CHAPTER 23
Theo
Lex stood with Reggie against the rooftop rail, sharing a laugh, a smile, probably a private joke. I couldn’t tear my eyes away all night, not even when Winter began showing signs she’d had too much to drink. The leaning, the pawing, the giggles that manifested in cackling sounds. Lex’s laughter was much sweeter. Lighter.
I looked at my watered-down scotch, the same one I’d been nursing for the past hour. That was about how long Lex and Reggie had been chatting. I couldn’t help wondering if their conversation was any good or if Lex was just being polite. But the look on her face didn’t tell me she was just being polite. It said the opposite, in fact. What I saw was deep conversation, heads bent low, and smiles. Too many smiles.
Lex excused herself, finally, and weaved her way through the thin but still-growing crowd toward the bathroom. I stood, hoping to catch her again and not knowing why. The terms were clear. My promise to keep things professional was still fresh. But it was more than that. In the little time I’d spent with Lex, I’d grown somewhat attached. She was interesting and funny. I was allowed to feel those things, even with her. Was it crazy of me to want to salvage whatever friendship had been building between us?
Except I fucked up whatever chance I had at friendship today. I should never have taken my frustration with Winter out on Lex. But I didn’t regret asking her not to come. I knew what the night would be like the moment Winter invited me here and then the crew. I’d said yes for business and only that. But Winter wanted to make it more, so she made it appear like more. By arriving together, flirting, clutching me at every opportunity.
“You can’t limit me.” The shriek came from Winter, who was sitting where I left her on the couch. “I’m paying the goddamn bill, and we want another round of shots.” She stamped her foot and slammed her ice-filled glass on the table. “Now.”
The waitress had her tray against her chest and her eyes wide while searching the crowd. I jumped in, knowing Winter enough to see the signs were there. She was done for the night. “Sorry, ma’am. I’ve got her. We’re ready to sign.”
Winter growled at me and punched my leg. Fuck, that hurt. I sat down, wincing at the bruise she’d surely caused. I leaned into her ear. “Let me take you home.”
“But I’m having fun,” she whined.
I looked around, noticing that most of the eyes on the rooftop were on us. God, I hated that moment. She’d asked me to accompany her, and I couldn’t exactly tell her no. She was my client, and kissing ass was part of the gig. But the thrills of kissing Winter’s ass, in particular, had begun to wear off.
Is this what Winter has become? Messy. Emotional. Unreasonable. And she was too goddamn rich to care.
The bill came minutes later, and I watched as she scribbled her name as if she were doodling in the back row of a high school English class, taking her time, giggling. I was running out of patience.
“Let’s go, Winter.”
She was wobbly when I helped her stand. “I need to pee,” she whined.
Cursing under my breath, I veered her toward the bathroom and gestured for her assistant to help. “Can you go with her? Just make sure she doesn’t fall over.”
Winter shoved me away and clung to Alison. “Thanks, boo,” she purred while nuzzling Alison’s cheek.
Alison gave me a big eye roll and nodded. “Nothing I haven’t done before. We’ll be right back.”
With all the ruckus, I’d forgotten Lex had just walked into the bathroom until she came out, her neck twisting as she looked behind her. She seemed absorbed in thought, her expression a mixture of confusion and worry, completely unaware of where she was going. I stepped slightly left so she was now moving directly into me.
Just like the first time I spotted Lex Quinn, I was ready for the impact. “Oh,” she said as she slammed into me. My arms wrapped her upper body, then I waited until she steadied herself before I let go.
She looked up, becoming flustered when she saw it was me. “I’m sorry.” She raised her hands from my chest as if they’d burned her and placed them at her sides. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
“It happens.” I refused to look away even though she already had.
Her face twisted again, then she stared at me, pointing behind her at the bathroom. “Is Winter okay? She didn’t look too good.”
“She had a few too many. She’ll be okay.” My gaze traveled the length of Lex’s attire. Did she realize how stunning she was? In a room filled with LA’s finest, Lex shone above them all.
