Chapter 33
chapter thirty-three
luna
Kriz
Almost birthday girl!! You ready?
Luna
I thought you were picking me up at 10?? It’s only 8!
Kriz
I meant in general! Like are you ready to partyyy?
Chloe
To get shit-faced, to be exact
Luna
I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for that
An hour into my party, I danced in front of the DJ box with Kriz and Chloe on either side of me. My bright pink dress—a gift from Kriz that I initially found too skimpy—fit perfectly in the crowd with its halter top, low neckline, and mid-thigh length.
Kriz and Chloe had gone all out, scoring a U-shaped booth by the dance floor for our group of five. They’d wanted to invite more people, but I insisted on keeping the party small because I held out hope that Gabe would show. On the off-chance that he did, I knew he’d feel uncomfortable with too many people.
Not that it mattered, because it was less than an hour till midnight, and there was still no sign of him. I stopped myself from checking my phone again because even more pitiful than being an overly hopeful girl was being one who made it painfully obvious to everyone else.
That, and Chloe had threatened to confiscate my phone if I kept looking at it.
“Time for more shots!” Kriz shouted in my ear as the song ended.
“I’m good,” I said, but she tugged me toward our booth with Chloe right at my heels.
Seeing us, Kai stood and waved me to his seat. “Enjoying yourself?”
“Yeah, but I need to slow down with the alcohol.”
“No slowing down. It’s full steam ahead to twenty-one, baby,” Chloe sang out as she poured vodka into shot glasses.
I shook my head. “I want to actually be conscious for my birthday, you know.”
“You want water?” Kai asked.
“That would be amazing.” I remembered the warning Ate gave me about accepting drinks in bars when I first moved here. “Oh, can you ask for a sealed bottle?”
“I know the drill. Be right back.” He tossed me a wink, then left for the bar.
Kriz leaned into me. “Are you sure he got the memo?”
“I told you, he’s just a really good guy,” I said. “I need to find him the right match.”
“It’s your birthday. Stop thinking about matchmaking.” Chloe handed me a shot glass filled to the brim. “Stop thinking, period.”
“Oh no. This is my last shot until midnight. I want to remember tonight, not black out completely.” I gave both of them my most serious glare. My snorting laugh ruined the effect.
“We’ll take vids for you,” Kriz said.
“Last one.”
Chloe let out a dramatic sigh. “Fine. But only until midnight.”
With that, we clinked our glasses together and tossed back the vodka. It burned down my throat, and I knew I’d have to find a way to escape the next shots. My limit had always been four, and I was up to three now.
Drunk me said too much, and this was not the place to lose control.
“He’s like a big golden retriever, isn’t he?”
I followed Chloe’s stare to Kai, who dodged people while double-fisting bottles of water in both hands. “Be nice,” I hissed at her, and she rolled her eyes in response.
“Here you go, Luna.” Kai handed one of the bottles to me. “Got a couple more if anyone else wants to hydrate.”
“Thanks, Kai,” I said as I opened it. The first drink of water soothed my burning throat.
“I’ve got my hydration right here.” Chloe toasted him with her shot glass before aiming it at me. “Midnight. Don’t forget.”
I hummed noncommittally. What were the chances she’d forget with the way she knocked down shots?
Trying to act casual, I glanced around the club. Still no Gabe. I wondered if he had messaged, and then I scolded myself for obsessing over him again.
Standing, I announced, “I’m going to dance.”
“Kai, go with her,” Kriz said.
He grinned. “Hope you don’t mind my two left feet.”
“Just avoid my toes, please.” I laughed. “Let’s go.”
gabe
I shouldn’t be here.
Everything in this club was too much—the noise, the crowd, the lights. The energy. I’d lived in Sterling for almost a decade, and this was my first time stepping inside this place. If I had it my way, it would be my last too.
No force on earth could have convinced me to be here . . . except for Luna. How could I say no to her on her birthday?
