“I’m glad you guys kept track,” I told him a little breathlessly.
We were both a little sweaty, but Jake didn’t pull away, just kept his arm around my lower back as he dipped his head to talk against my ear. “Always. Besides…I’m faster.”
Head back, I laughed because he sounded so damn smug about it.
“Having fun?”
“I really am,” I promised. Somehow, while we’d all been dancing, more people had filtered in. Though the crowd had thinned a little with the slower songs. The Homecoming court had also arrived. I didn’t know half the kids who got elected to it, and I didn’t care.
“What?” Jake asked, and gave me a squeeze.
“Hmm?”
“You have the tiny little Frankie-frown. What are you worried about?”
I had a Frankie-frown? I opened my mouth to ask, then snapped it shut again. “Did you vote for the Homecoming court?”
He shot me a bemused look. “Of course you were thinking of something utterly random.”
Well…duh.
Chuckling, he navigated us slowly toward the edge, and I was okay with that because I really was getting hot now that we’d slowed down. Even my hair was sticking to the back of my neck. So not sexy. “Probably,” he said with a shrug. “I wasn’t paying that much attention. Didn’t they have ballots out at lunch the second week?”
Had they?
“No clue,” I admitted, and then laughed when Jake hugged me a little closer. We were supposed to moderate the PDAs, but it was nice to just dance with him. “So much for my normal high school stuff, huh?”
“Pfft,” he scoffed. “Do you care that you didn’t vote or don’t remember it if you did?”
“No.” Not at all. Not really.
“Then, I say again…pfft.” The song was winding down. “C’mon, water break.”
He tugged me off the dance floor, and I was fanning my face as I followed his weave through the crowd.
“Frankie!” Rachel’s voice had me twisting, and Jake stopped as I pulled back. Wearing a dark green dress that hugged her like it had been painted on, Rachel leaned in and gave me almost an air hug before she motioned her hand up and down. “Damn. You look good enough to eat.”
“Too bad. She’s not on the menu,” Jake interrupted, and I rolled my eyes. When I gave him a light nudge with my elbow, he slung an arm over my shoulders. God, we were both so sweaty.
“Yeah, dickhead. You clean up nice, too. Definitely not edible though.” Rachel flicked her fingers at him as if dismissing him before she focused on me again. “Can I steal you for a minute?”
When she cut her eyes to the right, I saw the slender Asian girl hovering a few feet back.
Oh.
“Jake, I’ll meet you guys…” Where were they?
He frowned then pointed toward the tables nearer to the door where we’d come in. “Bubba grabbed us a spot over there. You want a drink?”
“Anything cold,” I told him.
“You got it.” Then he glanced at Rachel. “I’ve got my eye on you, Manning.”
“Oh, I’m feeling all warm in side. It’s probably bile.”
Laughing, I gave Jake’s hand a squeeze before I bumped Rachel. “Behave, or I’ll give your girlfriend the same kind of stink eye.”
“You would never,” Rachel teased. “You’re way too nice.”
“Ha,” I countered as we made our way over. “Just you wait, I have it on good authority that I’m adorably the worst.”
Her snort just made me grin wider. “Skylar, this is Frankie,” Rachel said when we reached her. We all kind of had to huddle to be heard over the music. “Frankie, this is Skylar.”
“Hi.” I debated offering her my hand ‘cause that might be weird, but then just stuck it out anyway. “It’s really great to meet you.”
Shy smile growing a little brighter, Skylar clasped my hand. “It’s really nice to meet you, too. You really are every bit as nice as Rachel said you were.”
“Oh, I was going to say don’t believe a word she says, but if I’m supposed to be nice, I can totally live with that.”
Skylar laughed, and Rachel grinned.
“You having fun?” I glanced between them. Like me, they were a bit sweaty.
“Actually,” Skylar said, as she took Rachel’s hand. “More than I expected. I go to private school. We do not have dances like this. It’s kind of like in the movies, but not.”
