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“Always worth a shot.” I gave him one last smile before heading into the crowd that danced and drank under colored lights.
I weaved between people, heading for the bar. I’d just slid onto a black-cushioned barstool when a guy dropped into the seat beside me. He looked young, probably about my age. I was guessing there was some Latin American in his family tree. His hair was just a couple of inches shorter than shaggy and dark scruff covered his face, more than a five-o’clock shadow but not quite a beard. He was dressed in plain jeans and a gray T-shirt. He was cute and didn’t have that scheming look that existed in the eyes of every paparazzi and gold digger.
He signaled the bartender and ordered a Bud Light.
Gayle filled a glass for him and looked at me expectantly.
“Mimosa,” I told her.
“Interesting choice for an after-dinner drink,” my neighbor said. “I’m Shawn, by the way.” He held out a hand.
“Adeline,” I replied, taking his offered hand and shaking. Introducing myself by my middle name at Youngblood had actually been a suggestion of Jules’s two years ago when I first started coming to the club. Youngblood didn’t cater to paparazzi or journalists, but if I went throwing my name around, there was a chance someone would figure out why I might have looked familiar.
Shawn and I made conversation over our drinks. He was sweet and was about to be a carpentry student. When our glasses were empty, he hopped off his chair and gave me a lopsided smile. “Dance?”
I grinned. “Sure, why not.” I let him help me down from my chair, and we made our way into the throng on the dance floor.
Shawn wasn’t winning anyDancing with the Starsawards anytime soon, but he smiled and laughed so easily that it was impossible not to enjoy myself with him. I felt normal. Of course, that was probably because Shawn didn’t know that my life wasn’t usually like this. He had no idea whom I was related to.
With my arms wrapped around his neck, I let my head fall back and laughed as he spun me around so my feet lifted off the floor. Damn, this boy wasstrong. He set me back on my feet, his hands loosening on my waist so I could move to the beat of the music. When I looked up at him, he was giving me that same crooked smile from earlier.
“I am so sorry for asking you to dance with me,” he shouted over the music. “I had no idea how good you were at this.”
“Don’t be sorry. This is the best moment of my week.”
“Yeah? Does that mean we can do this again sometime?”
“That depends.”
“On…?”
I nodded back toward the bar. This wasn’t a conversation meant for the dance floor. “How often do you come here, and do you want to risk not being allowed back? I’m a regular. I pay a yearly fee so I don’t have to carry around cash for the entrance fee. I’m close to nearly every bouncer and bartender here. If I don’t want you here, you won’t be welcome.”
“And you’re already planning an end to our friendship?” Shawn’s expression was sad, and I mourned the loss of the light, fun feeling we’d had on the dance floor.
“I just want to be honest.” I took a deep breath. “Adeline is my middle name. I use it here so that people won’t figure out who I am and start treating me differently. Outside these walls, I’m not this.” I held my hands out at my sides, feeling helpless.
Shawn frowned and ran a hand through his hair. “Are you famous or something? I don’t really keep up with celebrity gossip.”
“I’m not famous, but I’m close enough to it for it to affect my life.”
A few years ago, I would have given Shawn a chance without trying to explain what he was getting himself into. Maybe we would just be friends, or maybe we’d really hit it off and I’d think I was happy, that he could be the man I’d fall in love with. But I’d been there before. The good ones—the genuine regular guys—they get tired of the cameras, the drama, the charity balls full of snooty rich people who are all trying to out-generous each other. I wasn’t worth the complications. And somehow that hurt so much more than realizing someone was only after your money.
“How about this?” Shawn said. “You don’t tell me your first name. You can put yourself in my phone as Adeline. And maybe we can meet here again.”
“You’re not even curious what I’m hiding?”
He grinned. “Of course I’m curious, but I’d rather have your friendship than your secrets. If you ever decide you want to tell me, I’ll be happy to listen.”
I returned his smile. “Give me your phone.”
We exchanged numbers and made our way back to the dance floor until Shawn had to head out.
It was only nine at night, and I wasn’t ready to leave the club yet. I sat down at the bar and ordered another cocktail.
“You lost your dance partner, I see,” Gayle said as she placed my drink on the bar in front of me.
I shrugged. “I’ll survive.”
