Page 25 of Crazy About Love (All About Love)

I chuckle against her. “You know the way out?”

“Not knowing makes it fun.”

“Unless you run into one of those tattoo guns.”

“Shush.” She laughs, and I let her do her tugging thing.

“Sorry,” I say as I ram into some unknown dancer. I feel a soft brush of hair against my wrist, and that tiny bit of contact sends an unexplained sensation through my chest. My imagination must be running wild for a random woman in the dark crowd to remind me of Theresa.

I’m yanked forward and run into another dancer, this one definitely male. “Oh, shit…dude, sorry.”

Rian’s laughter filters through the chaotic sounds of the blacked-out club, and as my face goes right into something that feels a lot like a pole, I curse and tug her back to me.

“You’re fired.”

“Think you can do better?”

“Stand behind me.” I swing her around and hook her fingers in my back belt loops. Another small thing, I realize. I only did it to free my hands up. If she asks, though, I’ll pretend I did it on purpose.

The place is pitch-black, but the best part about being a singer is that you know the space around you by the sounds, the echoes. Back when I was a teenager I did one of those glow-light performances. Sure, we could see stuff the audience couldn’t, but not much.

“Hold on,” I tell Rian, then stick my hands out and listen to the crowd around us. Two steps forward. Three. Four. Ten. Twenty. And neither of us has kissed a pole.

I think we’re out of the dance floor. It’s more open, with less sweaty air around us. Rian’s fingers unhook from my belt loops and wrap around my waist, her face pressing into my spine. My cement heart thuds into my stomach.

I like this,I hear in my head. Rian’s hand runs over my abs, but it’s Theresa’s voice I’m hearing.I like the feel of you.

My breath gets caught in my throat. I can feel her nails along my skin, over my shoulders, along my jaw. Here in the dark, I can feel it as if it’s really happening, though the logical part of my brain knows it’s not. That it’s just a memory.

“Redo,” I whisper, realizing too late that I’ve spoken the word out loud. My lucky stars are working, though, ’cause Rian doesn’t hear. Or if she does, she doesn’t say anything.

Without another thought, I race toward where I think the door is. I’ve gotta get out of the darkness—get away from where I can hear her so clearly in my head that she’shere. And if she’s here, I can’t do what I’m supposed to do.

“Whoa!” Rian laughs behind me as I drag us through. I bump people out of my way, push us through, get us into an opening where I don’t feel or hear much of anyone, then—

Bam!

The front door flies open from the force of my face. A throbbing pain shoots through my nose, making my eyes tear up, but I push that back immediately. Rian swivels around on my waist as I bring my hands up.

“Youalmosthad me thinking you had night vision goggles hidden in your pocket.” She tentatively taps the back of my knuckles. “How’s the damage?”

I drop my hand, and she doesn’t look too rattled by what she sees.

“Am I broken?”

“Not on the outside.” She winks, then takes out her phone. “I think it’s time for some TLC.”

I prod at the bridge of my nose while she talks to someone named Jackson. It’s not a long conversation, but I notice that there’s a different tone in her voice when she says, “I’ll…see you soon.”

She breathes in deep as she hangs up, then puts on a wide smile when she looks at me.

“Uh, you ditching me already?” I ask.

She slowly shakes her head, giving me that mysterious and slightly evil grin I’ve seen several times tonight already. I like that, usually; it’s confident and sexy. But I’m missing it on the set of lips I’m used to seeing it on.

She places her hand on my arm and turns me toward the corner of the street. “Wait for it,” she says.

Three seconds later a guy stumbles around the corner and pukes in the gutter. I give Rian a highly arched eyebrow.

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