Spreading my hands, I paused my response when a body collided with my back, and then Cheryl leaned over me. “Rachel,” she scolded. “Why didn’t you introduce me to her?” Then without waiting, she stretched out a hand to Skylar. “I’m Cheryl, I’m a little obnoxious, but I’m sure we’re going to be amazing friends. Rachel only likes amazing people.”
Cheryl still had an arm around me, a bottle of water fisted in that hand. Her perfume tickled my nose, but her light-hearted spirit proved infectious.
“It’s good to meet you, too,” Skylar said, some of the shyness in her expression eased. “Rachel has told me about both of you. But what she didn’t tell me was how pretty you are.”
“Eh,” I said with a half-shrug. “This…” I made a motion toward myself, “does not happen everyday, but thank you. Besides, I’m betting she’s too tongue-tied by how pretty you are.”
“Nice,” Cheryl complimented me and offered a playful fistbump. “I was just gonna say because Rachel’s not an idiot.”
Amusingly enough, Rachel seemed a little flushed and her eyes overbright as she gave us both a look. “And now we’re going away before you two get any more ridiculous.”
“Awww,” Skylar teased with a grin. “Maybe I want to hang out with them and get all the dirt on you.”
“Sorry, no can do,” I told her. “Dirt is definitely a third meeting aperitif.”
Cheryl giggled, and Rachel rolled her eyes. When she mouthed I hate you, it was like my life was just a little fuller. I blew her a kiss as they wandered away and then eased Cheryl from leaning on me quite so heavily.
“You okay?” I checked with her.
“I’m good. Tell you a secret, my shoes were killing me. You were so much smarter to come in flats.”
I shrugged. “More like a safety concern. I teeter in heels, and dancing in them sucks hard.”
“I get that—well, I don’t, but I can appreciate it.” She grinned. “You know, I’m going to go grab a soda. You want this? I only had one drink.” She passed me the water bottle. I did actually.
“Thanks.”
“You having fun?” With a nod behind me, she added, “You’ve been dancing since I got here.”
“I am. You?”
“Not too bad. Mitch is being kind of a buzzkill. He doesn’t want to dance as much, so don’t mind me if I join you the next time you’re out there.”
“Deal.” Waving at her, I unscrewed the top and drank a good third of it before pivoting to head to the table. My mouth was a little too dry. The water tasted more like tap than bottle, but whatever. Probably too warm. The guys weren’t alone, but I recognized a couple of the football players who had dropped in and dragged Jake and Ian into a conversation.
Archie and Coop looked more amused than anything as I circled the table and downed another couple of gulps of the water. It was great on my throat and at least I’d managed to cool off some while talking to Cheryl, Skylar, and Rachel.
“That’s Rachel’s date?” Archie asked as I sat.
“Yep, she was nice.”
He slid another bottle of water in front of me and a soda.
“Thank you.” The fresh water bottle had condensation on it, and I screwed on the cap of the first one and popped open the second. Oh. Colder. So much better.
“You’ve been working it out there,” Coop said. “I forgot how much you like to dance.”
“Me, too,” I admitted. “And it’s good music tonight.”
“I don’t disagree.” Archie said, bumping my shoulder. “Next slow song, it’s my turn.”
Coop snickered, and the brush of his pinky against mine sent a little thrill through me. I tapped my foot in time to the music; I liked the new song the DJ put on. Seriously—he had great taste.
“Where did they find this guy?”
Archie shrugged. “Bubba might know, but…” He motioned to where he and Jake were talking. Jake caught my glance and winked once. I grinned. Gaze snagged on Ian’s, I swore I could feel his sigh.
“You want to get back out there?” Coop asked. I took another couple of gulps from the cold water, then stole a drink from the soda.
The sugar and caffeine were almost as welcome as the cold.
“Yes,” I said, grinning. “Do you mind?”
“Nah,” Coop said as he shoved his chair back and stood. “C’mon.”
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Archie told us as he drained the last swallow in the first water bottle, then grimaced and washed it down with the soda. My thoughts exactly, however, I didn’t say anything.
