I blinked again, and when I opened my eyes just a sliver, the words of my messages came into focus for a short moment. They were nearly illegible. The winky face I had tried to send looked like it was in pain.
Shit. Sudden panic gripped me, then it was gone. The music was perfect. God, I wanted to dance.
My phone was still in my hand. Wasn’t I going to do something with it?
It vibrated again.
“Where?”
Oh, right. My location. I clicked on the icon to share my GPS pin and sent it to Jack.
“I’ll be there in fifteen. Stay where you are.”
I glanced back down at the dance floor and the colorful lights blinking behind the DJ booth. How did they keep such perfect rhythm with the beat of the song? This was the best club I’d ever been to. I wished Mimi hadn’t disappeared, but I wasn’t upset at her. How could I be upset about anything when I felt this good?
I danced and danced and danced until I felt a hand on my shoulder.
When I turned around, my vision blurred, and I couldn’t tell who I was looking at. Blink. Blink again. A face came into focus.
It was Jamie.
My lips parted. His hair was slicked back, the beard was gone. He wore a gray T-shirt that molded to his body. I swallowed. This was unexpected.
“Hi?” I asked, not quite confident with what my eyes were telling me. “Jamie? What are you doing here?”
He gave me a once-over, his forehead wrinkling in concern. “You messaged me,” he said, leaning in closer so that I’d hear him. “I came as soon as I could.”
This was confusing. “No, I didn’t. I messaged Jack.” I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my messages. Dear God, when did they start making the screens so bright?
“How else would I know where to find you?” he asked.
Giving up on the phone situation, I looked at him. “You came looking for me?”
You don’t like Jamie, a voice sounded in my head.Remember what he did to you and Oliver?
I did remember, but right now, I was in an exceptionally forgiving mood. There appeared to be no point in holding on to old grudges. Life was far too short for that. Everyone made mistakes, and Jamie wasn’t any different. More importantly, he was a familiar face, and seeing him here made me happy.
He nodded. “I wasn’t sure if you were in some kind of trouble.”
“Trouble?” I laughed. “I’m having the best time of my life. I just wanted someone to be with me since my friend disappeared. We can hang out. The music is amazing here tonight.”
The frown on his face didn’t budge. “You came here with someone, and they left you?”
My skin was vibrating with dull pleasure that pulsed in time to the music. I closed my eyes and dropped my head back, focusing on the sensation.
“Ivy.” I felt his fingers wrap around my wrists. “What did you take?”
“Molly,” I said, a smile dragging across my lips. “It’s amazing.”
Jamie’s hands moved to my elbows. “Let’s get you some more water.”
I met his gray gaze. He towered over me, and from this insignificant distance, I felt the full force of his new physique. If this man had kissed me that night on tour, I doubted I’d have even thought about pushing him away.
He led me to the bar. As soon as Jamie handed me a bottle, I took a sip and moaned. “Even water tastes amazing.”
Finally, the tension in his face eased by a fraction of an inch. “That’s about the only thing that will taste good to you right now. Do you have any gum?”
I shook my head.
