Page 16 of Red Queen
“Let her go.” I look at him the same way as before. “Rosa, are you okay?” She looks at me, and her eyes seem hazy. “Is she drunk?”
“Oh yeah. Didn’t know she’s not good with alcohol.” He grins again. If I see his stupid smile one more time, I’m gonna punch him.
“You weren’t about to take advantage of a drunk woman, were you?” His face falls. Of course he was, disgusting pig.
“She’s with me now. Go away, Mateo.” He grumbles, but I’m nowhere near backing up.
“I doubt that.” Nathan appears behind me, crossing his arms over his chest. Everyone is looking at us by now.
“Let her go. I’m not going to ask you again,” I state, and with a grumble, he shoves her into my arms and storms off. He’s getting more and more embarrassing day by day.
“Nath? Hiii!” Rosa lets out an excited squeal, breaking free from my arms. She stumbles over to Nathan, almost falling if he hadn’t had caught her. “Let’s go dance!”
“You know each other?” I watch her try to pull my friend toward the dance floor. It’s a little funny seeing her so determined.
“Uh… Yeah. We’re really good friends. I just haven’t seen her in a while. Not until Miami, at least.” I remember him mentioning a couple of times that he’s going to meet his friend, but I thought he was having a date and didn’t want to tell me. I’m glad. Or not. Okay, I’m in between. Glad he didn’t lie, but disappointed it wasn’t a date. “Rosa! Stop! We’re not going to dance. You can barely stand on your feet.”
“But I want tooo!” I chuckle at her desperate efforts and charming pout. God, she could convince me to do anything with that look. Did I really just think that? I take it back. I have stamina.
“Would you please be so kind and help me?” Nathan asks, and I laugh again. It’s already making me forget about that asshole.
“You need help?” I hear Liam and Aiden shout from across the room.
“We got this, thanks!” I shout back and grab Rosa’s other side. We somehow manage to walk her outside and sit her on the stairs. Maybe some fresh air will help. All three of us are in need of that.
“Rosa, how much did you drink?” Nathan asks as Rosa leans her head on his shoulder.
“I…Uh…Not—not much,” she mumbles, but her hazy eyes tell a different story.
“You need to tell me exactly what and how much you drank.” She frowns at my tone, but I only ask to ease my worries. I have a disgusting thought, and I want to make sure it’s not it.
“Just… Two tequilas.” I glare at her, so she continues. “And a gin tonic.” I lift my brows, as if to ask her to go on. “And two glasses of champagne. That’s it.”
“In thirty minutes, you had 5 drinks?” Nathan asks in disbelief. This woman can drink, that’s for sure.
“Well, it was free, why would I decline?” She chuckles. Poor girl, she didn’t even assume he paid for those drinks to take advantage of her.
“You have your keys?” I ask Nathan, and he takes his keys out of his pockets to give them to me.
“Let’s get her home. You can open the door.” He slowly stands her up, one arm over his shoulder, and the other over mine.
12
MATEO
Nathan has an apartment here, exactly one street away. Many drivers have properties in Monaco. It’s useful, as it’s in the middle of Europe. It’s good to go home between races, especially to such a beautiful place as this.
We manage to get to Nathan’s place after what seems like an eternity. Monaco streets are not for the weak. Rosa can barely move, so we were basically dragging her with us, but at least she entertained us by singing some songs. Sometimes I wish I was deaf.
We lay her down on the couch, and gather a towel, blanket, lots of water, a painkiller, and a bowl. I put a towel on her forehead when I heard a buzz from her backside. Her phone’s ringing. A lot. I carefully take it out of her back pocket and look at the screen. Missed calls and hundreds of messages from Ivy, Delilah, and Lana. Her phone buzzes again, and a name pops up.
“Rosa, Ivy’s calling you, can I answer it?” I ask softly as I brush a loose strand of hair out of her face. She nods, then takes my hand and tucks it under her head to use it as a pillow. Well, that’s one uncomfortable position. At least she’s comfy. “This is Rosa’s phone. Mateo speaking.”
“Hi—Mateo? Mateo who? Never mind. Would you please tell me where the hell Rosa is?” Ivy asks. Her tone sounds both angry and soft at the same time. It’s a little scary.
“One of the guests got her drunk, so we took her home. She wasn’t feeling well.” I hear a sigh on the other end, not a word for a couple of seconds.
“When she’s feeling better, tell her I’d like to talk. Thanks for taking care of her. And please turn on her locator.” I get why she asks that. She can’t be sure I’m really Mateo. I say goodbye and do as she asked. Now she can see we’re not far away, and that I wasn’t lying.