“Hey,” Jake called as Coop and I circled the table. “Where you going?”
“To dance,” I said with a finger wave, then motioned to the table and all of us. “We can talk anytime. This DJ is awesome!”
The corners of his eyes crinkled as he grinned. “I’ll catch up in a sec.”
Giving him a thumbs up, I caught Coop’s hand and we slid out onto the dance floor just as “Happy” started to play and I laughed. That was perfect. Arms up in the air, I twisted and danced to the beat. It didn’t take long for others to pour onto the dance floor, all of us clapping our hands. Well, I was.
Rachel and Skylar appeared in my periphery, and I bumped hips with Rachel once. Cheryl hopped toward me, and Coop rolled his eyes as I made room for her in the little circle we were making.
Archie slid up behind me, and we swayed together, hips rocking from side to side in tandem. Jake weaved through the girls, and they expanded a little and then he chuckled as he caught my hands and spun me into him and then out. I stumbled a half-step, but Ian was right there, and he steadied me. I slowed for a beat, then shook it off. We were all dancing, and it was the first time he’d gotten out here all night that I’d noticed.
Flushed and overheating, I didn’t care as “Happy” segued right into “Last Friday Night.” Cheryl leaned in, lip-syncing, and then Rachel and I were singing it, too. Coop was laughing and clapping. Jake wrapped his arms around me from behind, and we swayed together as the crush on the dance floor increased.
But it was the dance version and the techno beat and chanting had us all screaming. Best. Night. Ever.
I lost track of the songs and who was really dancing with who. It didn’t matter, we were all out there. When the song switched again, I tapped Jake to wave him closer. “I’ll be right back. I gotta pee,” I told him in his ear, and he chuckled.
“Okay,” he answered, and it was more a matter of reading his lips than actually hearing him.
The flashing lights were so bright and the music loud. It was like actually being in a movie a little. Fanciful thoughts or not, they made me giggle. The tension of the last few weeks had been bled away while we danced.
Swaying, I fanned myself as I strode across the room for the doors. The bathrooms were outside, and it was much brighter with the overheads on outside and so much cooler. I was burning up. Head back, I paused for a moment, free of the pounding beat.
It was like stepping into another world. Glancing around, I searched for the restroom signs and had to pass the faux sets area toward another hall that twisted around to find the girls.
The music faded even more to a distant hum as I slid into the bathroom. The colder air felt so good against my overheated skin. It was like someone had me sucking on a jalapeño. There were a couple of girls checking their makeup in the mirror when I came in.
One was a junior—Brittany? Bella? B-something or other, and Maddy. I only remembered Maddy’s name because of Mom. They cast me grins, and I gave them a little finger wave as I did the happy pee pee dance into a stall.
If I’d had to pee when I was on the dance floor, I was about to burst by the time I got in here. The dress stuck to me in places, and my hair was damp, but I just shifted things so I could empty my bladder.
Seriously, peeing should never feel that good, but it did. The girls’ voices faded as they left the bathroom. After I finished, I stumbled a little getting the dress straightened back out.
Damn, it wasn’t this hard when I put it on earlier. It was a dress, not a body suit. Out of the stall, I braced a hand against the door. The overheated feeling wasn’t fading, despite the cooler air, and dizziness assailed me for a minute. Ugh.
Food. All that dancing. I needed to eat.
With care, I walked over to the sink and washed my hands. A glance at myself in the mirror made me feel a bit better. The cosmetics Carol used had held up well, even if I had been sweating. Sliding a wet hand against the back of my neck, I sighed at the coolness.
Hair down might look pretty, but it was too warm. I leaned against the counter and blinked slowly. Tired swamped me all at once. Maybe the dancing and the lack of stress were just what I needed. Another couple of dances, and I bet I could talk the boys into heading out. Though…
Disappointment crept in. I kind of didn’t want it to end. Tonight was like the first really right thing in a while. It was perfect.
