Page 21 of The Spotlight Effect

“I do not. He’s the last person I’d be interested in,” I reply with an eye roll.

“Really? And why is that?” Astrid asks.

Ugh, she’s prying now.

“He's bossy and way too demanding,” I answer, thinking back to the night I met him.

“Sounds like you,” Astrid says. I grab the peppermints from the bowl me and chuck them at her.

“We’re nothing alike,” I tell them.

Luckily, Mom is at a spa today or else she would have gotten upset even though I’m twenty and in college.

“Really? Because it seems like two grumps living in harmony to me,” Astrid comments and I turn to the window, not worrying about her.

Fez pulls upto a fancy-ish seafood restaurant. The first thing I see outside of the restaurant is Grayson and Noah holding three yellow roses. That’s cute.

“Oh my god, there he is!” Astrid squeals as I start to put on my mini Slytherin bookbag. Lia puts on lip gloss before Fez opens the limo doors for us.

“Do I look hot?” Astrid asks, and I look over at her, examining her baby blue sundress and white wedge heels.

“You look like you always do,” I say and start to fiddle with my silver rings. As I get out. I like how they glitter in the California sun. The square “A” one is surrounded by little diamonds on the left ring finger, then there's a silver skull on the left pointer, my class ring on the left middle finger. On the right hand my pointer finger has a silver guitar, the middle finger has a “FU”, and then the ring finger has a Slytherin crest.

“Just add some lip gloss and you’ll be golden,” Aaliyah says.

“Do you think he’ll like my outfit?” Astrid asks next. Oh my god. Mental eye roll.

“He has a girlfriend,” I state and begin to walk toward them. I already hate this whole day.

If I die now, I wouldn’t be mad about it.

“Hey, Alexia,” Noah greets me.

“Hi, Noah. Grayson,” I say back.

“Hey,” Grayson says flatly before looking over my shoulder at something. I look at Noah, but he just shrugs ‘he doesn't know’. It’s probably about last night. We’re pretending it “never happened” but damn.

Astrid and Aaliyah walk up beside me as Noah begins hiswelcomeand Grayson pretends to look interested. Honestly, me too. “We thought the best thing today would be to start off with some lunch and then we can go out and get rolled ice cream,” Noah says.

“That sounds so fun.” Astrid giggles, and a disgusted look forms on my face, but I feel someone bump me, and I look up and see Grayson giving me a look. I probably made that face a little too obvious.

“These roses are for you girls,” Noah says and hands Lia and Astrid each a yellow rose. Grayson hands me a yellow one as well.

Would it be wrong to stomp on the flower?

Noah holds out his arm for each one of them to take and they gladly do so. Grayson just walks off. Rude ass. I walk fast to catch up with him till I’m beside him. “I thought you were supposed to be a gentleman to the guests,” I state.

“You’ve been to my house,” Grayson says.

“So?” I ask, shrugging.

“Not many people come to my house,” he says, opening the door for me to walk inside and I do.

“Oh please, you've probably had so many other girls in your house for other reasons,” I say, reaching for the next door but he’s already grabbing it.

“Actually, I’ve never brought a girl into either of my parents’ houses,” Grayson informs me, and I’m slightly taken aback.

“Not all celebrities are whores,” he whispers in my ear before walking up to the hostess stand with Noah. The magazines about him say otherwise and considering what they used to say about Noah. I’m not stupid. He dated Jazzlyn for a year!

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