Page 81 of Twisted Needs

“What?” Seth grins.

“Dance first.” I drag a finger down the front of his shirt. “I’m not that easy.”

“Yeah…but I am.” He stands and offers me his hand. “Come on, handsome.”

I take it, but unfortunately that’s the exact moment Vandy appears. I swear to God the guy materializes out of nowhere. One second he isn’t there, the next, he’s standing beside us carrying three pitchers like some kind of giant hockey-playing cryptid. “Dancing?” he asks.

I blink at him. “Yeah.”

His eyes flick toward Seth, then back to me, then toward Seth again. Something about the look is weird, but I chalk it up to me being too bitchy when I drink.

“Seth, right?” he asks. He sticks out his hand. Seth shakes it willingly.

And thats when I freak the fuck out, because I’m getting flashbacks to a few months ago when Parker flipped his shit over Seth and I. When he asked me not to keep seeing Seth. When he kissed me and called me a good boy…

The memory hits me so hard my stomach convulses. God. Could my brain be any more annoying?

“Nice to meet you,” Seth says.

Vandy stares at him for a second longer than necessary before clearing his throat. “Cool.” Then another second passes. “Let’s dance, guys.”

I squint. “What?”

“Let’s go dance.”

“With…us?”

“Yeah.”

The three of us stare at each other while the bass shakes the floor beneath our feet. Finally Seth shrugs. “The more the merrier.” And of course he says it. The man would invite Martha Stewart into a threesome if given the opportunity.

Then his expression shifts, mouth dropping into a lazy, but suggestive grin. I recognize it immediately. He’s on the fucking prowl.

I immediately start laughing. “Seth…no. Don’t.”

Seth waves me off, but Vandy looks wearily over to me. “Seth thinks you’re hot,” I explain immediately.

“What?”

I point at Seth, then point back at Vandy right after. “He’s one drink away from inviting you to the big stall in the men’s room.” Vandy freezes so completely that it’s almost impressive, opening his mouth to call bullshit, but then something seemingly clicks inside his head. “Well?” I ask. “What’s the verdict, Vandy?”

“Are you asking...if I’m attracted to Seth?”

“Yeah.”

The silence stretches long enough that I start laughing harder. Finally, Vandy shrugs and says, “he’s ‘aight.” I nearly choke. Seth starts laughing even harder. Vandy immediately looks like he regrets opening his mouth. “Okay. Whatever. Can we dance now?” he asks.

The dance floor is a blur of lights and bodies.

Blue and purple strobes flash overhead, beaming on sequins and jewelry and the occasional sweaty forehead before disappearing again. The bass vibrates through my ribs hard enough that I can feel it in my teeth. Every time somebody brushes past me, they’re either sticky from spilled drinks or wearing enough perfume to knock out a small animal.

For a while, it’s actually fun. Seth dances with the confidence of a man who has never once been embarrassed in his life. He keeps a hand on my hip while I laugh at him and pretend not to enjoy the attention. Somewhere behind us, Aviva is screaming the lyrics to a song she definitely doesn’t know, and Malloy looks one minor inconvenience away from throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her home to put her to bed.

All the alcohol I’ve consumed settles pleasantly beneath my skin. Unfortunately, Vandy is still here.

I don’t really notice it at first. The club is packed. People are constantly moving around us. It’s normal to keep running into the same faces. But then Seth pulls me closer and Vandy somehow appears beside us again.

A few songs later, I glance over my shoulder. Still there. Then we move toward the other side of the dance floor. Still there, like he’s a very large, very socially awkward moon orbiting us.