Page 103 of Eye of the Hurricane
Katherine leans up on the tips of her toes again, attempting to whisper in my ear. I lean down some, allowing her to be in ear range.
“I need to talk to you later.”
“Why not now?” I question.
“Because it’s too loud in here and we’re rude if we step outside so soon,” she explains.
“Okay, just don’t leave me hanging.” She nods her head in confirmation.
Once everyone has had a chance to get some drinks in them, we all head to what is usually the dance floor. Although tonight The Sand is so packed that any room not occupied by a table, has become a dance floor.
Audra and Roman are off dancing. Somehow Luna has convinced Sebastian to dance with her. Although, according to Kat, she could convince anyone to do anything. Ravyn is dancing with some woman I’ve never seen before, which is typical for her.
Kat and I are standing around, waiting for a good time to slip outside and talk. Which seems like the time might be now. Until I realize Beck is standing alone with a dispassionate look on his face.
“I want to check on him, then we’ll talk, okay?” I ask. She nods and follows me over to where Beck is standing.
“You okay?” I ask. He gives me a stiff smile and holds his drink up to me.
“Yeah, just people watching,” he responds.
“You don’t want to dance with someone. There are lots of single women in here. Or men, I don’t judge.” The last part earns a laugh from him.
“I don’t really do the random women thing… or men. I’m okay though, promise,” he assures me.
“You could always try getting to know one of them,” I suggest. He shakes his head.
“None of them are what I want.”
“You’re sure you’re alright?”
“Yeah, man. Thanks for checking though.”
“Okay. We’re going to slip outside for a minute to get some air. We’ll be right back,” I tell him. He bursts into laughter.
“You’re not coming back,” he says through laughs.
“No, we are. She just wanted to talk to me for a minute.”
“Yeah… Okay,” he says, clearly not believing me.
I just wave him off and turn to look at Katherine. I take her hand in mine and weave us through the crowd of people. I think at some point we even bump into a blow-up dinosaur?
One of the only drawbacks to the South is that when you’re looking to step outside for fresh air, the air is not fresh. Even at 10:00 P.M, the air is warm and thick from the ocean.
“Let’s walk,” she says, tightening her grip on my hand and dragging me away from the double doors.
Doves Harbor is always aesthetically pleasing but nothing compares to it at night. String lights hang between buildings making every alley and walkway lit with warm twinkling lights.
“So what’s the meaning behind this walk?” I finally ask. We’re far enough from the ocean that you can’t see it but close enough that you can smell it when the wind blows.
“I heard back about my interview,” she tells me. I swipe my eyes over her face, searching for some sign of excitement or sadness but it’s void of either. Either she has an excellent poker face or it’s just a second interview.
“And what did you hear?” I press. Her cool expression cracks open into a toothy grin.
“I got the job!” she exclaims. A pride so big it feels like I can’t fit it all in my chest grows where my lungs should be.
“Oh my God, Kat. I’m so fucking proud of you,” I pull her arm, tugging her into my chest for a hug. My arms wrap tightly around her and hers around me.
