Page 58 of A Duet of Darkness and Dreams

Key wraps his arm around his shoulders. “Aww, Jamesey’s got to go take care of his wifey,” he says, making an obscene kissing gesture as James pushes him away.

“That’s cool,” Joel says. “We were thinking about hitting up the strip club anyway.”

“Yeah, well, don’t blow all your money,” James warns.

“There’s no greater purpose for hard earned cash than spending it on tits and ass,” Key says, pulling Joel away.

James turns back to Becks, and I watch as Isabella hugs her friend and wishes her a good night before they disappear into the lobby and the two of us are alone together.

“Isabella,” I say softly. But when I turn to find her, she’s gone. “Isabella?”

Where the hell did she go? After three full circles, I spot her dark fluffy hair bouncing away in the distance. “Isabella!” I call after her, already pushing through the crowd. “Hey!” I say, running up and grabbing her by the wrist just as she wobbles on the uneven sidewalk.

She falls against my chest and looks up at me blearily. “Dave?”

“Where are you going?”

For a long moment she just looks at me, trying to focus her gaze, her head rolling to the side. Then she blinks rapidly and pushes against my chest. “Let go of me.”

The harshness in her tone catches me off guard, and a tightness in my chest uncovers a painful memory from long ago, like the shore when the tide goes out.

She starts to walk away again, so I follow after her. “Isabella, what are you doing?”

“I want to go dancing,” she says. “I’m going back to that place with the fish in the dance floor. That was fun.”

“No way. You’re wasted, you can hardly walk, let alone dance,” I say, following behind her like a shadow.

She bares her teeth at me. “I am not. I’m having fun. Tonight’s supposed to be fun, Dave, and you’re ruining it.”

Jogging to get in front, I stop her before she can step out onto the road. “I’m ruining it?”

Her eyes close for a moment, and when she opens them back up, her gaze is unfocused and she talks to a point past my shoulder. “I’m sorry I put my feet on you, okay?”

“Your feet?”

“In the car.” She pushes away from me and begins stumbling down the sidewalk back the way we came, laughing darkly to herself. “I didn’t realize my feet were so offensive.”

“They aren’t.”

She spins around, nearly hitting me with her bag. “Then what the hell, Dave?”

Her eyes are clear suddenly, focused. Like the only thing she can see is me, and I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to tell her why this can’t happen between us.

“Nothing?” she asks, her voice shaky. “Nothing to say?”

“Izzy,” I say, stepping toward her.

“I said don’t call me that!” she shouts. Stepping backward, she stumbles, loses her balance, and I move before thinking. My arm wraps around her waist, catching her before she can topple onto the cement.

“Whoa,” I breathe, pulling her against me as her legs give out from under her and she wraps her arms around my neck. “You okay?”

Her face is pressed against my chest but she says nothing. Instead all I can hear is the sound of her quiet sobs. I take a deep breath and scoop her legs up under my arms. “Come on, Disco Girl, you need to get some rest.”

She continues to quietly cry, her arms tightening around myneck as I carry her down the sidewalk and back toward the chapel. There’s a motel around the corner with a Vacancy sign, and I head toward it.

The door of the motel office jingles as I back my way in, Isabella still snugly wrapped up in my arms. I set her down on the bench by the window, careful to keep her propped up against the wall. Her hair is falling out of its arrangement, and there’s some mascara smudges under each eye, but she’s still undeniably beautiful.

“Can I help you?”

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