He doesn’t know what it means to cut loose, to party....
I stared at the liquid for a moment, and hesitated. Then, shrugging internally, I raised the drink and took a small sip.
Fruity. Not bad.
I took another sip, and scoped out the room. Dancers filled most of it, jumping up and down and spinning about. Wow, actually... some of them were good. Such an interesting mix of people too. Very... multicultural. Maybe that could be my angle—
Distant voices drifted over the dancing crowd—familiar voices, snarky edged with sweet. Two steps forward and a splash of cocktail on my white shirt, and there they were. Shannon and Quinn.
They danced in the center of the group, looking close and comfortable as they laughed and grooved.
Shannon’s blue-streaked hair was pinned up. With dark pantsand T-shirt, she dressed simply, but her confidence made her stand out amongst the sea of cocktail dresses.
“Ouch, Shan, you did it again.”
Shannon stepped off Quinn’s foot. “Well if you’d let me lead,” she said, “it wouldn’t happen.”
Quinn looked down his thick lashes at her, shaking his head. “That’s where I draw the line, darlin’. I need to lead. It’s built into my core. Can’t change it.”
She slapped his shoulder. “Liar. Admit it, you just can’t figure out how to do the steps in reverse.”
Quinn scowled at her. “I’m not admitting anything. Now turn.” He spun her under his arm, his muscles rippling all the way up and under the sleeve of his brown T-shirt. Shannon’s hearty laugh whirled with her.
When she came to a stop, she leaned into him. “Now it’s your turn.” She startled the guy by whipping him around.
“Jesus, Shan,” he said as he came full circle, grinning. “You’re strong.”
I sucked a piece of ice down my throat and coughed. The empty glass was light in my hand. I finished it already?Let’s hope it’s not very alcoholic.
I put the glass on the doily-covered table at the side of the room, and found a spot at the wall to rest against as I shook off any bad effects.
Pushing up my glasses, I sought Shannon and Quinn, locking my eyes onto them as they started another dance. They moved together with little grace, but plenty of humor, and the force of their laughter travelled to me from halfway across the room.
A strange longing to walk up to them and say hello tickled at me. But a “hello” out of the blue? That was hardly appropriate, was it? They werebarelyacquaintances. Sure they’d helped me to the hospital, and Quinn had stayed over one night, but they were just being good Samaritans, that was all. I was a tiny blip on their past radar readings, which they’d likely already forgotten.
Quinn hadn’t even bothered to say no to the offer of a room, nor had he said goodbye. I’d woken up to a scrawled note that said I was snoring like a healthy bastard, and that he had a self-defense class to get to. See ya later, and have a good life.
And I hadn’t minded, had I? It’d saved me from having to usher him out, since I’d left early for the library to study. And his loss about the apartment, not mine.
So why did I want to go over there now?
I pulled out the notebook I’d wedged into my pocket and tried to ignore the urge. I wrote down Dylan MacDonald and Beckman Hall, then detailed the multicultural aspects of the party. Pages of notes later, I sought them out again. Shannon finished dancing with a spiky strawberry-blond that let her lead, and fell back into Quinn’s arms.
“Just can’t get enough of this, can ya?” Quinn said, and flinched as if expecting her to—
She whacked his arm.
—yes, just that.
Suddenly, and likely a side effect of the cocktail, I was moving toward them. Maybe it wasn’tsoinappropriate to go over. Fact was, Shannon and Quinn had gone out of their way for me, and I’d neverthankedthem for it. Yes, I should tell them I appreciated what they’d done for me.
I forced my hand off the pen in my pocket and breathed in a lungful of Axe and sweaty air.
I sidled around a dancing pair and, miscalculating my step, bumped into Shannon’s back. I gave her a small smile when she turned. “Sorry—”
“Liam!” She threw her arms around me like we were long-lost friends. She squeezed me warmly, a loose strand of her hair tickling my neck. Over her shoulder, Quinn looked puzzled. Like he was trying to figure out who I was—or maybe just what I was doing there.
“Just wanted to say thanks,” I said to him, still locked in Shannon’s mighty grip.
