Brad wrapped an arm around me, semi-protecting me from the crowds. “Let’s get a drink,” he said, leaning down close to my ear.

I nodded, letting him steer me toward the bar. Despite it being thirty people deep, we managed to get near the front quickly. I was surprised to see three people behind the bar wearing black and white and taking orders. I mean, my parents hired staff when they had their little parties, but I’d never seen it at a school thing.

Brad noticed my wide-eyed stare. “Remember, Owens’ family owns a catering company. That’s where their money comes from.”

I wrinkled my nose at him. “I’m sure this will come as a shock, but I don’t remember every little detail about Mitchell and his family.”

Brad shot me a smirk, turning to order from the waitress. He got a beer, and I ended up with a pre-mixed bottle of something pink with vodka. I’d sip on this one drink for half the night, because if I came home too drunk, Gracie would never let me out again. Brad and I both watched closely to make sure the bartender opened it in front of us and that nothing shady went down. It was the reason we went for something in the bottle or can every time.

The woman serving us looked to be about our age. She smiled as she handed the drinks across the bar, not even blinking an eye at serving alcohol to minors. I wondered if they were paid extra to break the law.

As long as I got a drink, I didn’t care.

“Maya!”

The scream had me spinning around to find Courtney and Lace swaying before me. They were both cheerleaders on the team with me, the two I considered to be my closer friends. “You didn’t tell us you were coming!” Courtney yelled as she hugged me. She was almost a foot taller than me with heels on, her long blond hair smacking me in the face.

As I hugged her back, I was hit with a strong smell of alcohol and I realized they’d been here for a while. Or they drank fast. Because they were halfway to wasted already.

Lace stepped in for a hug next. “Love your makeup,” I said when she was close. She’d gone for a sparkly red eyeliner to match her short, pixie hair. This week’s hair color was a rich blood red. Her large brown eyes almost looked vampiric against it. Not to mention her skin was even darker than her eyes, so the red really popped.

I could never pull off the fashion choices she made, but she rocked them hard. Half the guys at the school pursued her, while she continually brushed them off. College or older for her; she didn’t date high school “boys,” as she called them.

After my last disaster of a relationship, I was starting to come around to her philosophy.

Brad, who had been chatting to a friend nearby while we caught up, gave me a wave. “You go dance,” he said. “I’ll find you in a few hours, and then we can head home.”

Waving back, I turned to my girls. “You both ready?” I shouted, my hips already moving. The warmth from the vodka was spreading through my body. I was so ready to let loose. No more thinking about papers and college and being thousands of miles from my friends when we graduated. No more trying to figure out why my life felt empty even when it was full. Nope. Not tonight.

Tonight was about the music.

Despite my plan to go slow on my drink, by the time we reached the area set up as a dance floor, it was already gone. I dropped the bottle on a nearby table, smiling stupidly. I was always a lightweight with alcohol.

Lace dragged me out onto the floor. She out-danced us without even trying, her moves a natural rhythm that could not be learned. But all of us were gymnasts, flexible and used to moving with the beat. Hugging in close, I moved my body with theirs, all of us smiling and throwing our heads back and arms up. The music was really working for me tonight, a great mix of dance and pop, without too much techno. I wasn’t a fan of too heavy a beat.

Guys crowded in close, but they were useless to us on the dance floor. All they wanted was to slide up on me, and that threw my moves right off.

“No!” I said firmly, pointing my finger at a dirty blond-headed guy I didn’t recognize. “No touching.”

He held both hands up and backed away. As I was just turning back to Lace, who was shaking her ass like the next Beyoncé, I caught a glimpse of someone who gave me a moment’s pause. He was half in the shadows, leaning back against a nearby wall, and I could have sworn he was looking straight at me. There was a light rolling sensation in my tummy, but instead of the usual reticence I felt with strangers, the feelings inside of me this time were … different.

My feet moved, heading toward him. He looked very tall … taller than most guys I knew, and considering my best friend was on the football team, that said a lot. He had one leg propped up, casual and relaxed. I sensed a coiled lethalness about him, which should have made me nervous.

But it didn’t.

I took another step closer. At the same time his leg slid slowly down the wall so he was standing on two feet again.

“Maya, everything okay?” Lace asked. It took me a beat to register her question. With effort I turned to answer her, but before I even spoke one word, I was already turning back to him. He stepped out of the shadows and my heart clenched so tightly that I actually gasped in my next breath.

“Maya!” Lace was more forceful this time. “What’s wrong? What did you see?”

Still no words emerged, because I was trying to figure out if he was real. Was it possible any man could be that unbelievably gorgeous? His face … it had been the most perfect thing I’d ever seen. Dark and exotic, full lips, a strong jaw … it was the sort of face movie stars would kill to have.