Coco’s expression said WTF and I couldn’t help but agree with her. She knew I was trying to quit Ajax, as gently as possible. Obviously, grinding in the middle of a sweaty dance floor wasn’t the right way to do that.
I leaned back and let my arm curl around Ajax’s neck. “I see Coco,” I yelled in his ear. “I’m going to go say hello!”
If he said something, I didn’t hear him. But I did feel his hand try to grasp onto mine as I slipped into the crowd, away from him. I pushed through the smashed bodies, relentlessly trying to reach the other side of the dance floor. Where had all these people come from?
Did they even live in this town?
Was this what Pug’s was like every Saturday night?
I practically collapsed on Coco after squeezing through yet more people clustered around the dance floor. They weren’t even dancing. They were standing there shouting at each other about Nebraska football.
“Oh, my god,” I yelled, although it was quieter over here, so I didn’t have to holler at the top of my lungs. “This place is insane.”
Coco swept me into a hug. “You made it!”
I pulled back and grinned at her. “I made it!”
“I’m so proud of you,mamí!”
Emilia pulled me out of Coco’s arms and into hers. “Ruby!”
“Hi!” I felt overwhelmed by their excitement. And silly. I didn’t warrant this kind of enthusiasm just because I left the house. It put into perspective how often Ididn’tleave the house and that was embarrassing.
“Did you come with him?” Emilia asked after she’d let me stand on my own again.
I followed her gaze to where Ajax was leaned over the bar with some of his friends, ordering another round. “No,” I said quickly. “He found me at the bar and dragged me on the dance floor.”
Emilia’s eyes lit up. “Not the worst thing in the world. He’s a good dancer at least.”
I didn’t say anything. Ajax was a good dancer. And it was easy to pick up Emilia’s tone. He was hot and available and into me. But there was something about him that had started to rub my nerves, like tiny red flags pinging in my head.
“What’s with all the people?” I asked. “Is it always like this?”
Coco shook her head. “Kristen March is throwing Levi Cole a welcome home party.”
The words screeched through the air, tripping and flailing in my head. If I had been a cartoon, the entire room would have ground to a standstill. “Are you serious? He’s been back for a while.”
Coco shrugged. “They were waiting for the old gang to get back into town.”
“And apparently she needed time to plan,” Emilia added, her big eyes rolling.
Oh, god, it was just like graduation night all over again. My mom was right. Ajax probably already knocked me up just by dancing with me.
“Hey, just ignore them,” Coco encouraged, noticing my fallen expression. “They’re over there.” She pointed to the other side of the bar where tables had been pushed together and a heated game of beer pong was taking place. For real, could they try just a little harder to be less like high school right now? I’d walked right by them and hadn’t even noticed.
“We’ll have fun over here!” Emilia promised. “Hey, at least drinks are half price tonight!”
My wallet did like that. And she was right. If I was being forced to relive high school tonight, then I knew how to avoid the popular table and do my own thing. Easy peasy.
“I’ll get us some drinks,” Coco offered. “What are you drinking?”
“Fireball?”
She blinked at me.
“What? It’s delicious.” And it was.
“I’ll, uh, see what they can mix it with.” She walked away, shaking her head like I was some kind of pod person.
