The group dispersed, and Mimi ran out to the street, where their car was waiting. "Jack, are you coming?" she asked, turning around impatiently.
"You're leaving?" Schuyler asked.
"For now. I'll explain later, okay?" he said, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. Then he let go.
Schuyler shook her head. No. Why did he have to go? She wanted him to stay by her side, not run off again somewhere without her. Her lips still ached with the force of his kiss, her cheeks red from his stubble.
"Don't be like that. Remember what I said. Be careful. Don't go anywhere without Beauty."
She nodded mutely, and was about to turn away. Then, as if she thought better of it, she reached out and grabbed his arm. "Jack."
"Yes?"
"I..." she faltered. She knew what she wanted to tell him, but she couldn't bring herself to say the words.
It turned out she didn't have to. Jack put a hand on his heart and nodded. "I feel the same way about you."
Then he turned around and disappeared inside the black Town Car that was carrying his twin.
;
CHAPTER 27
What was up with the dry ice? It was like a bad magic show in there. Bliss shooed away some freshmen helping themselves to more than one goodie bag on the exit table, and circled the room. She felt a rising panic. She couldn't find Dylan anywhere. The one guy she wanted to see, and he was missing.
She flopped down on the leather couch and looked at the hallway leading to the massage rooms. Two people were making out behind the ice sculpture. The taller figure looked familiar - that worn, beaten leather sleeve, the fringes of that white silk scarf - it had to be...
"Dylan?" Bliss asked.
Mimi turned around. Shit. She should have taken him into the bathroom or somewhere more private. She retracted her fangs quickly and put on her most dazzling smile.
"Bliss, sweetie. There you are," she said.
Dylan turned around, his eyes glassy and unfocused. "What are you doing?" Bliss asked Mimi.
"Nothing." Mimi shrugged. "We were just talking."
Bliss pulled Dylan out of the shadowy corner. She checked his neck for marks, but there were none. Good. She glared at Mimi and led him away.
"What were you doing with her?" Bliss demanded.
Dylan shrugged. He hadn't even realized he was with Mimi Force. He'd been lost in a daze, as if he were under a spell. He blinked his eyes and looked at Bliss. "Where have you been?" he asked, his voice suddenly normal.
"Looking for you," she said.
He smiled.
"C'mon, I want to show you my room," Bliss said.
Dylan looked strange in the confines of her bedroom. It was as if he were too male, too dirty... too real. He smirked at her white princess bed with the fluffy floral comforter, at the pale green rug, the pink wallpaper, the white wicker armoire, the four-story dollhouse, the theater lights on her vanity table.
"Okay, I know. It's a little girlie," she conceded.
"A little?" he teased.
"It's not me. It's my stepmother. She thinks I'm still like, twelve or something."
Dylan grinned. He shut the door softly and dimmed the lights.