AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I can’t respond. I can barely hear Mia over the static in my head.
Across the bar, staring at me wide-eyed, is Diego. He looks as shocked as I feel, but his surprise is tinged with terror.
“It’s him,” I say.
“Him? What?”
Mia follows my gaze, but the sight of Diego gaping at me from across the club doesn’t mean much to her. I haven’t said a word to anyone, not even her or Gabriel, so she justifiably has no idea why I’m freaking out.
“Avery?” she says.
“It’s…” I shake myself and force myself to face her. “Mia, there’s something I haven’t told you. I … I’ve been seeing someone. Well, no, not seeing him. Trying to see him.”
“I am so confused,” she says.
“Sorry. It’s complicated. There’s this guy and we made out this one time and I know he wants me but he won’t admit it and somehow he’shererightnowand I don’t know what to do.”
Mia’s eyebrows rise. She looks between me and Diego on the other side of the room. Something shifts in her expression.
“It’s that guy who’s watching you like there’s no one else in the entire club?” she says.
I nod. I like the way she described that. I like the thought that Diego is focused only on me out of everyone in this busy club.
“So what’s the problem?” Mia says. “Go get your man.”
What’snotthe problem? I’m scared if I attempt a single step, Diego will bolt like a frightened deer. And there’s the whole matter of him being my TA, but I’m not going toreveal that to Mia. I’ll keep Diego’s confidence, even if he never knows.
Mia gets frustrated with my dithering and pushes me toward Diego. “I’ll catch up with you later,” she says. “Or not.”
She sounds more hopeful than me, a lot more hopeful, but her push works. My feet start moving on their own, propelling me inexorably toward Diego, who hasn’t moved or looked away. Mia vanishes into the crowd, becoming part of the blur of bodies and colors at the edges of my vision. The music is a tidal pull; with every thump, it pushes me forward like waves nudging me toward the shore. I don’t even realize there’s someone with Diego until a guy pats Diego on the shoulder and then melts away into the crowd.
I stop before Diego. He swallows so hard I can see his throat working.
“Friend?” I say, nodding in the direction the guy went.
“Roommate,” Diego says, so thin and insubstantial it’s hard to hear over the clamor of the club. “How are you here?”
“Nice to see you too,” I say. “Mia has been trying to get me to go out all semester. I finally took her up on it.”
“Why this place? How is this happening?” Diego speaks like he’s talking to some dream apparition and not a real person.
“Luck, I suppose,” I say.
“Of every club…”
“Okay, well, first of all, of everyqueerclub. And second, Mia’s friend works at this one. Also it’s pretty old and pretty famous. If two people were going to randomly pick a queer club in the area, this would probably be at the top of both lists. So it’s not that unlikely if you think about it.”
Diego shakes his head, but I’m not sure if he’s shaking it at me or himself. I can tell he’s panicking, despite his cool exterior. The fear is written all over his face. It dances in his dark eyes and tightens the line of his tempting lips. Knowing how those lips taste is making it hard to focus on anything else. Already, my shock is gone, replaced with the heat that simmers inside me every time I get anywhere near this guy. I can tell he feels it too, and tonight I’m not letting him run away.
“Come dance with me,” I say.
“Avery,” he says, a warning, a reprimand.
“Our friends already saw us. There’s no one else here who knows us.”
“If we could both end up here from Montridge, anybody could. You said it yourself. Top of the list.”
Okay, screwed myself a little with that one.
