I put the glass on the doily-covered table at the side of the room, and found a spot at the wall to rest against as I shook off any bad effects.
Pushing up my glasses, I sought Shannon and Quinn, locking my eyes onto them as they started another dance. They moved together with little grace, but plenty of humor, and the force of their laughter travelled to me from halfway across the room.
A strange longing to walk up to them and say hello tickled at me. But a “hello” out of the blue? That was hardly appropriate, was it? They were barely acquaintances. Sure they’d helped me to the hospital, and Quinn had stayed over one night, but they were just being good Samaritans, that was all. I was a tiny blip on their past radar readings, which they’d likely already forgotten.
Quinn hadn’t even bothered to say no to the offer of a room, nor had he said goodbye. I’d woken up to a scrawled note that said I was snoring like a healthy bastard, and that he had a self-defense class to get to. See ya later, and have a good life.
And I hadn’t minded, had I? It’d saved me from having to usher him out, since I’d left early for the library to study. And his loss about the apartment, not mine.
So why did I want to go over there now?
I pulled out the notebook I’d wedged into my pocket and tried to ignore the urge. I wrote down Dylan MacDonald and Beckman Hall, then detailed the multicultural aspects of the party. Pages of notes later, I sought them out again. Shannon finished dancing with a spiky strawberry-blond that let her lead, and fell back into Quinn’s arms.
“Just can’t get enough of this, can ya?” Quinn said, and flinched as if expecting her to—
She whacked his arm.
—yes, just that.
Suddenly, and likely a side effect of the cocktail, I was moving toward them. Maybe it wasn’t so inappropriate to go over. Fact was, Shannon and Quinn had gone out of their way for me, and I’d never thanked them for it. Yes, I should tell them I appreciated what they’d done for me.
I forced my hand off the pen in my pocket and breathed in a lungful of Axe and sweaty air.
I sidled around a dancing pair and, miscalculating my step, bumped into Shannon’s back. I gave her a small smile when she turned. “Sorry—”
“Liam!” She threw her arms around me like we were long-lost friends. She squeezed me warmly, a loose strand of her hair tickling my neck. Over her shoulder, Quinn looked puzzled. Like he was trying to figure out who I was—or maybe just what I was doing there.
“Just wanted to say thanks,” I said to him, still locked in Shannon’s mighty grip.
“No thanks needed,” Shannon murmured and pulled back. A new song started and she swayed with the beat. “You must be quite the party goer. Didn’t think I’d see you again.”
I shook my head and pushed up my glasses. “Not exactly. This is more of an occupation.”
“Occupation?” she asked.
Quinn rested his arm on Shannon’s shoulder, leaning on her, his head cocked in my direction. “He writes for Scribe.”
“Yes,” I confirmed. “The party page.”
Something behind me caught Shannon’s attention and a shadow passed over her face as she stopped dancing and frowned.
“Righty,” Quinn said, pushing off Shannon, his hand dragging down her arm to tug her hand. “I have it in me for one more dance before I call it quits.” He raised his chin at me in a See ya, mate way. Or maybe just a See ya. “Later, Liam.” The green in his eyes flattened. “All the best for finding an angle.”
I should’ve just walked away and left it at that. Except . . . I didn’t want things to end there. There was such energy around Shannon, and I was attracted to it. Curious. I shifted my gaze from her to Quinn to her again, my fingers clicking the pen in my pocket. “May I cut in for a dance?”
Shannon snapped her attention back to us, and her lips quirked at the edges. “Sorry, thought I saw my brother but I must have imagined it . . . cut in? Yeah, sure, I don’t mind.”
She untangled herself from Quinn and clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Just a word of warning though, the guy likes to lead.”
And with that, she stepped to the side and pushed her way out of the dancing crowd. Quinn’s eyes darkened, and he rested his hands on his hips.
“Uh, what?” I jerked my gaze to follow Shannon’s exit route. Had . . . had Shannon misunderstood me? I wanted to cut in for a dance, yes. But with her.
I blinked and met Quinn’s gaze. “Well this is awkward.”