Chapter 23 #2
I tap Archie’s arm to get his attention, and he lifts his head and adjusts one of his earplugs a little deeper to cancel out the loud music. He raises his eyebrows as he takes in his dad’s wet shirt and jacket.
‘What happened?’ he asks.
The man beside Jasper looks apologetic, and his lips curve over his words, and it takes me a moment to recognize that he has an accent. One that I know, because I’ve actually met this man before.
Gabriel. Rome’s dad.
He’s been retired for a while now after Rome took over the business, but by the rings under his eyes, I can tell he hasn’t been getting a lot of rest lately.
It’s been a while since I’ve checked in with Rome, and now I feel like a terrible friend because what if things have been going wrong and I’ve been checked out on my own problems?
I make a mental note to text him soon as I turn my attention back to the two older men, who are now cleaning each other up.
‘It’s fine,’ Jasper replies, his signs clipped as he addresses Gabriel. ‘No harm done.’
Nico is pretending none of this happened, slipping closer into Archie and me. Ignorance can be bliss when you want it to be.
Jasper reaches over and gets Archie’s attention, signing, ‘I’m going to the restroom.’
Then he stalks off, Gabriel looking slightly horrified at his spilled drink on the bar top. It’s dripping onto the floor, creating a puddle, and when he reaches for a towel behind the counter to clean it up, Oleander slaps his hand away.
‘No. I clean. You stay. I’ll make you another drink. That was not your fault.’
Gabriel rubs a hand down his face, and I can’t help but wonder why he’s here. It seems an odd place for him to be when he looks this…defeated. But I don’t have a chance to think too hard about it because Nico is leaning over to get our attention.
‘This song, favorite. Come dance?’
I don’t know what song is playing, but I do like the beat under my feet, though I’m not sure I should be on the dance floor right now. Archie looks annoyed, but he lets himself be pulled away by Nico, leaving me with Percy, who arches an eyebrow at me.
‘You want to go with them?’ I ask.
He pulls a face. ‘I don’t dance.’
‘Why not?’
‘I suck at it.’
‘Want me to teach you?’ I ask as I watch Nico spin around a scowling Archie. He looks like he wants to be anywhere but there. It warms me slightly. Where jealousy lingered before, I now feel confident that he’s only interested in me.
But I don’t like being this far away from him at the moment. Maybe that makes me clingy, but I have a good excuse for it.
‘No, I’d rather die. I’ll watch.’
Percy shoves me lightly onto the dance floor, where Archie pulls me against him, his hands splayed across my back, his lips on the skin of my neck.
I feel comfort from the tight way he’s holding me, my hips shifting slightly to the beat beneath my feet as Nico sways before us, using his hands to sign the lyrics.
In the background, I can see Milo near the door, his head bobbing as he continues to scan the crowd. He doesn’t look as miserable as he did when he first arrived, which I suppose is something.
And I feel pretty good myself. The longer I’m here, the more I realize I don’t feel the heavy presence of someone watching me like I did before, and I wonder if the injury Archie gave my stalker has kept him away.
Maybe he’s bleeding out somewhere. Hell, maybe he’s dead.
All I know is that I feel safe here in Archie’s arms. I dance with heavy, lazy limbs, absorbing the beat of the music until it ends, and then Nico jerks his head toward the bar, and Archie pushes me along to follow him.
Jasper is back from the restroom now, his coat sporting a wet spot where he attempted to get the drink from the fabric.
He no longer looks annoyed as he stares over at Gabriel, who has moved several seats down, a beer in his hand.
Jasper’s gaze is piercing though, and while I don’t know much about Archie’s parents other than that his mom passed, I have to wonder if his dad is interested in men.
I don’t have time to think about it, though, because Fayid appears from a break in the crowd, looking like he just came from campus, sporting his usual smile.
I grin back at him, and he gives me a nod, pulling me in for a hug. Archie’s hands tighten around me for a moment before he realizes who I’m greeting, and he offers Fayid a slight smile as he tugs me back against him and away from Fayid’s hands.
‘Everyone is here!’ I sign, and he nods, and then my eyebrows meet. ‘Wait. Why are you here?’ I ask.
‘Aurora,’ he fingerspells, and my eyes widen.
Having been away, I completely forgot about our guest performers.
Tonight is the drag show with Nova and Indigo, two Deaf drag queens from Fairbanks, Alaska, who travel around and bring the aurora borealis with them.
It’s a fantastic show that uses projectors, lights, signs, and music to make it feel like you’re standing under the northern sky, watching the sky turn from black to green and purple.
Fayid frowns. ‘You forgot?’
My cheeks heat up, and I bite my lip. ‘It’s been a busy week.’
Before Fayid can press, Nico interjects, sliding between us and offering Fayid his usual flirty smile. ‘Hi, who you?’