Page 105 of House of Bass

We separate from mother and father and move to where my friends stand. My phone has been switched off for days, so I haven’t spoken to any of them, including Arden. Dan and the others are huddled together, smiling as we head their way. I can’t help but try to subtly search for Arden. And I realise MJ isn’t here either. Our relationship has felt strange lately. I have been avoiding her; using the showcase practice as a reason for our limited contact.

“He’s not here yet,” Nic’s voice cuts into my train of thought, as he pulls me into a hug and whispers in my ears.

“Who?” I narrow my eyes at him but he just laughs.

“You look beautiful, by the way. You too, Harley.”

“Thank you,” she says shyly.

“That’s right, my girl is the most stunning one here,” Scarlett agrees, coming up from behind, wrapping her arms around Harley’s middle. Her gold dress is long, sleeveless and metallic, no doubt expensive so she clearly had to have gotten it from Luke. “Happy birthday, baby.”

“Thank you.” They kiss and begin to whisper to one another.

“Where’s trouble?” Dan asks.

“Loo,” I answer absentmindedly as I have stopped paying attention to him when I notice Luke lounging by himself sipping a bottle of beer and I excuse myself from my friends and walk up to him, “I don’t remember seeing that on the list of drinks tonight.”

He smiles when he sees me, “That’s why I apply BOYB to every situation.”

“If I’d known I would've done the same.”

“Considering this is your gaff you basically have.”

We smile at each other, one that reaches our eyes. But I can’t help but wonder what he is doing here. We were able to get Scarlett in via mother but him…

“I didn’t realise you knew my father,” I question.

“Never said I did.”

“My mother, then?” I raise an eyebrow, the implications clear.

He rolls his lips in humour, “What if I just came to see you?”

“I’d say you were playing a dangerous game, Lucas Carney.”

“I like games. Don’t you?” And there it is again, that smile that makes smart girls do stupid things. He holds out his hand, “Dance with me?”

I look from his hand to his eyes, “I didn’t realise you can dance.”

“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, Belle.” I take it and he pulls me to the middle of the room. He’s better than I ever could’ve imagined, maybe just as good as me.

“Who taught you to dance?”

“My mum, before she died. It was her favourite thing to do. She’d hold dance parties in her living room with me and Pose.” There is a distant gaze in his eyes as he talks about her.

“Well, she did an amazing job.”

He looks down at me smiling and we continue to dance until a voice cuts in.

“Can I steal your date for a second?” We simultaneously turn to see a ticked off Arden who is staring at where Lucas’s hand is around my waist and I step out of his embrace. Almost like a child getting caught doing something wrong, but I wasn't. Right?

“I’ll see you later, Belle.” He winks and walks off and I turn to look at Arden. There is something wrong, he feels different.

Arden takes my hand and we both dance slowly to the orchestral music playing in the background. I try not to lean too much into him but can’t help myself. My whole being gravitates towards him.

“You don’t have to be so territorial, we’re just friends.”

“Friends… like you and I are?” He raises an eyebrow.