“What’s next?” I glanced at the time on my phone. It was just past eleven o’clock. Still plenty of night left. Normally, I would be ready to go home, but the mixture of liquid courage and Carina’s absence made me reluctant to leave. Plus the boys had mentioned an after-party. I’d never been to an after-party.
“You want to go with the guys?” Grey asked. “There’s an—”
“Yes,” I said before he could finish.
He blinked at me, and I flashed my best attempt at an endearing smile. It seemed to work because he smiled back at me, glancing down to take in my whole self. Unlike when Carina did it, his inspection made me feel a warmth that had nothing to do with my buzz.
We left the Nocturn shortly after—the band got a couple of Ubers to pick us up. Grey and I sat alone in the back of one as the college town passed by outside the windows. It seemed sleepy without the majority of the students livening the place up. On a normal night, hordes of people would be stumbling around on the sidewalks, but tonight only a few older people and a couple of straggling students who’d yet to leave for the holiday remained.
On the way, Grey chatted excitedly about the gig, how he’d felt about his performance, and how the crowd had reacted to it. “We just keep getting better and better crowds.” He grinned.
I couldn’t help but smile back. The energy had been intoxicating. I could see why he loved what he did—even if I would prefer the quiet solitude of writing in my room. “You’re going to be famous, you know.”
Grey rubbed the back of his neck, an oddly nervous gesture for him. He was usually stupendously confident. “I don’t know about that, but what’s happening now is fun.”
“You don’t have to believe me,” I said, smug. “I know.”
We arrived at our destination then. It was one of the enormous apartment buildings just outside of North Campus. Off campus meant no RAs could crash the party.
I was getting dangerously close to sober as we left the car behind, and the idea that this would be a good time quickly devolved into dread of a social situation. Not to mention, my elation at Carina’s absence had since given way to a burning curiosity at what had been said before she left. I glanced at Grey, opening my mouth to ask the question before deciding it wasbetter to remain silent. I needed the night to be fun. So I tried to push down any negative feelings and followed Grey upstairs.
The party was easy enough to find—we just had to follow the loud music and drunk yelling. Once inside, we made a beeline for the drink table. It was the usual house party selection—cheap beer, boxed wine, and bottom-shelf liquor.
“What are we drinking?” Grey asked.
“Hard to choose. There are so many great options,” I said dryly.
He smirked. “Beer sounds good.” He poured each of us a cup from the nearby keg, handing me one.
I sipped the foam off the top of my beer. It was cold and not completely terrible. It would do.
“Is this party for Dreamscape?” I asked over the music to keep myself from bringing up Carina’s conversation with Grey.
Grey laughed. “No, I wish. It’s just some end-of-semester celebration.”
“Lame. It should’ve been for you. You guys were great.” I looked at him through my eyelashes.When did I pick up onthathabit?I was used to being on the receiving end of it from girls, but nowIwas doing it. Jesus.
“I’m glad you enjoyed the show.” Grey sipped his drink.
“So, what did Carina say to you earlier?” I blurted. I’d held it in as long as I could. Really, he couldn’t hold that against me.How am I supposed to have her be all cryptic, pull Grey aside, then leave, and not have questions?
A brief look of panic flitted over Grey’s face before he composed himself. “Nothing important.”
I didn’t buy his words for a second.
“What, did she break up with you?” I teased. Okay, I might not have been as sober as I thought when we entered the party. I glanced down at my cup and realized that somewhere in the conversation, I’d drank almost the entire beer.
The corners of Grey’s mouth twitched. “Not exactly. You know things are complicated with us.”
“I know.” I finished my beer. “I wish they weren’t.”
Unfortunately, it was then that the rest of Dreamscape caught up with us.
“We were fire!” Dae yelled excitedly. He seemed too energetic. His eyes were wide, his pupils larger than normal. Something told me that he’d found substances other than alcohol between the club and here. The other two band members—Henry and Lance, if I remembered correctly—rushed to speak over him.
“Fire? We fucking did that shit!” Henry said. “Lance, you sounded so good tonight.”
“You killed it on ‘Game of Love,’” Lance said. “I was worried I messed it up there for a second.”
