“Later,” I whisper, and she lifts her chin to agree.
When we arrive at my house, it really does remind me of high school, sneaking everyone in the garden door and trailing through the kitchen to get inside.
I normally don’t take the stairs on the far side of the house at night because they are surrounded by windows that look out over the field. I know it’s crazy, but I feel as though something will jump out at me at any second. But tonight, I’m with my friends and a full security detail carrying my plethora of bags, so I feel more confident about my overall safety.
We tip-toe up the stairs— well, everyone except for Jens, Brandt, and Grey, who race each other up every flight to the fourth floor.
“Boys.” Presley rolls his eyes, and we giggle, listening to the echo of grunts and huffs trailing further from us. At the top of the stairs, I can see they’ve collapsed on my floor, arguing breathlessly about who won.
“You all win.” Iris chimes as we enter the room.
“Shut up.” Jens laughs.
“You think you can check the security cameras, Stella?” Grey looks up at me as I step over them to cross to the bathroom.
“Maybe.” I laugh, shaking my head at their boyish bets.
Iris plops down next to Grey, and I notice a look between them before I shut the door to take a shower. Interesting. Didn’t peg her for a drummer-type. Grey’s great, but he’s well-loved by the female population because of his band — The Thrills. The fans are crazy, but then again, Iris is just as liked, so I’m sure there wouldn’t be a problem with their hypothetical relationship that I’m creating to avoid the fucked up one I’m stuck in.
I quickly take a shower, so they don’t get too tired to chat (then again, I guess that wouldn’t be the worst thing) and change into my new favorite pajamas. Unfortunately, I got them with Antonio on one of our fake dates this week. It’s an Alexander McQueen silk jumpsuit with watercolor swirls of purple, pink, white, and yellow. The straps are thin, and it ties at the waist. I quickly towel dry my hair before stepping out to see everyone has found the cots from down the hall and is setting up their area with blankets and pillows.
“How was your shower?” Grey pulls his covers over the cot and sits down in the center of it.
“Good.” I nod and flop back on my bed, where Iris has already snuggled up in.
“So, Antonio…” Ainsley sits down at the end of the bed, brows tall with inquisition.
“No. Anything but Antonio,” I beg, cupping my hands over my eyes.
“Okay, what about Jens?” Iris sits up, pointing to Jens, lying on his cot, arms folded across his chest. He flashes her a sleepy grin.
“What about me?”
“How did you like the movie you were in?”
“Yeah, it was good. I have filming tomorrow for the Sci-Fi one. Pretty stoked about it.” He nods, and he points to Brandt, who is furiously texting someone on his phone.
“Brandt?” I ask, and he snaps his head at me like a deer caught in headlights. “Who could he be texting?” Presley exaggerated, resting his pointed chin on his first.
“More like,whatcould he be texting?” Ainsley copies Presley’s tone, and Brandt’s face goes beat red. I rarely see him embarrassed. He either never gives a shit or is super sensitive. We never know which one we’ll get from day to day, but that’s the adventure of Brandt Wilder— never knowing how he’ll react to things.
It’s become a game among the friends to put bets on his reactions. I used to think I might have dated him instead of Jens if he had been more consistent in his emotions. He’s trustworthy, though; I can’t deny him that trait.
The gang picks on him for a while about who he’s texting, and he puts up with it for a bit. For the next couple of hours, we shift the conversation in a million different directions, talking over each other and laughing into our pillows. It feels like high school again, and I forget about Antonio for a moment. That is until the lights are off and the softs snores begin, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
“Stella.” Iris turns over, surprising me that she’s still awake. Usually, she’s the first to fall asleep.
“Yeah?” I whisper back.
“Why does your mom think you and Antonio are going to get engaged?” I breathe a laugh through my nose because it sounds ridiculous, even from Iris’s lips.
“It’s complicated.” She nods, waiting for me to continue, though I hadn’t planned to. “It’s just stupid family stuff.”
“Family?”
“Yeah… our families want us to get married. It’s somewhat hard to explain.”
“I know what your family does, Stella.” I shift my head upon hearing her words and look into her fervent blue eyes.