Finding an empty corner in the far back, I pulled out my phone and opened our message thread. Her last text had been an hour ago when she told me she’d keep her phone in her purse so Chloe wouldn’t take it.
Luna
If you get the urge to drop by, we’re in the second booth from the right facing the stage. Just say you promised Ate you’d check on me. But no pressure!
How pathetic was it that I had to use her sister as an excuse to be at her birthday party?
I pocketed my phone and, taking a deep breath, joined the fray. The heavy electronica music—was that even the correct term?—assaulted my ears, and I wondered how anyone could talk in here. Then again, talking probably wasn’t the point. If anything, the noise provided a convenient excuse to stand too close to someone under the guise of being able to hear them.
I spotted Chloe in just that situation, standing in front of the second booth while an older man leered at her.
My feet halted a few steps away from her as I contemplated retreating. Luna wasn’t in the booth. No one had spotted me yet, which meant I could still escape.
“Professor Martins!”
Damn my indecision. And damn the DJ for turning down the music at the exact second Chloe screeched out my name.
Steeling myself, I faced her and nodded.
She stepped toward me, her mouth agape. “What are you doing here?”
The man she’d abandoned glared at me as though he saw me as competition.
“Luna’s sister asked me to check on her.” In my panic, the excuse Luna gave me spilled out.
“Oh. Well, that’s nice of you.”
I hated myself for lacking the courage to own up to the truth—that I was here for Luna, not because of her sister.
“She’s dancing up front,” Chloe told me. “You made it in time for her birthday shots. You can join us, right?”
My knee-jerk refusal died as I caught sight of Luna in the midst of countless pulsating bodies. Even though she had her back to me, it was impossible not to recognize her. She’d done up her hair in some kind of bun that showed off her bare shoulders and upper back. If it weren’t for the bright pink bow around her neck, I would have lost my mind. I simultaneously anticipated and dreaded seeing the front view.
Swaying, she shifted and presented her profile to me. Happiness lit up her features, and my mouth curved in an automatic response.
Then I noticed the guy she was laughing at.
Kai.
I clenched my jaw.
“Oh my God.”
I glanced at Chloe, whose gaze bounced from me to Luna. My muscles tightened. Did she suspect anything?
“You should go say hi to her,” she told me.
The gleam in her eyes put me on edge. “She’s having fun. I don’t want to disturb her.”
Chloe laughed. “This is a club, not a library. Trust me, you’re not going to disturb her.”
I ignored the compulsive need to look at Luna again. “Tell her I dropped by.”
“You can’t leave. You just got here!”
“This isn’t my scene.”
“We won’t report you, if you’re worried about that.”
I was more worried about what I might do if I saw Kai touch Luna.
It wouldn’t just be touching, either. Nothing would stop Luna from making out with him right on the dance floor if she wanted to.
Raising an eyebrow at Chloe, I said, “Don’t get her drunk.”
“Who’s going to stop us if you leave?”
Why couldn’t it have been Kriz who’d seen me? And speaking of Kriz, where was she? I could at least count on her to look out for Luna’s best interests.
Suddenly, Chloe’s grin stretched wider, signaling trouble.
I had a millisecond to brace myself before?—
“Gabe?”
That millisecond warning saved me from broadcasting my emotions in front of Chloe.
Keeping my professional face on, I turned to Luna and lost my breath.
It wasn’t because of the deep pink dress that clung to her body. Or the way her cheeks were flushed from dancing. It was the luminous joy that filled her face when she saw me.
My heart stopped. Or maybe it started beating for the first time.
I loved this woman. Unexpected or not, improper or not, I did.
“You came,” she mouthed to me.
I thought I’d experienced this emotion in high school, and I’d promised myself never again. It turned out what I’d felt then was nothing close to love.
Luna was the only woman I could see. The only one who mattered.
“Good thing you caught him.” Chloe spoke up from behind me. “He was about to leave.”
Luna’s eyes didn’t leave mine. “You have to stay till midnight, at least.”
Like I could leave her now.