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“Appletini, please,” Mindy called to the smiling bartender.
“Oh, no you don’t,” I whispered. “No way am I carrying you out of here like last time. Two Killians, please.”
“Ugh. Okay, mother hen. Hey! There’s Jeff from psych class.”
She sauntered over to a guy standing with two others at the end of the bar. I’d actually seen one of them somewhere on campus before but couldn’t think where.
I waited for our beers, then joined them. Mindy laughed heartily at something Jeff said when I walked up.
“I know! I think the professor’s half-crazy herself. Jeff, this is my best friend, Genevieve.”
“Nice to meet you,” he replied with a smile. “These are my roommates, Matt and Isaac.”
Matt gave us a friendly nod and went back to a conversation with the brunette on his left. They seemed like nice guys. Jeans and T-shirts. No frills. The kind of guys who made me feel comfortable. Why couldn’t Mindy date a guy like Jeff instead of Dazzling Dave?
“Let’s go dance!” screamed Mindy, pulling Jeff with her.
Isaac didn’t move, keeping his back glued to the bar. I nodded to the floor. “You wanna go?”
“Uh no. Not much of a dancer.”
I decided to stay put too. I could scope out the scene better from here.
“So, did you get all of the information you needed onParadise Lost?” asked Isaac.
I scrunched my eyebrows together, then remembered. He worked at the library. I’d seen him a few times on study nights with Malcolm and Mary.
Isaac had bright blue eyes framed behind thin, silver-rimmed glasses. He was cute and nice.
“That’s where I know you from. Yeah, we got everything we needed. That was for a test in Renaissance Lit.”
“Ah,” he nodded. “Professor Bennett?”
“Yeah.” I smiled, though it didn’t put the guy at ease. I tried to figure out why all the tension, glancing down as I took a swig of beer. Oh, my attire. I looked like I was going to kick ass and take names.
Well, I planned to do exactly that once I found myself a demon. I hadn’t thought of how my aggressive, albeit sexy-as-hell, getup would affect anyone else, especially Mr. Librarian. “Bennett. He’s such a douche.”
Isaac laughed. Nice sound. Nice guy. I wished I wasn’t scaring the crap out of him.
“He is definitely that. Smart as hell, but he’s got the god complex of a lot of professors.”
I tried my friendly smile. He seemed to relax a bit. “So, I know this sounds like a line, but do you come here often?” he asked.
“No.” I laughed. “Mindy brought me here on my birthday not long ago for the first time. Not my normal hangout.”
“Mine either,” he said, relaxing further.
I almost laughed. I felt like I was trying to gentle a timid dog closer to my fingertips for a morsel of bread. We fell into a comfortable conversation for several minutes when I sensedhim.
I scanned across the bar, spotting Jude in the same shadowed corner where I’d first seen him, gazing at me with heat and flames. How he didn’t set me on fire with that raw, burning gaze, I’m not sure. And yes, like a moth to the light, I couldn’t help myself.
“Be back in a minute, Isaac.”
I set my beer down and walked into the throng on the dance floor as Tool’s “Sober” began thrumming slow and steady, vibrating through my chest.
People sort of swayed and bobbed heads rather than danced as the hypnotizing cadence rocked the place. Sweat and perfume mingled as bodies pressed close. I wove slowly through the crowd, catching Jude’s fuming gaze as white spotlights swiveled over us to the beat.
I wouldn’t be intimidated. At least, that’s what I told myself. I walked tall and strong, grazing by dancers, pushing through them. The whole while, Jude melted me with his black stare.