She peered up with a frown, doubt flickering across her features. “It didn’t seem like it in there. Maybe she should go home.”
Her concern was cute. Maybe that was what drew me to Lex. She was different from the others—genuinely sweet in such an innocent way. I wanted to bottle her up to ensure she never lost her innocence. Maybe I’d splash a dose or two on me when needed.
“We’re leaving when she comes back from the bathroom.” As soon as the words flew from my mouth, I realized what I’d said and how it probably came across. “I meant to say—” I jumped in to correct myself. “I’m going to help her downstairs, to her car, and then I’m going to go to my own home. By myself.”
Lex gave me a pinched smile. “I told you before, I don’t care. I was just concerned about Winter.”
This little game Lex was trying to play was starting to grate on my nerves. “You’re not a very good liar.” I bit into my bottom lip, waiting for her face to change color. It had become a mission, to turn her cheeks every shade of red imaginable.
“I’m not lying.” She tilted her head, her eyes filling with a fiery challenge. “But I am curious why you do it. Pretend the way you do.”
The clarity of her insinuation was flawless. It relaxed something in my chest and cleared a passageway for me to breathe a little better. If it were any other pupil of mine, I wouldn’t put up with them speaking to me with such disrespect. But knowing Lex saw through the bullshit was refreshing.
I wanted to confess everything that came to mind—the fact that I didn’t like myself very much anymore and that pleasing the industry to follow my dreams had made me sign away my soul. That at some point along the way, I’d lost that deep inner desire to free my soul through dance, and it wasn’t until I saw her dancing the other night that I’d found it again.
Lex might have even listened to it all without judgment, because that seemed like the kind of person she was. But before I could say anything, a commotion came from the bathroom. A few seconds later, Alison and Winter emerged from the open doorway.
“Shots!” Winter screamed, tripping forward and taking Alison with her.
I couldn’t possibly have gotten to her in time. Not with Lex already standing in front of me. Winter hit the floor face-first. I heard the smack, and I prayed it was just her hands. But when she pulled her face from the floor, her eyes dazed and halfway rolled into her head, I saw the blood.
“Shit.” I darted from Lex and dropped to the floor.
Alison slid out of Winter’s grip and kneeled beside me, her hands moving over her mouth in shock. “Oh my God.”
Stanley and Marcus, Winter’s bodyguards, ran over as the crowd gathered around. They each took an arm and picked Winter off the ground. Marcus cradled her and started toward the elevators. The crowd made it hard for them to go anywhere.
“Everybody move back,” Stanley boomed as he cleared the way. “We need access to the exit.” He looked around at the stunned, unmoving faces. “Now!”
That did the trick.
Everything was happening so fast. Alison and I followed them into the elevator and listened to Winter’s sobs for the entire ride downstairs. By the time we made it to the sidewalk, sirens were already approaching. I didn’t know anyone had called them. We could have driven her, but with someone like Winter in our possession, they probably didn’t want to take risks.
As she was being hauled onto the stretcher and hoisted into the ambulance, Alison faced me. “Maybe you shouldn’t come.”
My eyes darted between the ambulance and Alison. “Why?”
“You know Winter. She won’t want you to see her like this. Stan and Marcus will be with us. And you’ve got rehearsals in the morning.” She placed a hand on my shoulder. “Go. I’ll handle this. And I’ll give you updates.”
Maybe I should have fought to go with them. Even if I hadn’t, I could have driven to the hospital myself. I must have debated it for the next forty-five minutes. But I couldn’t make myself actually get in my car and drive—anywhere. My eyes floated in the direction of the roof.
I wouldn’t go back upstairs. I couldn’t imagine facing our peers, who were most likely already whispering about the events that had just gone down. But I wanted to see Lex. Maybe if I got her alone… Then what? What good could possibly come from getting Lex alone?
I didn’t stop to answer my own question. I pulled out my phone and found the number of the only person I felt like dealing with at this moment. I just hoped she’d respond.
“Need a ride home?” I texted.
Five minutes passed before I saw the bubbles by her name, notifying me that she was responding.
“Be down in a minute.”