Page 118 of The Lost and the Found

I dug in my heels, trying to explain to her that I didn’t dance, but Veena was a force to be reckoned with. And for such a tiny thing, she sure was strong. She didn’t even break a sweat pulling me all the way across the dance floor, and then she proceeded to dance around me while I stood there awkwardly, as still as a statue.

Veena laughed and grabbed my hips, wiggling them a little. “Dance, Hayden!”

I shook my head. I pointed to the bar, where we just were, and she shook her head. “Come on, Hayden. Dance with me. I know you want to.”

And then she swung her arms around her head and shook her hips in the most ridiculous fashion that I couldn’t help but laugh. I knew what she was trying to do. She was telling me it was okay if I didn’t know how to dance. It was okay if I looked silly doing it, because she was doing it with me.

She grabbed my hands then, and when she moved, I did too.

I felt weird, but a quick look around told me no one was watching us, and her laughter was so infectious that I was laughing right along with her.

She grabbed my shoulders and wiggled her eyebrows in a suggestive way before bumping her hips with mine. She smiled, and the light gleamed off her white teeth.

I didn’t know what stirred the memory, but suddenly I wasn’t at a club, but in a small apartment with a teenaged Veena, dancing around a cramped living room.

What the hell?

I frowned at her then, and it took a moment or two before she realized I was no longer dancing with her.

“What is it?” she asked.

I shook my head and pointed to the bar, motioning with my hand that I was thirsty.

She nodded, though there was a frown on her face. I didn’t wait for her to say any more and walked over to the barstool, taking a seat and ordering a glass of water.

I took a sip, thankful for the coldness as it touched my lips, and watched Veena.

From the very first moment we met, there was something familiar about her. And the way she grabbed my hands and moved me with her felt not just familiar, but almost like a déjà vu. And that memory… was it a memory, or simply my active imagination fueled by alcohol and stress? Veena said we had never met before, so why would she lie?

If I had met Veena before tonight, that would probably mean I had met Logan before as well. It would certainly explain why he felt so familiar to me the first time I saw him. But the feeling wasn’t as strong. Not like it was with Veena.

I watched as two guys approached her, probably asking her to dance. She shook her head and said something that made them move away pretty quickly.

Veena was everything I was not, and everything I admired. Confident, strong, social.And there was this pull about her that made me feel warm. I didn’t know if I could tack it up to the familiarity I felt with her, or if it was just her personality in general. Either way, I felt drawn to her.

And that didn’t make sense. I wasn’t drawn to strangers mere hours after meeting them. It had taken me a lot longer than that to trust Logan, and he was the man I loved.

A shadow fell over my left side then, and a man leaned in and shot perhaps the cheesiest line I had ever heard.

“We’re not socks, but I think you and I would make a great pair.”

I looked at him, and because he had caught me off guard, but I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “What?”

He grinned and even I could admit this man was good-looking. He was probably around my age, if not a couple of years older. He had blond hair, brown eyes, and a scruff on his square jawline. He wasn’t too big, lankier than Logan, definitely, but still muscular, something I noticed from the tight-fitting knitted sweater he wore.

“Too cheesy?” he asked. I nodded. “Well how about this: I’m no photographer, but I can picture you and me together.”

I snorted another laugh and shook my head.

He kept going. “Quick, I need you to hold me so I can tell my friends I’ve been touched by an angel.”

“What did you do? Memorize cheesy pick-up lines before you went out?”

He clutched his heart, as if I’d hurt him. “That was harsh. How will I ever recover?” His brown eyes lit up and his smile widened. “I know. If you let me buy you a drink and tell me your name, I’ll not only recover, but I might just cure cancer.”

Okay, I could acknowledge this man was pretty charming.

He certainly had my attention and that wasn’t easy, considering how I tended to stay away from strangers. But I wasn’t going to lead him on. “I’m sorry. I’m here with my friend, and I already have a boyfriend waiting for me at home.”

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