Dani’s older sister, Maria, is a fashion model, and she takes Dani on her helicopter jaunts around Manhattan. Also—I forget this sometimes—Dani comes from a long line of jetsetters. Her family tree is home to senators and presidential cabinet members.
“I’m nervous,” a wide-eyed Ree offers. Her father is an elementary school principal in the Bronx, so helicopters aren’t a fixture in her day-to-day life. She grabs Dani’s arm. “Remember that time we went with Maria to that weird warehouse in Brooklyn and there was all that fog when we were landing?”
“Oh, you mean the one with that neon paint set?”
Ree nods, and I ask for more details before realizing I wasn’t there with them that time.
“It’s going to be fine, you chickens,” Dani tells us. “We’ll only be up like fifteen minutes. And it’s nighttime, so it’s going to be super pretty.” She adjusts the band around her high ponytail then flashes me a grin. “If you get scared, just jump in your football hero’s lap.”
“Or play footsie,” Ree offers. “In that one we took, weren’t the seats facing each other?”
Two rows of seats are often facing on other. I think about it eagerly, even as I roll my eyes at my friends. “You two are relentless.”
For the next few minutes, I get coached on what to do at the party—as if I’ve never been anywhere—and then Dani goes over the emergency plan.
“I’ve got my Nokia in my purse.” She pats the giant leather bag hanging from her shoulder, her palm covering the Hermes label. “If we get lost or separated, call me on yours.”
“I don’t have mine,” Ree says.
“Me either.”
“The house will have phones. Or you can borrow someone’s mobile. Or you can find a payphone.”
Then the car stops. It feels so abrupt that I glance out the window to confirm we’re at the right place, and we are. Turns out, the ride just passed by quickly. Dani leans up to talk to Fil, letting him know we’d like to be picked up at the Banetti house in about four hours.
“I’ll drive over now and wait,” he says.
“If my mom calls, don’t tell her?” Dani requests.
Fil looks reproachful, which makes me smile.
Dani rolls her eyes. “Whatever, then. It’s not like Eileen will care.”
All too soon, we’re spilling out the car and onto a walkway. The heliport is all lit up and cool from a breeze that’s blowing from the East River. We sign consents inside a small green booth, and then we’re waved onto the spacious landing pad, where five large choppers await. One lifts off as we follow our escort toward the bird in slot five.
As we near, its long blades start to spin, tossing my hair into my face. Ree runs her hand over her tight braids and winks. I stick my tongue out at her. She gives me a goofy grin, then leans down to look under the chopper’s belly. “I see your boy!”
The boys are sort of behind the helicopter, so I don’t see him at first—not until we get closer and he starts waving.
Luca walks around the helicopter’s tail, hands in his pockets till we’re closer to him. Then he pulls them out and holds a hand out toward me, waving us around, where we greet Jace, Loren, Max, and Franco.
Everyone knows each other well, so there’s lots of hugging and greeting while Luca and I stand awkwardly near each other but not overly close.
Someone opens the helicopter’s door, and he takes my hand. We’re the last two to climb in. I notice that the two remaining seats are beside one another. Luca motions for me to sit first, so I do. I sit by Max and across from Dani; Luca sits on the end, beside me and across from Ree.
As the chopper’s blades thump faster, there’s an upswell in the volume of our voices—and an uptick in my heart rate. My eyes bounce around the small space, clinging to the scenery outside the windows for a second before they snap like magnets onto Luca’s face.
His smile is crooked, and I laugh, because he looks a little miserable. “Are you nervous?”
“Me? Nah.” He laughs, and it’s nervous laughter. I hold my hand out. He takes it. I can’t breathe as he laces his fingers through mine. Something heavy settles in my body, like the feeling of exhaling. “Have you ever been in one?” I hear myself ask.
He’s wince-smiling as he shakes his head.
“I’ve only done it twice,” Ree tells him. “But never in one this big.”
“Two virgins,” Lorenzo chortles.
“How’s it going, Elise?”
I turn to Max with warm cheeks; I’m still holding Luca’s hand in full view of our friends.
“It’s okay. What about you, Max?”
He gives me a dimpled smile, shaking his head. He pulls off his ball cap, rubbing a hand through his dark hair. “Just being tired. I’m gonna throw a sleepover for one in Jace’s grandma’s big ass bed.”