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Van put his hand against my back as we worked our way through the crowd.

We barely made it inside before a man walked up and dapped him up.

“Coleman, what’s up?”

“What’s good, Austin?”

Austin looked at me, then back at Van with a grin. “This your girl?”

Van glanced at me. “Nah. This is Lee. We’re friends.”

I looked at him.

We’re friends.

I didn’t know why hearing him say it like that made me smile, but I kept that part to myself.

Van was already talking to Austin again, and the farther we made it into the room, the more I realized damn near everybody knew him. We couldn’t make it across the place without somebody calling “Coleman,” stopping him to speak, or bringing up some work story I knew nothing about.

One of the older men standing near the bar looked between us.

“Damn, Coleman. You finally brought somebody to one of these things?”

“Don’t start, Mac.”

I turned toward Van. “Oh, so I’m special?”

He looked at me. “You already knew that.”

“Did I?”

“Coleman!”

Van glanced toward whoever was calling him. “Give me a second.”

“Go ahead.”

I got myself a cranberry Sprite from the bar while he stood across the room talking to three people at once. I had only taken a few sips before he started making his way back toward me.

“You hungry?”

“Always.”

We ate first, and afterward Van introduced me to so many people I stopped trying to remember everybody’s name.

Later, a slow song came on, and Van held his hand out to me.

I looked at it. “You dance?”

“Come find out.”

“That sounds like a setup.”

“Lee.”

I laughed and took his hand.

He led me over to where a few other couples were dancing and put one hand around my waist. I rested mine against his shoulder while we moved with everybody else.