I whip around to look at her, leaning against the bar. The man behind her bumps her, but he might as well not be there at all.
“What?”
“He came here because he wanted to dance withyou.”
“No, he came here because he wanted to experience humanity or whatever. And he is. Look at him.”
We both look over in time to see Starlight's head to pop up above the bodies around him.His eyes scan the walls, the tables, and then the bar.
They stop right on me.Thank God it's dark in this club, so Mackenzie can't see that I'm blushing.
“I’ve never seen you look at anybody like that.”
I force myself to look away from Star long enough to scowl at my sister. “What are you talking about?”
“You know what I'm talking about.”
Yeah, I know what she's talking about.
I sigh. “I can't help it, okay? He's nice and, like, happy and enthusiastic.”
Her eyes search mine.I know she can see it, the thing I'm not saying, the thing I am definitelynevergoing to say.
“Maybe he doesn't have to go,” she says.
I shake my head and look back at the dance floor. Star has been swallowed in the crowd. “Can you even hear yourself?What, he's supposed to walk into town and buy groceries looking the way he does?That definitely wouldn’t raise any questions. It’s not like Black Forest has a population of 10,000 or anything,” I say sarcastically.
Not to mention the scary pain that Star has been feeling that I can’t explain but that is definitely proof that he needs to go back where he came from. I don’t want to tell Mackenzie about that. It’ll just freak her out.
She shrugs.“So, you figure something out.” She chews at her lip and then shrugs again.“I worry about you, Mason.”
I take a long drink of my water to cool my heated skin. “I know you do.And you don't have to.”
She waves her hands. “I know. You're a capable adult, and that's fine.I just worry that you get lonely.”
“I have you.”
“That's not enough, and you know it.What happens when I meet someone?What if I move away?”
Panic lances through me. “Are you thinking about moving away?”
“No, but who knows what will happen?It's just nice to see you so happy.”
“I’m not usually unhappy.”
“I know.But this is, like, really,reallyhappy. And you deserve that.”
I know everything she's saying doesn't matter.Star can't stay. There's no way.
When I find him with my eyes again on the dance floor, the crowd parting for just a moment, he seems to have settled nicelyinto his skin, closing his eyes and tipping his head backas he moves.
My god, he's so sexy. So sexy, in fact, that it shouldn't be all that surprisingwhen someone sidles up behind him. A man almost as tall as he is.
He's bald, wearing a skin-tightshirt. And I see through a break in the bodies that he settles his hands on Star's hips.I also see that the movement startles Star. His eyes pop open, and I'm already moving.
But then he covers the man's hands with his own and smiles.
My steps skitter to a halt. He's enjoying it, having this man pressed against him. I should have known. Star is so openly sensual, so excited about discovering what he can dowith his body. And me, I'm just the first human that he came into contact with.
