I push out my lower lip. “Awww. Can’t imagine why.”

Some uncomfortable laughter fills the silence.

They’re trying to tell if I’m joking, but I don’t give anything away.

“How the hell did Gabe pull this girl?” asks one of the drunker ones.

Irritation zaps in my fingertips, throat. “Actually, I asked him out. Best decision I’ve made in a long time.” I snuggle suggestively into Gabe’s side, taking his big hand and sliding it slowly along my hip. “And I’m getting impatient to have him all to myself. Good night, gentlemen. We’re going to find a much more enjoyable way to spend the evening.”

They watch us leave as if trying to figure out whether or not I’ve insulted them. They figure it out when we’re about ten feet away. “Hey,” shouts the same guy who wondered out loud how Gabe pulled me. “You know who you’re on a date with?” He sways a little, coming toward us. “The laughingstock of—”

I see and hear it all happening in slow-motion.

Tobias holds up his martini in the middle of the dancefloor. “Gather around, everyone. I’ll tell you about the time a royal—who shall remain unnamed for legal purposes—snuck me into Windsor for a game of truth or dare involving ski masks and rubber duckies…”

While that tale is being spun, Banks oh-so-casually spills his drink on the floor. The leader of the punk posse steps directly into the puddle, his foot eliciting a wet squeak. He pinwheels for a few seconds, before landing smack on his butt in front of everyone. I want to revel in the wonder of it all. I really do. But I don’t need a crystal ball to know this situation is going to escalate. Fast.

“Come on.” I tug a stunned Gabe toward the elevators. “We’re making a run for it.”

“Oh.” He sounds dazed. “Okay.”

Thankfully an elevator is opening and letting off more people as we arrive and I pull Gabe in behind me. Once inside, I hold my index finger down on the door open button. “Come on, come on, come—”

Banks slips through the entrance of the elevator, buttoning his tuxedo jacket as if he didn’t just deliver a smackdown of justice. Right on his heels is Tobias, who is grinning ear to ear, martini still in his hand. “Now that is entertainment.”

I laugh breathlessly, Tobias and Banks immediately joining me. They even trade a high five with one another, so hell itself must have frozen over in the last three minutes. The sight of them bonding causes a happy jump in my stomach, catching me off guard, but I shake off the surprise and give in to the celebratory laughter. I don’t stop until my eyes are full of tears and it’s only when I blink them away do I notice that Gabe is still silent.

“Gabe?” I ask, worried, wiping the moisture from my cheeks. “Are you okay?”

He looks down at his hands. “Yeah.” There’s a glimmer of a smile, but it drops as quickly as it appeared. “I appreciate you three doing that. I do. It’s just…I’m not sure it’ll change what everyone thinks of me.” He stares forward for a beat. “But hell if I won’t be replaying that for the next decade.”