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“Ouch.” He clenched his chest. “Way to stomp on my heart.”
There was so much I wanted to say at that moment but couldn’t find the words. Instead, I sipped my drink until he suggested, “Hey, let’s join the others on the dance floor.”
I grinned, then finished the last of my drink. “Lead the way.”
We maneuvered through the crowd to where Taylor was already tearing it up with Chris. Our other friends watched while slowly dancing themselves. Ezra and I joined the fun, moving to the beat and losing ourselves in the moment, until out of nowhere, Harper ran off.
CHAPTER FOUR
EZRA
I watched as the girls followed the one who had rushed off the dance floor. “What the hell was that?”
Jason lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know. We were just dancing and her eyes grew big and she ran away.”
“Dude, did you scare her off?” Mike chuckled.
Jason rolled his eyes. “No way, man. I mean, I’m a lot of things, but intimidating isn’t one of them.”
Mike laughed, slapping Jason on the back. “Maybe she just couldn’t handle your killer dance moves.”
“The one dancing with Chris should be scared,” Jason replied.
“Hey now. I’ve got moves,” Chris argued and wiggled his hips.
“Seriously, though,” I interjected, and scanned the room for any sign of them. “We should find out what happened. Maybe she’s upset about something.”
Jason shrugged again. “Or maybe she’s playing hard to get. You know how these things go.”
Mike grinned. “Ah, the classic chase. I like it.”
I sighed, realizing I was the only one taking the situation seriously. “Guys, come on. It looked like something was wrong. We can’t just ignore that.”
They exchanged glances, and then, as if on cue, nodded in agreement.
“Fine,” Jason said and started in the direction they had run off to. “Let’s go see what’s up.”
We navigated through the crowd, the pulsating music thumped around us that mirrored my racing thoughts. When we reached the restrooms, the women were nowhere in sight. Maybe they had skipped the line somehow?
“Let’s go get a drink,” Chris said. “I’m thirsty, and we can watch for them from the bar.”
My friends turned and left, but I stayed by the bathroom door, hoping that was where they had gone. While my friends didn’t seem too worried, I was. I stood there for several minutes, watching women come and go out of the door and none of them were the girls from the subway.
I couldn’t believe she had left without saying goodbye … again.
* * *
About seven and a half years ago
The New York City skyline twinkled as Logan and I stood on the terrace of her parents’ penthouse apartment. We leaned against the railing, looking out at the city, while the distant hum of traffic and the occasional sirens were the only sounds. Both of us were silent and lost in our own heads.
The air hung heavy with humidity, the only thing I wouldn’t miss when I left in the morning to drive to Tempe for college. She was staying in NYC to attend Columbia, and the thought of living almost 2500 miles apart was killing me. Her parents had graciously given us space for the evening and gone out to dinner, leaving us alone in the apartment.
“It’s so hard to believe it’s our last night,” Logan whispered, her voice barely audible over the city noise.
“Yeah,” I agreed, my throat tight. “Feels like just yesterday I got accepted.”
“Let’s go to my room.” She turned her body to face me.
