Arty once again tried to change the subject.
“Is she really a waitress?” Walt added, replacing his drink with one from the server’s tray. “Or is she one of those ‘I’m waitressing until I get my big break’ waitresses?”
I didn’t answer either of their questions. I was scanning the crowd to see if she had come back. I noticed Tori, who had a giant grin on her face.
“Shouldn’t you be more worried about the person who made your wife smile like that?” I questioned, and his face fell in confusion. He walked up to her before she could reach us.
“Don’t fuck with the boy’s heart just because ours are damaged.” Arty said softly beside me.
I shrugged him off. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You are so right, Theo,” Walt came back, holding Tori’s hand. “I should be concerned about who was making her smile like that. Turns out it was Felicity.”
“What?”
Tori glared at me. “I overheard her talking to Violet. She knocked Princess Violet down a few pegs. It was priceless. She called her out on her poor dancing, and on top of that she bragged about your sex life. She even did a little cheer! I thought my stomach was going to explode from how badly I was holding in a laugh.”
Goddamn it, Violet.
“What did Violet say to her?”
“That she was your ex-fiancée. Felicity shut her down after—”
“Excuse me,” I said, walking away from all of them and into the house. Before I could get far, Tori popped up right in front of me. “What is it?”
“I love the fact that Walt is a goofball. He makes me laugh more than anyone else in the world. Please don’t try to make him as jaded as you and Arty are. I have no plans to hurt him. I love him.”
I sighed. “I was looking for an escape from an unwanted conversation and used you. I apologize. I’ll do my best not to let it happen again.”
She nodded and stepped aside.
Moving past her, I searched the crowd. The more people who came to rub shoulders with Lorelai and Arthur, the harder it was to find her. I did, however, see Violet. The moment our eyes locked, she made her way toward me. For half a second, I entertained the idea of walking away, but I wasn’t going to run away from her at my family’s house. So I met her halfway. She gave me a small smile, but I could see right through it.
“You look—”