Someone rushed over to clean the mess so that we wouldn’t have to move, but we hurriedly strode to the now empty table in front of Erik and the Morevvs. I knew they were watching us—I felt the heat of their gazes boring into me—and knew I once again sported another blush.
I hated, hated that I couldn’t control the telltale sign of embarrassment.
We sat down and Shanel punched in an order on the wall unit for another drink. It arrived minutes later and we were left alone. Well, as alone as two girls inside of a club could get. I kept my back to the group. Call me a coward, but I still couldn’t face them. Not yet.
I’d always been nervous around boys. The few I’d gone out with had been picked by my mother. Blind dates she’d set up with her coworkers’ kids. Each had lasted exactly three hours. One hour for dinner and two for a movie, and each had been uncomfortable and utterly disappointing. Unlike Erik, none of them made my skin prickle with awareness and my stomach tighten in…I don’t know what.
“Oh no!” Shanel said with a moan, cutting into my thoughts. “They’re standing up.”
I straightened. “Where are they going?”
Even as I spoke, I heard Erik’s deep voice say, “Thank you for agreeing to move this meeting elsewhere. Too many prying eyes and ears here.”
Uh-oh. Caught, I thought, cheeks heating again.
To my horror, Shanel waved and called, “Hi, Silver.”
I sank into my chair, barely stifling the urge to cover my burning face with my hands.
“Hey,” he returned, his tone wary. Confused.
A moment passed. Shanel frowned.
What had happened? Finally I gathered the courage to look. I turned in my seat and glanced over at the group. Silver had given Shanel his back, effectively ending all hope of conversation. Erik’s attention was riveted on the dark-haired, half-masked man. His shoulders were stiff and his back ramrod straight.
“Come on,” Half-Mask said. “You were right. The air in here is a little…toxic right now.”
Erik nodded, his gaze sliding to the girls at the bar. Those same girls watched him, all of their eyes narrowed on him as if he were a target at gun practice. One of them, a tall, pretty Asian girl, even tipped her glass at him.
A muscle ticked in Erik’s jaw.
I watched the byplay with a growing sense of dread. Did they know each other? Was she the kind of girl Erik found attractive? Probably.
In the next instant, my gaze connected with the beautiful Asian’s. She’d stopped watching Erik and was now watching me. Me? Why? I tried not to flinch under her intense scrutiny, even though her dark, up-tilted eyes seemed to be cataloging my every flaw.
If I were brave, I would have flipped her off. But I wasn’t, so I sat in my chair and did nothing. Cowardly Camille always did nothing.
My eyes widened as someone leaned toward me, getting all up in my personal space. I inched backward—until I realized it was Erik.
Shock held me immobile as his heat and pine scent surrounded me. Oh God. Oh God. Determination glinted in his dark eyes.
“I have something for you,” he said huskily.
A shiver coursed the length of my spine. Not only was he close to me, he was talking to me! “O—okay,” I found myself saying. Did I sound as breathless to him as I did to myself? I mean, really. This was…this was…unexpected and wonderful and everything I’d dreamed about, and I had no idea how to react.
He placed something in my hand and my fingers instantly curled around it. It was soft, a little crumpled. A napkin? Oh my God. Had he written his phone number on it? “Do you—”
He placed a finger over my lips, silencing me. “We’ll talk on Monday at school.” And with that, he was off.
We would talk? More than we already had? I watched him move away from me, so stunned I almost slid out of my chair. Seriously. Was I dreaming?
Half-Mask and the others stood in front of a guarded doorway at the back of the room, waiting, frowning. Erik said something to them, but I couldn’t hear what. One of them punched in a code on a security box and they disappeared into the next room.
“Sweet baby Jesus, what did he give you?” Shanel gasped out.
“I don’t know.” Heart fluttering, I opened my hand. A napkin, as I’d guessed. Grinning, I unfolded the edges. The top was blank so I flipped it over. But when I saw that the other side was blank, as well, my grin faded. “I don’t understand.”
“Let me see.” Shanel snatched it from me, looked it over, and frowned. “Is this supposed to be some sort of joke?”
The moment she spoke, realization set in. Tears burned in my eyes. A joke. Only a joke. He probably knew I had a crush on him and had done this to remind me that he was too far out of my league.
“We can’t let him get away without an explanation.” Scowling, she tossed the napkin back at me. “And an apology!”
I stuffed the stupid thing in my pocket, imagining whipping it out and shoving it in Erik’s face. How dare he! Like I needed a reminder. I knew. That had never stopped me from hoping, however. Until now.
“Well? Are you going to do something?”
Stop being a coward. For once. I might be an Invisible, but I still deserved respect.
I peered at the guard posted in front of the door. He was a big, burly human beast who probably ate nails for breakfast and little children for dessert. “How can I?”
“I saw the code, and I think I know a way to get past the Hulk.”
As she outlined a strategy, I paled. “I don’t know,” I hedged. “That seems dangerous.”
“You were brave enough to come here,” Shanel pointed out. “Now be brave enough to fight for what you deserve.”
She made it sound so easy. “All right.” I sighed. “I’ll do it.”
“Yes! I knew you would.”
We pushed to our feet, neither knowing that we were about to set off a chain of events that could never be undone and would change our lives forever.
3
“Sir,” Shanel said to the human guard. “Can I speak to you a moment?”
“Go back to your table,” he growled.
“But I need to ask you something.”
Scowling, he crossed his arms over his chest and braced his feet apart. “You shouldn’t be in this area.”
“Why not? That’s what I wanted to ask you. What’s back—” That’s when she “tripped” and stumbled into him with all of her might, knocking them both backward and into the wall. She also poured her drink down his pants for good measure.