I turned but James grabbed my arm so hard that I let out a gasp.
“You’re playing with fire, princess. Watch out, because there’s no escape when I fight back.”
“Are you really so pathetic that you’d stoop to threatening a girl?”
Behind me, Brian’s voice broke the standoff. Amelia was with him. She shot James and his friends a look.
Two factions had formed again: Brian, Amelia, Blaze, and me against James, Jackson, and the clean-shaven guy whose name I didn’t know.
Amelia and James stared each other down. I didn’t know what had happened between them or what kind of hold she had on him, but suddenly, he decided it was time to stop.
“Let’s go. I’ve got better things to do tonight,” he said as he turned around. I wanted to know exactly why his bravado disappeared around Amelia.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to end up in the middle,” apologized Blaze. But his facial expression changed almost instantly.
“Wanna dance?” he asked, catching me off guard. I gave him a confused look.
“I’m used to these kinds of messes.” He shrugged. “You’ll get used to it. Shall we?”
“No, I have two left feet,” I tried to counter, but it was too late. Blaze had already taken me by the hand and was dragging me into the crowd dancing in the living room.
“I have two left feet too. Who cares, June?”
Even though I was reluctant, I followed his lead, improvising awkward moves. We ended up laughing at one another even more than expected.
“My mom would get so mad at me,” I exclaimed into his ear.
“Why?”
“I told her I was going to Amelia’s for a few hours, and instead I’m dancing with a bunch of strangers.”
“No, you’re dancing with a guy who’s nice to you.”
Blaze made me smile. I barely knew him, but he seemed trustworthy. I didn’t see any malice or cruelty in his face.
We danced, or, more specifically, we embarrassed ourselves without caring about anyone or anything.
I was getting hot, so I took off my sweatshirt, not caring about only wearing my skintight top.
“You want to know the truth? I hate being in the middle of all these people,” said Blaze, as I tied my sweatshirt around my waist.
“Your dancing skills say otherwise,” I teased.
“Do you want to know why? They’re all drunk. What better way to use my social skills and come out of my shell than when nobody will remember how much I made an ass out of myself?”
“Is that your MO, Blaze?”
“Well, introverts would never admit it, but they often get drunk just to get some self-confidence. I don’t like drinking; I prefer when others do it. It’s more fun to listen to the silly stuff they tell you when they’re completely gone.”
I was making an effort to do a particularly embarrassing dance move when I recognized Will’s face in the crowd. I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I wasn’t. He was watching me.
I lifted the corner of my mouth into a hint of a smile that William reciprocated right away.
“All right, I’m gonna get a Coke,” announced Blaze when he noticed us gazing at each other.
I felt bad as I watched him walk away, hoping that I hadn’t let him down. My thoughts were just starting to spiral when I realized that William was walking toward me.
Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm.
