“He didn’t staylong,” I said.
She yawned into herhand. “Well, he doesn’t drink or dance or eat, so there probably wasn’t a wholelot for him to do.”
“He danced withme,” I laughed. “Not well. But he did dance.”
I squinted at atable that had been all but ransacked. Stripped toothpicks lay in dry heapslike picked at bones from a battlefield surrounded by smears of wasabi aioliandSrirachaketchup. One lone cheeseburger slidersat in the middle of a plate, abandoned.
Squatting down, Isearched for my shoes underneath the table. I lifted the tablecloth and lost mybalance, fallingclumsilygracefully to my knees. “Ouch.”
Vera’s laughtertaunted me from overhead. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for myshoes,” I mumbled.
“I can see yourunderwear,” she cackled. “Or where underwear should be.”
I made a squeakingsound and bolted upright, smoothing my lacyminidressover my bum. It was a bold choice for someone that preferred to blend into thebackground, but I’d felt pretty in the sheer, cut out long sleeves. Plus, itwas semi-backless and I had a moment of arrogant glee, when my back hadn’tlooked totally chubby in it.
But all night long,it had been a constant effort to remember not to bend over at the wrong angleor sit spread eagle in a chair. Mainly, I pretended I was in a three-leggedrace with myself and my ankles had been invisibly tied together.
You can see now whyI ditched the shoes almost as soon as I’d stepped on the dance floor.
I spun around,using my toes like rudders, unsure of how I was going to stand up withoutexposing myself more. “I should have worn pants! Why didn’t I wear pants?”
Vera bent over,giggling so hard she stopped making sound.
“Help me!” Idemanded. “I can’t get up without flashing all of your friends my girly bits!”
She wheezed in andout as she struggled to breathe through her laughter.
I sat back on myheels, tugging at my skirt so the angle didn’t betray me. “Fine. I’ll justsleep here. Sitting up. Don’t worry about me.”
Killian cast ashadow over me as he stepped up to his fiancée. “Molly, why are you on thefloor?”
“Because she’s notwearing underwear!” Vera exclaimed.
My face flushedred, cadmium red to be exact, and I said a little prayer for a six pointearthquake. I didn’t want one strong enough for like a bunch of fatalities.Just one intense enough so that the floor would open up and swallow me whole.
When that didn’thappen, I calmly explained to Killian, “I’m wearing underwear.”
He blinked at me.“I believe you.”
Vera only laughedharder.
Wyatt stepped toKillian’s side, followed by a few of the kitchen staff I knew. “Why are you onthe floor?” he asked.
Now how was Isupposed to get up? There were too many witnesses and I didn’t have the kind ofstreet cred I needed for a crotch shot!
I wasn’t even coolenough for a nip slip at this point.
Although why myalcohol-soaked brain thought those were markers of celebrity right now wasbeyond my very limited grasp.
“I’ve decided tolive here,” I told Wyatt. Patting the ground next to me, I added, “This is mynew home.”
Vera leaned heavilyon Killian and explained, “She’s stuck.”
I let out a huffthat tossed my bangs in the air. At least she hadn’t brought up my underwearagain.
A hand stretchedout in front of me. I looked up at Ezra’s disappointed expression and cringed.“So by all means just stare at her,” he deadpanned.
