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“Ladies!” Prince happens to walk right past us with a friend I don’t recognize, maybe another guy from college.
A leery grin happens on my face. Sometimes all a man needs to inspire him is a little healthy competition.
“Prince! Hey! What are you doing here?”
“We just happened to end up here after hopping at a couple of nearby bars!” he hollers. “Glad we ran into you ladies.”
He winks at Eriu before giving me a showstopping smile.
“You know…” I say, giving Eriu a knowing look. “Eriu was just telling me how she wishes she had someone to dance with.”
“Ugh, I did?”
“Yeah, don’t you remember?” I pop my eyes and bounce a quick glance at Devlin, hoping she understands where I’m going with this.
“Oh! Yeah. Must be the margarita I had earlier, already going to my head.” She laughs. “I’d love to dance with you.”
Prince holds out his hand, and she places hers in his.
And that’s when I see it: Devlin’s fist curling at his side until it trembles. But the man doesn’t move an inch, carefully watching her as she heads for the dance floor, leaving me with what’s-his-face.
“I’m Tim,” the stranger announces, nervously peering around the room. “Wanna dance maybe?”
“N—”
But then I think about how I can make my own stalker a little jealous. He could surely use a little motivation. Maybe then he’d actually rip off his mask and kiss me so no one else can. Not that I’d let anyone kiss me. No one but him…
But he doesn’t need to know that.
I wander my attention around the bar, knowing he’s here somewhere. Knowing he’ll see me dancing with a man that isn’t him. Knowing it’ll make him crazy.
At least I hope it will.
My smile stretches before I say, “Okay, Tim. Let’s go.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
KAYLA
I slide up beside Eriu,Tim coming up behind me, hands on my hips as I let the music consume me. My eyes closed, I drown in the beat while a man I don’t know dances behind me, real close.
Too close.
I don’t know how long we dance, but one song slips into another, and when I look around, I don’t find A anywhere. Then again, he wouldn’t wear a mask here, would he? He’d wanna blend into the crowd.
Chris is watching from some obscure corner while Devlin is still glaring at Eriu, probably thinking of ways to kill Prince.
When the current song ends, I excuse myself and head for the restroom. This has been kinda fun so far.
I hate celebrating my birthday. Being the center of attention isn’t something I ever looked forward to, and I know my parentswill want to make a big deal about it, and so will my friends. But today is nice. Just being out with Eriu, dancing, having a drink, is enough. So I want to enjoy it for what it is before reality sets in.
“Excuse me,” I say to someone just as I round the corner toward the narrow pathway leading to the restrooms.
It’s kinda sketchy here, even with the few drunk women laughing as they strut past me.
Before I can enter, I feel someone behind me. Breathing heavy, warmth of a body practically touching mine. An uneasy feeling washes over me, scurrying up my arms like a deadly threat.
When I try to look behind me, a hand snaps to the back of my neck. “Look straight ahead and make a left past the bathrooms.”
