Page 23 of Trust Again

Allie covered her phone with her hand and looked at me quizzically. “You sure?”

I nodded eagerly. No way I wanted to mope around the dorm and keep seeing that damned Maynard House in my mind’s eye. Fresh air was what I needed; or maybe even better, the stale air of a club, with music loud enough to drive out the memories.

Chapter 8

I was beautiful. I was unstoppable. And Nate could suck it. Good for him, that his future was all set. As for me, I had a fantastic here-and-now. Right on the dance floor, with a crowd of people wildly gyrating around me to the beat of the music, their faces lit up by flashing, colorful lights.

Allie and our buddy Scott whirled me around till I was out of breath and sweating. It was exactly what I needed.

My heels were so high, that I was on the same level as my friends for a change. Allie had done my makeup and curled my hair. My turquois dress swept down from the waist; perfect for dancing. The music enveloped me as I swayed with eyes closed, turning round and round until I felt dizzy.

Allie and I had headed straight for Hillhouse, the only club near campus that didn’t check ID’s at the door. Sawyer had other plans—at least that’s what she told us.

Monica and Ethan met up with us later in the evening. I relished the feel of the bass pounding through my bones and vented my anger about Nate by dancing. My mood still wasn’t the best, but at least I was surrounded by my favorite people.

“Oh, God,” I heard Allie groan next to me; opening my eyes, I followed her gaze.

Monica and Ethan were dancing like a couple of baboons in heat, looking for a one-night stand.

“Drink break?” I asked Allie and Scott, and both came along. We headed to our table, where Kaden was sitting with Scott’s boyfriend Micah. I plopped down on the bench across from Scott and Micah and gulped my pop. At the end of the table, Kaden trapped Allie between his legs and she leaned her head on his shoulder, turning toward him for a kiss. Kaden whispered something to Allie that made her cheeks turn crimson, and she gave him a playful swat.

“Hello there, voyeur.” Kaden addressed me, resting his elbows on the table.

I raised an eyebrow. “Yes. Ha. I saw you naked. Big deal.”

Scott seemed all too eager to hear about it. “You did what? How?”

“Details, details,” Micah called out.

“I wanted to work on a paper at Allie’s place, thinking nobody was home. But nope. There he was in all his glory,” I jerked my chin toward Kaden, “prancing around stark naked.”

“Ooh, can I have a key to your apartment, so I can work there, too?” Scott asked Allie.

“Sorry, Scott—we’ve already given our two spare keys to Spence and Dawn,” she answered.

Scott gave an exaggerated pout, which was Micah’s signal to reach out a hand. “C’mere.”

Scott shot us a superior look. “I don’t need your stupid key anyway, as you can see.”

The pair headed for the dance floor and joined the jumble of bodies. Micah exuded a rare, casual elegance. And what a contrasting couple the two made. Scott, with his blond, styled coif and Micah with his short, curly hair and bronzed skin.

Just as I turned to gush about how cute they were, I was assaulted by slurping noises from across the table. I rolled my eyes. Allie and Kaden at it again.

“Looks like I came just in time,” said Spencer’s voice beside me.

I jerked my head around and stared up at him. Why’d he always have to wear those awful shirts? And why, oh why did the sight of him have to take my breath away?

Oh hell.My eyes lingered on his mouth, making it even worse. A burning heat was growing in my belly.

Spencer grinned. As if he knew exactly what was going on inside me.

And what was going on, was not good at all. Spencer was bad for me. There’s no way I’d let myself pursue anything with him. No way I’d let him get close enough to hurt me the way Nate had. No way I’d ever let a guy cause me so much pain again. As far as I was concerned, Spencer Cosgrove could take his little grin and shove it.

I slid from the bench and headed for the dance floor, leaving Spencer at the table.

The music numbed me: It didn’t matter what anyone else was doing. This was better than alcohol.

At some point I opened my eyes again and saw a guy smiling at me.

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