Page 33 of Paradise & Vodka

"Yeah? What do you want?" I started to sit up to grab the room service menu.

"Ice cream or something."

I slid out of bed to grab the menu, and opened it to the desserts. "They have vanilla."

She wrinkled her nose. "Vanilla is so boring."

"I could go to the gift shop and see what they have," I offered.

Ashleigh started to get out of the bed. "I can't make you do that."

"It's not a big deal, baby."

"You'd do that for me?"

I shrugged and then grabbed my shorts. "Of course. What do you want?"

"Like a Drumstick or something."

"Do they have that here?" I asked as I continued to get dressed.

She wrapped the sheet around her chest as she sat back down. "Not sure. But something like that."

"Something that's not only vanilla."

"Yeah." She grinned.

"I'll see what I can find." I kissed her quickly before grabbing my wallet and heading out the door.

I chuckled to myself as I made my way toward the lobby. Going to getmy womandessert late at night was probably a sign that I was falling for Ashleigh, and I was going to owe my friends a grand each. That wasn't the case, of course. I was just being nice.

When I got to the lobby, the gift shop was closed, and my heart sank. I really wanted to bring Ashleigh back something yummy and then eat mine off of her body before we called it a night. I walked to the front desk. "Hi. Is there anywhere I can get dessert at this hour?"

"Only room service," the clerk responded.

"Shit," I muttered under my breath. "Okay, thanks."

I walked outside and started back toward our bure when I heard yelling.

"Get back here!"

"Leave me alone!"

With just the faint glow of the lights provided for the walking path, I saw Everleigh and Dougie up ahead. I stopped walking, not sure if I should intervene or just watch.

He grabbed her arm and spun her. "Don't fucking walk away from me."

She tried to break free, and I was seconds from going to her rescue (more of a reason to punch him in the face), but her words stopped me. "You don't get to tell me what to do until I marry your ass tomorrow."

"The hell I can't," Dougie roared. His back was toward me, blocking my view of Everleigh. "You signed your life away when you agreed tostaywith me."

Everleigh poked at his chest. "I only stayed to help my parents."

"Because you're money hungry." He chortled.

"And you're not? That's the whole reason why we came up with this agreement."

"It's not like you're getting the short end of the stick, Evie. You live in Manhattan, get a monthly allowance, and building your social life. I get to use my fucking hand every night."