Page 70 of Crew Girl

“I’m going to take your word for that,” Cam said, laughing. “Either way, if they go to war over this, I bet the bombs will be filled with glitter.”

Teagan spat out the mouthful of soda she’d just taken. “Oh my god, could you warn me before saying things like that?” Laughing, she grabbed his napkin and dabbed at the tablecloth. “This is too much fun.”

“Agreed.” Cam grinned at her. He really did look happy. He pointed at her plate. “Are you going to finish that? I’m starving.”

“All yours, Superman.”

“What?”

“Nothing. If you eat all of the salad, I promise I’ll find a way to get you a burger later.”

“You are the perfect date, Teagan Tao,” he said, stabbing a forkful of salad. “I’m glad you asked me out.”

She was, too. More than glad, actually. She was happy.

JOSH

Josh had finished his dessert in about two seconds. How on earth Britney was still picking at hers was beyond. Why was the food at these things always so small? Didn’t matter. Sugar was never far away.

“Hey, Brit,” he whispered.

She leaned in.

“Some of the guys want to do a doughnut run. You in?”

She recoiled as if he’d just suggested turning the event into a WME match. “There is no way powdered sugar is going near this dress. And we can’t just leave. We’re the King and Queen.”

He knew. Wearing that crown had threatened to crush a vertebra. “I thought kings and queens got to make the rules. C’mon. No one’s going to care if we’re gone for twenty minutes. They’ll probably think we’re making out somewhere.”

“I’ll care.” Britney turned her ice machine on, sending frosty vibes his way. “I don’t want to miss any part of our night.”

Meaning, if I’m staying, so are you. We’re a couple.

Dance music started blaring from the speakers and the lights dimmed. Coach’s daughter, Madison, tested out the mic. She was spinning discs for them tonight. “Hello, hello. And now for a little something to really start the evening’s festivities.”

Chairs were already being pushed back. Jackets draped on chairs. High heels kicked off.

Baloo whooped, “Yeah, baby! This is my JAM!” and ran onto the dance floor. Normally Josh would be running on with him, but he was still wanting a doughnut. What was up with him tonight?

“Let’s talk about it later, babe.” Britney rose, wiggled her fingers at him. “C’mon. The dance floor is calling me.”

Another photo op, more like. He’d seen her signal to the photographer. Knew she expected him to play his part. So why did he feel so irritated as he led her onto the dance floor, made sure her “best side” was showing when he twirled her around?

Hopefully he could dance off whatever had gotten under his skin. If not, he didn’t want to be anywhere near Britney when she got the photographer’s proofs. There might be proof of something else even he wasn’t ready to acknowledge.

CAM

If the night had ended about thirty seconds ago, Cam would’ve been quietly confident he and Teagan would be putting a third date on the calendar. They’d had fun being part of the royal court, but they’d also had fun just the two of them. He felt like they’d never run out of things to say to each other. Until now.

He’d been so pumped when Teagan had asked him to be her date, he got tunnel vision. Poured his energies into panicking about what to wear and had forgotten one very important thing: Formal dances involved dancing.

Everyone was heading out onto the floor. Even Noah had put down his book to throw some shapes. Teagan had stayed at the table with him, but he could tell she was itching to get out there with the rest of the crew.

She leaned close so he could hear her above the music. He tried to memorize the scent of her shampoo because chances were this was the last time he’d be close enough to smell it.

“I know a way you can really get the team behind you.”

Great. He was up for it.