Page 107 of Reaching Avery
Music boomed the closer we got, and I squeezed Maverick’s hand.
Once inside, I realized it was even more luxurious than I’d thought. By all of the stalls lining one side, I figured out it was a horse barn, but there weren’t any horses at the moment. Skylights were centered at the top, revealing the night sky. Other lights hung around the area, some in the stalls and others placed sporadically on the walls. A massive deer horn chandelier hung from the center of the room, and there was an upper loft area that had a winding staircase leading up to it.
As for the space? There was a crap load of it.
All of the stall doors were open—apart from a few, and I could only imagine what was happening inside them—and people stood everywhere, some dancing, others just hanging out. And some were eating each other’s faces.
Maverick led me through the crowd, and he was searching for someone by the way his gaze moved around the room.
“Who are you looking for?” I asked, having to talk loud in order for him to hear me.
“Noah,” he answered, tossing me a smile over his shoulder.
It wasn’t too difficult to find him. The blue hair was a dead giveaway. Noah had spiked it up, greatly resembling one of the guys from theDragon Ball Zcartoon. He was dressed as some assassin by the looks of it. A pair of swords was in a holster on his back, and he had a belt with ninja throwing stars clipped on it.
“Hey!” Noah exclaimed once seeing us. “Glad you guys could make it.” His gaze moved between me and Mav before he broke out into a huge grin. “Seriously… Thor and Loki? Could you guys get any cuter?”
“What are you supposed to be?” I asked, cocking my head.
“My character fromDead Smash,” he answered before flashing a bright, white smile. “And Bas is my pet zombie. He’s around here somewhere.”
A guy ran up to Noah, shoving a red cup into his hand. “Drink up, bro.”
“Jace…” Noah shook his head.
“Stop the bitchin’ and drink,” Jace demanded. He was dressed as a cop, but like, a super sexy version of one. His shirt was unbuttoned, revealing his sculpted, smooth chest, and the sleeves were cut off. “You’re gonna have fun, dammit, even if I have to get a funnel and force it down your throat.”
“Fine!” Noah took a big gulp before making a disgusted face. He hadn’t swallowed it yet, and by the expression on his face, I knew he’d rather spit it out.
Jace covered Noah’s mouth. “Swallow.”
“That’s what he said,” Maverick said.
That did it.
Noah spewed the beer all over Jace. It was a blend of laughing and choking.
I think anyone within a five foot radius started laughing, especially when Jace turned around with such a pissed look on his face. He took off his hat and flicked it back and forth, causing the beer to sling off.
People around him moved out of the way as some of it hit them.
“You know what?” Jace said, looking down at his soaked clothes. “I can work with this.”
Then, he took off his shirt, which made all the girls catcall him. He didn’t seem to care about them, though, which surprised me. He gave off the man-whore vibe, but didn’t even look at the all the girls dressed in practically nothing. Why?
I got my answer when a pretty brunette girl walked up and kissed him on the cheek. She was in a female version of his outfit, showing off her long legs, and average sized waist.
“Happy early birthday, Noah,” she said in a sweet voice.
“Thanks, Elizabeth,” Noah replied, still grinning. “You’re lookin’ hot tonight.”
She blushed. “Thank you. It’s not usually my style, but your brother wanted to coordinate our costumes. It’s not too slutty?”
“Not at all.”
I forgot all about them when Maverick leaned in and whispered in my ear, “Wanna dance?”
His hot breath at my neck sent chills throughout my body. Even though I couldn’t dance to save my life, I nodded.
