Love Bug (The Prescotts Book 3) by Tara Wyatt (electric book reader .TXT) 📗

thick hair styled and perfectly in place despite the cool evening breeze. He wore a lilac-colored T-shirt and a pair of black leather pants, looking chic and put together as always. He worked at Saks and always had the coolest clothes. He saw them and waved, walking a little faster, his pristine white sneakers flashing.

Her phone buzzed from inside her tiny clutch and she fished it out.

“It’s Elliott,” she told Dori. “He’s running late.”

“You know, if you hadn’t lived with him for a while, I’d think he was imaginary. Like Snuffleupagus.” Dori pushed her oversized glasses up her nose. She had her thick black hair down for once, and it looked really pretty, especially in combination with her silky black tank top, jeans, and ankle boots. Willa had opted for a lacy white crop top, a pair of skinny-legged black pants and simple black heels. She hadn’t been entirely sure how dressy to go for the club Brandon had suggested.

“I know. He’s not the most social person. It’s why I keep trying to get him to come out with us.” Sometimes she swore he liked his woodworking tools more than people. He spent his days making custom furniture in Brooklyn and dragging him out of his shop was always a battle.

“Love the crop top,” said Brandon, giving her an appraising look. “Wear it always. And Dori. Yes. To all of this. I love your hair like this. Did you get it cut?” he asked, leaning forward and taking a lock of Dori’s hair between his fingers.

She shook her head. “No. I just used a blow dryer for once.” But from the smile on her face, Willa could tell she was pleased with Brandon’s compliment.

Willa pulled Brandon in for a hug. “My brother’s running late, so why don’t we head inside and see if we can snag a table before they’re all gone?”

Brandon nodded, and from the tilt of his mouth and the glint in his eyes, she could tell he was bursting at the seams to tell them something.

“Spill it,” she said, shooting him a pointed look.

He pressed his hands to his cheeks. “I’m having lunch with an agent tomorrow!”

Willa smacked his arm. “What? That’s amazing! I didn’t know you were sending your book out! You didn’t tell us.”

He smiled, looking chagrinned as they headed for the front door of the club. “I didn’t want to say anything in case nothing came of it.” Brandon was an aspiring writer and he’d spent the past year working on his novel, which Willa had read and loved. It was a beautifully written story about four gay men living in New York in the early 80s, just as the AIDS epidemic was starting to do its worst. It was funny and poignant and utterly devastating, all at once.

“So we have a lot to celebrate tonight,” said Dori. “Willa’s beta launch, your meeting with an agent, my…okay, well I don’t have anything, but I’m happy to be a cheerleader tonight. My life’s pretty good right now, so I’m due to find some train wreck of a guy to fuck me up.”

They headed for the door where Brandon greeted the bouncer, who winked at him and let them in.

“What about Elliott?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder at the line outside. If he thought he had to stand in line for even a second to get into a club he had no interest in, he’d be on the first subway back to Brooklyn.

“His name’s on the list,” said Brandon, talking loudly over the thumping music. “He just has to talk to Devon, the bouncer.”

She pulled her phone out of her clutch again and texted the info to Elliott. After living with him for a few weeks, she knew he was probably lonely but too set in his ways to do anything about it, so she’d taken his social life—or lack thereof—on as a project of sorts. He’d gone through a bad break up about six months ago and seemed to be having trouble bouncing back from it. Truth be told, she was lonely too, especially with Kayla and Lauren, her two closest friends, both moving to the west coast over the past few months, and she thought that maybe by helping Elliott, she’d be helping herself, too.

Brandon cut a swath through the crowd, leading them up a set of stairs and onto a loft area that looked out over the rest of the club. Everything was pink and purple lights, flashing and pulsing in time with the Lady Gaga song thumping through the speakers. The dance floor below was filled with people moving in time to the music, a throng of bodies bouncing and writhing as one.

They managed to snag a table in the corner near the railing overlooking the dance floor, giving them a small amount of privacy while still being part of the party. A small bar was set up at the back of the loft space, currently crowded with bodies. The music was loud enough that she could feel it in her chest, feel it taking over her entire body. Glancing at her friends, she smiled. Tonight was exactly what she needed. Between the mess with Max and missing her friends, she’d been feeling down.

She and Dori sat down at the table and Brandon disappeared into the crowd, probably to find drinks. They joked that finding drinks in a crowded bar was his superpower. It didn’t matter how busy the bar was or how long the line was. He’d charm his way through the crowd, make quick friends with the bartender and the drinks would flow all night.

“So let’s see this app!” Dori shouted into her ear to be heard over the music. “It’s such a cool idea. Although if you think about it, pretty much any app is a dating app if you’re creepy enough.” She winked.

Willa laughed, loving Dori’s humor. “Well, I didn’t come up with the idea itself. That was Max,” she said, her stomach clenching at his name.