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“What song do you mean?” Drew asked.
“The one for your first dance, at your wedding!” Roddy yelled. “‘Thirsting for You,’ remember? I got the Rumors to try it out in our rehearsal this afternoon, just in case, and they liked it. I’ll make sure it’s in the first set!”
“Hey, look at you, Roddy,” Cherise called out. “You’re using one of my sleeve decorations. Looks supertough. Good choice.”
“Yep, I went with Sith Lord tonight. Decided not to use the light strands, though. Didn’t want to draw too much attention to the arm. Could look gimmicky.”
“Me, I went with Fairy Kingdom today,” Cherise said, holding up her own arm.
“Hey, I gotta go. We’re about to go on,” Roddy said. “Cherise, come on backstage with me and I’ll introduce you to Bose, the bass player.” He gave them a conspiratorial grin. “She has a crush on him,” he added, in a stage whisper that was more like a shout.
“Nah, I’m just a big fan,” Cherise protested. “Later, guys!”
Roddy and Cherise plunged into the crowd and were swiftly lost to sight.
Drew and Jenna looked at each other. She leaned forward and yelled into his ear. “Let’s go to the room near the front entrance and get a drink. It’s quieter out there.”
“Sure.” Drew slid his arm into hers, and his body got a tingling jolt of Jenna hyperawareness, even through all the layers of fabric.
They found seats at the bar and placed their orders. One of the problems about having to keep his distance emotionally was that he no longer knew how the hell to start a conversation with her.
“I’m sorry that Ava’s schedule is stressing you out,” he told her. “She just doesn’t know when to stop. It’s the source of her superpower. It’s also a huge pain in the ass.”
“I can’t deny that it’s working,” Jenna said. “My team are over the moon at how much attention Arm’s Reach is getting. And this thing with Michael and the Angel Ascending producers, well. It’s incredible, but I’m just not sure how I feel about it.”
“I’m glad something useful is coming of it for you,” he said. “I was afraid that all my bad press could be damaging to you.”
“Not at all. I think it’s more like the spice that makes it interesting. You know. The rum in the eggnog. The hot pepper in the salsa.”
He snorted. “I’m glad it’s good for something.”
The bartender delivered their drinks. Jenna sipped her margarita, and turned to him, frowning thoughtfully. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“The guy who threw that infamous party, the one where you got photographed,” she said. “He’s made quite a name for himself.”
“Arnold Sobel,” he said. “Yes, he has. What about him?”
“I was just wondering why you would hang out with a guy like that. He doesn’t seem your type. Why go to that party in the first place?”
Just mentioning Sobel’s party made tension grip him, as if it had just happened. His stomach heaved nastily. “I knew him way back,” he said. “In my crazy partying days, before I joined the service. I only went there as a favor for a friend.”
“Ah,” she murmured. “Why am I not surprised?”
“Excuse me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing bad,” she assured him. “By no means. It’s just that helping people seems to be how you roll. It comes naturally to you.”
“My friend Raisa heard that her sister Leticia had gone to that party,” he told her. “She’s been in some trouble already, and Raisa got nervous. Leticia wasn’t answering her phone, and Raisa panicked. She knew I knew Sobel. So she begged me to go to his party and check up on her.”
“Did you find Leticia?”
He shook his head.
“Ah.” Jenna cocked her head to the side, frowning. “That’s strange.”
“Yes, it was,” he agreed. “The whole thing stank.”
