Sav had sighed out a loud, obviously ‘pay attention to me’ kind of sigh. She ran her fingers along the diamond-crusted case of her iPhone as she texted Stells and Sabi. The two of them were apparently enjoying mimosas by the pool at Sabrina’s house and she was stuck in detention without the teacher and she was growing bored. Whatever was happening with that princess Mossos, one thing that the blonde was certainly uninterested by, though she did have a momentary period where she found Ella’s out of character departure intriguing, the yelling by Marco and Dante matching him wasn’t the least bit interesting to her.

“You know what, I'm following little miss sunshine's lead,” Sav said, letting out a slight huff.

As she gathered her things, Sav blew a kiss towards Grant. “See you later cutie,” Sav winked at him as she left where she had been sitting with Kai, Grant, and Vivi.

“Are we allowed to leave?” Kai asked, wondering what he should do. Being the newcomer really didn’t allow him any benefits of what was customary in the states. He glanced over to where Marco and Dante were and it seemed they were just as perplexed by what was happening too. “Well, if blondie is leaving, we should, too!” Kai said to his two table mates. “I’ll catch you bros later. There are a few killer waves with my name on it!”

And now Kai, the new guy was ready to call it quits. Marco was both inspired and surprised. “Hey Sol, let’s bounce! You said you wanted to go to the gym right? Well, I’ll spot ya!”

Without so much of a warning, Marco’s “take charge” attitude had Sol by the hand and tugged her along. Truth be told, Marco had an extra incentive: he didn’t want to be stuck any minute later with Reia. she genuinely had struck the fear of God into him and any excuse to get away from her was the only thing he needed.

Being a child of the Mossos family came with a fair share of privileges. The prestige of the family name, the vast amount of wealth at your disposal, the reverence of your peers, the envy of your enemies… It was truly something out of a movie. But when you were the favorite Mossos child, you were blessed to receive more compensation than the rest of your siblings- or, in this case, your cousins. Because Alexandros Mossos saw so much of himself in his oldest nephew, he’d started to groom the young man to become the heir to the family industry, and discreetly favored him above his own two sons. This was how Dante Mossos always managed to score the coveted keys to his uncle’s oceanside villa to throw his legendary back to school parties.

And this one was no different. At half-past ten, the party was in full swing. A large group of affluent teens danced along to the loud music blaring from the state of the art sound system in the living room. Rainbow-colored lights from a rotating disco ball illuminated the inside of the venue, while the smoke machine in the corner added an extra layer of boujie to the whole thing. Bottles on bottles of alcohol and large kegs of beer decorated the kitchen counter, while the refrigerator harbored cold water and soft drinks for the wimps who didn’t drink. Outside, the pool lights, a strand of fire-powered lamps, a large fire pit and the moonlight were the only source of illumination. A beer pong table was perched on one side of the villa, with members of the football team huddled around it in a particularly intense round of the game. Inside the pool, Ella, Courtney and the rest of the cheerleading team shifted between chatting around and playing with the inflatable beach balls lazily floating on top of the crystalline water. And in the hot tub, Xander was getting cozy with his girlfriend Vera.

Dressed in a red, short-sleeved Hawaiian shirt, khakis, matching Sperry loafers, Dante looked approachable for what was probably the first time in his life. The man of the hour made the rounds around the house, with a triumphant smile on his face and an open beer bottle in his right hand. He shook the hands of those he knew, high-fived those he didn’t, took selfies and snaps with those who asked, and even kissed the cheeks of a few of his very willing ex-flings. It was during his last lap that the Mossos male approached the pool, deciding to check in on his adoptive sister and her friends.`

“You having fun, El?” Dante called out to Antonella as he crouched beside her at the edge of the pool, offering his adopted sister a small smile.

“For sure!” the tanned-skinned girl replied cheerfully, shooting her big cousin a bright smile. “You did a good job with this one, D. I’d say it’s your best party yet!”

“Had to make the last one count, right?” he said with a chuckle, winking at Ella. “Let me know if you or the girls need anything, k? I’ll get any of these losers to bring it to you,” D assured her, jerking his head in the direction of the jocks.

Ella eagerly nodded. “Of course! Now go have yourself some fun. You’ve earned it!” the brunette told him sweetly, winking back at the young man.

Kissing the top of her head, Dante stood up and walked in the direction of the back porch, taking a seat on one of the empty cushioned chairs. He smoked a cigarette in between swigs of his beer, ignoring the sounds of the raging party around him and focusing on the sprawling waters of the Atlantic stretching out in front of him. As he stared at the ocean waves, his thoughts went back to the beautiful redhead he’d been teasing all week, wondering if Aurora Quill would allow herself the opportunity to let loose and have some fun for once.

After all, the night was just starting out.