Gavin: Pure Passion (Hamptons Book 1) by Drucie Anne Taylor Page A

is?”
    “Guys should be hairy?” he asks, annoyed.
    I poke his upper arm. “No, that true beauty comes from within.” I laugh, and when the waiter comes by with his tray again, I take a glass of champagne.
    “Where’s Macey, by the way?” Jake asks.
    “She’s chatting with my date.”
    “You mean she’s flirting with Gavin?” Rick guesses.
    “Probably, but that’s not so tragic,” I respond, and hope I don’t sound as jealous as I feel at the moment. If the two of them are into each other, I’m screwed, because Macey is more than pretty. She’s a true Belle, inside and out.
    “You aren’t jealous, are you, Lane?” Jake whispers in my ear, so Rick doesn’t hear.
    I bite my lower lip, and then shake my head. “I’m just a little pissed off because the two of them ignored me completely when they started to find each other so fascinating.”
    “Ah.”
    I drink my champagne and listen to Jake and Rick talking about the dance school. I comment on their conversation every now and then, but I keep looking over at Macey and Gavin and his friends, who seem to have joined them. He glances over at me, but I shyly look away. This guy makes me totally dizzy. When I’m close to him I don’t know which way is up, but close to him is exactly where I want to be. On top of him, next to him, under him . . . Stop being ruled by your libido, I say to myself.
    “What do you think? Shall we all get changed and go dancing?” Rick asks.
    “Count me in,” Jake answers and looks at me expectantly.
    “I can’t just skip out on Macey.”
    “Macey’s busy batting her eyelashes at Downstair Alley. Linden Priest’s girlfriend doesn’t look exactly thrilled about it, either, if you ask me,” Rick says, offering his opinion.
    “How did you know she’s his . . . Forget it. Clearly, you read gossip magazines, too,” I say and look over at her. I wave at her, and then she whispers something to Linden and comes over to us.
    “Hi, I’m Thally,” she says, introducing herself to my friends.
    “We know,” Rick admits, and shakes her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
    “You, too.” Then she introduces herself to Jake, and they exchange pleasantries. She glances back over at Linden, Gavin, and the others.
    “The star of the show seems to be a real groupie.”
    “She’s my best friend, too,” I say with a sigh.
    “Oh, sorry, no insult intended.”
    I take a good look at Thalia. Her black hair falls in soft waves over her shoulders. She’s wearing a dress that has thin pink spaghetti straps and also descends in soft waves to her knees. “We were going to get changed and then go dancing. Would you like to come with us?”
    “Definitely. That would be much more fun than staying here and being at the mercy of the paparazzi.” She smiles. “I’ll tell Linden.” She turns around to look over at the group again, and raises an eyebrow as she sees Macey practically throwing herself at him. “Hmm. I’ll just send him a text. He’ll have to come find me anyway; I have the key to our hotel room.”
    I laugh softly. “Do you want to come over to my place for a few minutes before we have to be . . . where?” I say, looking over at Jake.
    “At the Delano. The cave,” he answers.
    “Super, then we can meet there in an hour.”
    “Good.” They both nod. Thally and I walk past Downstair Alley and Macey, and to my relief, they don’t notice us.
    “Isn’t my dress too fancy for that?” she asks me.
    “No, it’s just right,” I say happily. I’m so glad to be going out dancing again.

    When Thally and I are at my apartment, she helps me choose an outfit. “What do you think of this one?” she asks me after examining the contents of my closet. She’s holding out a black pleated skirt and a tight red crop top.
    “I think the top would look better if I wore my red miniskirt with it.”
    We dig through my closet together. “This one?” she says, pulling out precisely the skirt I had in mind.
    “Exactly.” I