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I gestured toward the empty dance floor. “It’s early. No one’s dancing yet.”
“Someone has to make the first move,” he said, mischief dancing in his eyes.
“Maybe we should get a drink first? Say hi to the guys?”
“Nah. They’ll be here all night. C’mon.”
He pulled me toward the dance floor. I went willingly, my heart racing. His fingers twined with mine were almost too much, and I had to break the tension. So I said, “Wanna see me do the Electric Slide? I’m pretty good.”
We laughed, and he pulled me in by my belt loops. My breath came in fast as I licked my lips, babbling, “My mom taught me. She thought it’d make me cool at high school dances.”
Daniel shook his head. “Something tells me it didn’t help.” He tugged me in closer, my belt loops straining against his fingers.
I swallowed hard as the Deee-Lite song ended, and the opening power chords of “Where Does My Heart Beat Now” by Céline Dion echoed off the walls around us.
Daniel raised an eyebrow. “Do you like this song too?”
“My mom does.”
He laughed and bent close enough that I shivered when he whispered in my ear, “But doyoulike it?”
“No, but I think I’ll like dancing with you.”
Daniel’s fingers released my belt loops, and he rested his arms loosely on my shoulders. We swayed back and forth. “Are you flirting with me?”
I swallowed, heat rising up my neck. I shouldn’t be, but I was, and I didn’t want to stop. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Just mean it.”
I bit my lip and looked away. Daniel tugged me closer, pulling me flush against his body. As the chorus amped up, flooding the room with Céline’s powerhouse vocals, he wrapped his arms around me and rocked me back and forth.
I did mean it. Every glance, every giddy feeling—it was real and it filled me up. But I hadn’t broken up with Adam, had I? So I couldn’t act on my feelings. It wasn’t right.
Daniel smelled so good, like warm bread and clover. I tilted my head toward his neck, trying to surreptitiously take it in. I rested my cheek against his shoulder, and Daniel sighed gently, tugging me even closer.
We danced for the full song alone. When we broke apart, a smattering of applause came from the darker corners. Daniel bowed and wrapped his arm around my neck again, leading me from the dance floor. My skin felt tight, like I was holding in too much giddy joy, and I was going to burst into a confetti mess of glitter and inappropriate feelings.
“Hey, listen—no pressure,” Daniel said, pulling away as we headed toward the bar where Minty had joined Windy and Antonio. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Yeah, I know. There’s just…I have…”
“A boyfriend.” Daniel nodded. “I remember.”
I refused to let guilt mar the night. Adam and his feelings didn’t fit here. So what if I’d danced with a friend I happened to have a crush on? What was that, really, compared to what Adam was doing and had done? So long as Daniel knew where we stood, I wasn’t hurting anyone by enjoying our attraction.
Windy and Antonio greeted us with colas when we joined them at the bar. I was glad Daniel was the designated driver, so I wasn’t the only one not drinking. I still hated the lame stamp on my hand, but at least I was allowed in the club. Minty paused in the story he was relating for long enough to send me a pointed look and slip his arm around Daniel’s waist for a quick hug.
“Bienvenue!” Windy said, clinking his beer against my Coke. “Glad to see you here again.” He leaned close and whispered, “Daniel’s been hoping you’d be back.”
“Yeah?”
“You like him?”
I glanced at Daniel using his hands as he described one of the scenes fromNaked Gunwhile Minty tried to talk over him about the theater employee.
“It doesn’t matter if I like him. I have a—”
“Boyfriend,” Windy said for me.
