Page 12

For a while, we simply dance. Tyler’s unique way of dancing has me grinning, and I simply let him be as I roll my hips to the tune. Hands grasp and slide across my exposed skin, but no one seems to bother us. Yet my mind still wanders to the driver and the way the black smoke seemed to drift right from his skin. It looked so real; it felt so real. And the memory of it isn’t fading like a dream would.

“Did you see the driver!?” I yell over to Tyler, who’s grinding against someone behind him, his arms linked behind the guy’s neck.

His eyes open, and he looks at me. For a moment, he says nothing, just sways his hips. “No, why?”

His nonchalant response has me biting the inside of my cheek as more images flash through my mind. I had barely focused on the driver the entire trip. He sounded perfectly normal when responding to my question. But that tiniest glimpse of whatever it was has my head spinning. Maybe it's the alcohol, too.

My mind jumps between some kind of lighting phenomenon or a purely magical encounter. Would I be insane to call it magic?

But then I think of crazier and crazier theories, my gaze drifts across the crowd, my feet barely moving to the beat, yet no one seems to notice. Everyone, including Tyler, is wrapped up in their own worlds of flow and heat. The entire club seems worlds away as I catch a glimpse of dark hair from beside the bar.

To anyone else, they might not have even noticed, but I know those black strands and gentle waves. Sipping from a whiskey glass and speaking carefully with another burly figure, Xander’s gaze snags mine, and my entire body freezes.

“Noah? What’s wrong?” Tyler asks beside me as he pulls away from his dance partner.

I shake my head in awe, unable to take my eyes off where Xander sits. “My roommate is here.”

“Oh!” Tyler follows my gaze, “We should go say hi! I haven't spoken to Xander in ages.”

My brows furrow. “You two know each other?”

I fill my voice with mock concern as a wave of jealousy rolls through me like serrated pebbles in my throat.

Tyler’s eyes widen, and he doubles over, heaving a deep laugh. “Not like that!” He claps my shoulder. “He used to get coffee all the time. Cappuccino with a dash of vanilla.”

I roll my eyes, and Tyler giggles, “That’s one way to have a coffee.”

Xander turns back to the man and continues speaking, his brows knitted together, and a dark look covers his eyes.

“Maybe we shouldn’t go over there,” I say to Tyler, who nods, his body still moving with the beat.

“Looks like some serious business is going down,” he responds and turns back to the crowd to continue dancing.

Yet as I sway and turn with the movement of the crowd, I can feel Xander’s eyes on me. Heat explodes over my skin, and goosebumps cover my arms. I can’t stop myself when I check over my shoulder to confirm, finding his silver eyes almost glowing in the dimness of the club. The man beside him leans down and speaks into Xander’s ear. He nods once, and the man leaves. My heart jolts as he stands from his seat and finishes his drink.

“I’m going to say hi.” I turn to Tyler, who grins at me and shoots me a wink as I peel away from the dance floor.

My feet carry me faster than I expect, and suddenly I find myself halfway across the club, standing before my roommate. Just like yesterday, he’s dressed in a tight black shirt with a leather jacket, and his spicy cinnamon scent surrounds me. I nearly suck in a breath, but with the way he’s watching me so intently, I know he’d notice.

“Hey,” I start and cringe. Hey? Say something else! Not just ‘Hey!’

Xander smiles down at me. “Having fun with Tyler?”

I check over my shoulder to find the man himself grinding against another dancer. The look of amusement is smeared across his lips, and a blush creeps up his neck. Well, he certainly wasn’t doing that kind of dancing when I was next to him.

My shoulders sag. “I guess?”

Xander tilts his head and looks down at me with furrowed brows. “Is everything alright, Noah?”

I shiver at my name that falls from his lips. The way his deep voice makes my name sound sexual, and the heat in his eyes as they travel across my chest and down to my exposed stomach has something inside of me heating up.

My hands flinch to cross over my chest, but his gaze isn't scrutinizing; instead, he looks interested. So I keep my hands at my sides, arching my back a little to show off my trim waist.

“It’s just been a weird night.” I cough, still seeing the flashes of the strange driver. “But how was your day?”

How was your day? Like, I'm his husband, asking how his day went in the middle of a nightclub? I internally berate myself for how dopey I look right now.

Xander’s smile falters, but not for long. His eyes flick over my shoulder as Tyler calls my name and bounds over to me.