"Jack!" She slaps his arm. Hard.
I cover my smile with my hand. Lissa's kind of adorable when she's tipsy and pissed. I think Liam's of the same opinion, because he doesn't seem the least bit upset. Instead, he's watching enthralled as his woman fixes Jack with her most withering gaze.
"Now, Elissa, calm down ..." Jack says, trying to laugh it off. "No need to get testes."
Connor snorts and takes another swig of beer. "Testes. Good one."
Liam clears his throat and attempts to look angry. "She has every right to be pissed, dude. That costume's not cool with me, either. You're way too small to play my dick."
Zoe snorts. "At least he didn't come dressed as your girlfriend's boobs. God knows he's gawked at those pictures enough to draw them from memory."
Now Liam does look angry. He scowls at Jack. "Dude!"
Jack throws up his hands. "It's not true! I've told Zoe a million times, I was reading the articles." He whispers to Zoe, "And even if I was looking at her boobs, you have no reason to be jealous. You have great tits, too."
"Ha!" Zoe says. "As if I'd ever be jealous over you, Jack."
Ethan steps away from Erika and holds up his hands. "Hey, guys. Let's just cool it, okay?"
"That's right, Holt," Jack says. "If you tell her to calm down, she'll listen. After all, she thinks you're God's freaking gift, even though you've shown zero interest in her since day one."
"Not true," Zoe says. "Holt's kissed me seven times."
Cassie's face turns read. "Only in acting class. Or in shows. Never because he chose to."
Jack crosses his arms. "I rest my case."
Zoe slaps his arm. "Shut up, Jack!"
"You're lucky he never showed interest in you," Connor mutters. "It's worse when you get to have them, only to find they don't want you back."
All of a sudden, all eyes are on Cassie. She throws up her hands. "Connor, what the hell?"
"Don't you dare speak to him like that," Ava says. "He loved you, and you destroyed him to go back to a guy who'd dumped you, twice. That's insane."
"Ava, that's enough." Connor looks horrified, but he started it.
I have no goddamn clue what happening right now.
Jack looks between Cassie and Ava and rubs his hands together. "Ladies, if you want to settle this, I can get a kiddy pool filled with jello here within the hour."
"Shhh," Zoe hisses. "Let Ava talk. Cassie's finally getting roasted for hogging the two hottest guys in our class."
Jack's face turns serious. "That's bullshit, Zoe, and you know it. After me, Holt and Baine are second and third hottest, at best."
Cassie's about to say something when she notices Erika watching them with tears in her eyes.
"Erika?" Cassie goes over to her, but Erika waves her off. "Hey, what's wrong?"
In a second, all the petty squabbles are forgotten, and everyone is united in checking to see if Erika's okay. When she notices the attention, she laughs. "I'm sorry. This is silly."
"What is it?" Jack asks, sincerely concerned. "Did we say something to offend you?"
"I'm fine. I've just ..." She looks at her ex-students and smiles. "I've just missed you all so damn much. It's fantastic to see you bunch of drama queens again."
???
As the group around Erika continues to reminisce about their time at The Grove, I tune out and wonder if I can sneak away to call my girl. I feel like an outsider listening to their shared experiences, and I'd rather find a quiet corner and talk to Angel. Of course, finding a quiet corner around here might be a challenge.
As I glance around the huge room, my gaze involuntarily lands on the girl in the Star Trek uniform again.
Seriously, Kane? You mentally freak out over your girlfriend spending time with her co-star, and then you have the balls to lust after a stranger because she's wearing a short skirt?
Lame.
When I see who's standing next to Sexy Uhura, I stop dead in my tracks.
I nudge Elissa. "Hey, look." I point to the guy wearing a slick dinner suit. "Isn't that Daniel Eastman?"
Elissa follows my gaze. "Holy shit! What's he doing here? I didn't realize Marco knew him."
Before Liam Quinn claimed the title of King of the Hollywood hunks, Daniel Eastman held the crown. He became a huge star playing an international spy in the Edward Stiles movies when he was younger, and even now he's still a major box office draw. Sure, he has a few more wrinkles these days and is sporting some grey around his temples, but even I can objectively say he's an attractive dude.
Elissa grabs my arm. "Marco's bringing him over. God, Liam is going to lose his shit. Eastman is his idol."
"Everyone," Marco says, as he arrives at our little group. "I have a special guest for you all to meet, and I'm sure I don't need to introduce him."
When they see who he's talking about, their jaws hit the floor. Daniel stands next to Erika and smiles at us. "Evening, all. Sorry about the formal wear. Just came from a stuffy dinner. Having a good time?"