Clay didn’t wait, but took my hand and guided me through the crowd. Nicole followed in our wake. People moved for Clay, and it didn’t take us long to reach the door where a man stood selling cups for three dollars. We declined and went to find a place inside.
The bass of the music echoed in my ribcage. Good thing Clay wasn’t a talker. I would never hear him, even though he could probably hear me. I wondered how his sensitive ears handled the volume.
He kept hold of my hand and pulled us through the crowded entry into an equally crowded living room. He forced his way between people to reach the small couch then paused in front of it to glare at the two male occupants. They uneasily stood and left, making room for us to sit. Nicole and I sat while Clay perched on the arm right next to me.
Nicole warmed as I looked around. From the decimated state of the snack table, the party had started a while ago. That also meant the majority of partygoers were drunk. One guy caught me looking around and made his way over.
The man stopped right in front of me and swayed slightly on his feet. I didn’t look at him, but watched Nicole’s face as her eyes darted to the man.
The music decreased in volume as a ballad came on.
“Hey...wash shore name?” he asked, his articulation long gone.
“Go away.” I spoke clearly and rudely, knowing he wouldn’t even remember in the morning. It didn’t seem to faze him in the least.
“Wanna go up shtairs? They have a pool table,” he said drawing out the L’s in pool table just a tad too long.
Nicole coughed discreetly next to me to cover her giggle at the drunk’s poor attempts at a pickup.
“No. Go away.” This time, I added a glare to go with the words.
He looked beyond me with a startled expression, which quickly relaxed into a smile.
“Oh, god it man. Sheesh yours.”
He ambled away, and Nicole and I turned to look at Clay.
“What did you do?” I said. Maybe some secret man-sign for “not interested.” Whatever he’d done had worked well. I hoped I could learn it.
Clay flashed his teeth, showing elongated canines.
I heard Nicole’s whispered “whoa” and glared at him. If he kept flashing his teeth, people would start panicking.
“If you keep those in all night, you’re going to have sore gums tomorrow,” I said thinking fast.
“Those are so real looking. You have to tell me where you got those.” Nicole looked at him in fascination.
“He won’t say,” I said then changed the subject. “Warm enough? Are you going solo or do you want backup?”
She hesitated. She looked uncomfortable and nervous. Honestly, I felt nervous, too.
A group of guys across the room had started watching us once the drunk walked away. Their gazes pivoted between Nicole and me. Most of them just looked confused. One focused on me with a frown. Maybe, this was a bad idea after all. Rachel’s prediction of a butt whooping appeared likely. Since Clay had already flashed his teeth once with minor provocation, I didn’t want to think what he’d do if the frowny man approached me.
Nicole’s bright gaze flitted around the room oblivious to the tension I created. Normally an introvert, she seemed to bask in the attention we received, and I understood why she wanted me to come with. Without me, she would have been a wallflower. With me, she shared some of the notice I pulled in. I didn’t feel used but did feel a little sorry for her. I wished I could help her get the man she so obviously wanted.
Deciding to speed things up, I reached out to pat Nicole’s shoulder. She needed confidence.
When my hand touched her shoulder, a shock ran from my hand to her skin, the sting of it strong enough that we both yelped. I saw an actual spark.
“I’m so sorry, Nicole. I was just going to tell you that we should say hi now, and I go and scare you, instead.” That’s what I got for getting all touchy-feely.
“No, I know what that was. It was a jump start.” She smiled at me, and I noticed the group of guys across the room completely shift their focus to her. The face of the man who’d frowned at me cleared as he watched Nicole.
“I’m going to go out there, now. If I can’t get his attention, we can go.” She got up and made her way to the door.
The group started to follow her while others in the room viewed her appreciatively as she passed. Girls who had previously smiled a greeting now frowned or outright glared at Nicole.
Too busy observing, I let Nicole’s lead grow. Something was wrong. This was what typically happened to me. Granted, dressed as a man, the attention I normally drew had flagged a bit when we’d arrived, but if I’d worn something like Nicole wore...they would be eyeing me as they were her. Their behavior was so odd for me to see as a bystander and not a participant.
Automatically, I got up to follow at a distance. A sudden, dizzy spell sapped the strength from my legs, and I wilted a bit.
Clay had his arm around me, instantly. I didn’t look up at him, but instead tried to keep my eyes on Nicole as I waited for the spell to pass. Maybe I’d gotten up too fast or skipped lunch a few too many days this week. Whatever its cause, it passed, and I did my best to follow Nicole despite the crush of bodies.
Clay had to physically shove a few people out of the way since they were too busy staring after Nicole to pay attention to my attempts to squeeze past. When they did see me, they barely spared me a glance. They just moved out of the way while trying to crane their necks to see Nicole. I didn’t like their reactions to Nicole. Not out of jealousy, but out of concern. If all these guys didn’t snap out of it soon, Nicole would be in trouble. She was too introverted to deal with all of this attention.
I made it to the porch in time to see Nicole say hi. She shimmered beautifully in the light. Randy, the guy from our class who she spoke to, appeared captivated. He’d dressed as the man from the Old Spice commercial, with a towel wrapped around his waist and nothing else. I figured it a frat house thing because I’d spotted several others dressed similarly. As the only spice-guy willing to brave the temperature outside, I guessed keeping the keg company also kept him warm.
He laughed at something Nicole said and offered her a beer. His own. He didn’t seem willing to look away from her long enough to fill a new cup. I couldn’t believe this was the same Randy. Since school started, he hadn’t noticed Nicole once. What was going on here?
As unobtrusively as possible, I moved so Clay and I stood close to a railing. Better line of sight from there. The crowd continued to shift around us as people moved from group to group to talk.
After ten minutes of watching, I didn’t know how she could stand the cold. Shivers shook me so badly my head ached. Naturally, I leaned back against Clay and wrapped my arms around myself. The heat of him penetrated through the back of my borrowed flannel and warmed me fractionally, but not enough to stop the shaking.
Giving up on the attempt to warm myself, I reached back, grabbed both of his arms, and pulled them around me. He willingly wrapped me in his arms and tried to warm me. His chin rested on the top of my head. I could feel his heat, but the tremors continued.
“I don’t feel good,” I said with chattering teeth.
When he placed a hand briefly against my forehead a few minutes later, I knew he’d heard my complaint.
“Do I feel warm?” I turned my head to look at him.
He met my eyes and shook his head. I lost my train of thought for a moment. I’d forgotten he’d pulled his hair back so I could see more of his face, and I smiled absently. He had nice eyes. Expressive. My brain began to feel foggy, and I knew he could tell when his brows drew down in concern. I didn’t like his frown. It detracted from his lovely brown eyes. Chocolate. That’d taste good.
I realized my mind had wondered and reined it in.
“I think I’m ready to go, but I don’t want to leave Nicole here. What are my chances of getting her away from him, you think?”