Soda. Maybe a snack. Then more dancing. Decided, I rinsed my hands again before blotting them dry with a paper towel. I wandered back out and the dizziness hit. Pausing, I leaned against the wall outside the bathroom.
“Hey, you okay?” A warm arm slid around my waist, and I blinked slowly.
“Yeah, I’m just…” The flush of heat hit again. The last time I felt like this, I’d had way too much of the whiskey at one of Archie’s parties. I’d puked that night, too.
Not pretty.
But all I’d had was some water. We hadn’t had any drinks.
“Here, why don’t you sit down?” He guided me farther down the hall. Maybe there were benches or something. “You want me to get anyone?”
“I can text the guys,” I said. “Really, I’ll be okay.” But he didn’t slow, and it was like stumbling through molasses. “Just pause for a sec…”
“You don’t look so good, hot stuff, we need to cool you off.”
I blinked, and my vision wouldn’t unblur. The music had all but faded. I tried to dig my heels in, but he kept moving.
“Hey,” I said twisting against his arm. Not that my body cooperated.
“Just cooperate,” he said. “Really, you don’t look so good. I’m going to take care of you. I promise.”
What the hell?
He pushed me through a door, and I gripped the wristlet. I still had my phone. This wasn’t right. Panic scrabbled through me.
“Really,” he said pulling me right up against him. “It’s going to be fine.” I pushed my hands against his chest.
“Let go.”
It was too hot. And I didn’t know him…
Then he kissed me.
Where the hell…
Coop: She’s not with Rachel or her girl.
Archie: Not outside.
Jake: Not in the girl’s bathroom.
Bubba said there was another around the
Corner. He went to look.
Archie: WTF
Coop: We’ll find her. Check lobby?
Archie: OMW
Chapter Twenty-Four
Every Breath is a Bomb
He shoved his tongue in my mouth, and my arms were like lead. Pushing against him was like pushing a wall. But I had teeth. Even dizzy, I could still bite down.
The taste of copper flooded my mouth, and he let out a shout. The grip on my arms turned even more painful a split second before he jerked his head up.
“Bitch.” Spit hit my cheek, and I squinted up at the guy who’d just been kissing me. I knew that voice. My eyes wouldn’t focus, and every limb seemed weighed down by heavy bricks.
F
umbling, I pushed again, and this time, he shook me. My head snapped forward and back. Crab walking my hands up his chest, it was so much effort. Then I hooked my right hand and my pretty new red nails against his face and dragged the hand down.
He swore again.
Pain exploded through my cheek, and I toppled sideways. It was like I was stuck, I couldn’t move, I couldn’t do more than blink. I couldn’t even make a sound ‘cause it hurt.
“You little… You’re a fighter, huh?”
The hands grabbed me and slammed me onto my back. Why the hell weren’t my eyes working? This was worse than being drunk. I managed to get another hand up and tried to yell. It was getting harder though.
Hot breath in my face, and I couldn’t turn away from him trying to kiss me again, but I got my fingers on his ear. Metal. There was metal on his ear.
I yanked on the earring for all I was worth, because I was falling down in a hole. He let out another shout and wrenched my wrist. It kind of hurt, but I didn’t care.
“What the fuck…” The weight on me and the looming presence suddenly vanished. A harsh grunt of sound followed by the meaty thunk of fists impacting against flesh. “You son of a bitch. What the hell did you think you were doing?”
Ian? Fury lived in that voice. I’d never heard that much rage in him before. He almost sounded like Jake.
But not Jake.
“Hey…” Oh. Jake was there.
Something crashed to the floor. Shouting.
“Woah, woah…babe…” Someone picking me up.
Why couldn’t I focus?
Blink.
I tried to open my eyes.
Blink.
They wouldn’t stay open.
“Easy, beautiful, I got you.” Coop.
Blink.
Cold air.
Blink.
“What the hell is going on?” Archie.
Blink.
Flashing lights.
Blink.
“Only one of you can ride with her.” Who?
Keys and Kisses: Untouchable Book Three Page 32