Page 26 of Into the Light
It almost felt like I got hit on with each step I took, which was so not my normal experience. I knew that dressing like this would be a curse more than a blessing, but I was ready to throw caution to the wind and just have one night of debauchery. One night where I let myself show off and have fun and not worry about what Raf was thinking.
A waitress wearing a sexy angel outfit and carrying a tray of test tube shots offered me one.
“They’re on the house!” she yelled, over the thumping bass. I took one and tipped her out of the little pocket on my hip—the only spot I could fit my cash, ID, and condom.
I knocked the shot back, and thought it tasted vaguely like apple cinnamon, then kept walking to my destination. Nothing like a little liquid courage.
“Ellie, you’ve arrived!” Sara, in all her glory, was decked out in the most extravagant Jessica Rabbit costume I’d ever seen. In fact, I didn’t think it was a costume, it looked more like an actual sequined couture gown. The slit up her leg was downright scandalous, and the dramatic makeup and bright red wig capped it off.
When we went shopping the other day for my costume, she had perused the options, but didn’t find anything for herself.
“This is what you meant when you said you’d ‘throw something together?’” I asked her, incredulous. She shrugged and winked at me, then handed me a cocktail that appeared to be smoking.
“Hey Ellie, looking hot, yet wildly inappropriate,” Theo said as he approached from behind. He wore a pinstriped suit and fedora.
“Oh shush. What are you supposed to be?”
“I’m a gangster.”
“He didn’t want to be a Roger Rabbit,” Sara said, smirking. “Landry’s over there,” she said, pointing to our friend at the next table over. “She’s here as a guest, I begged her to request the night off.”
Landry worked for Sara at the Witch’s Brew, but also here at the Anchorage. Her parents owned Landry’s downtown, named after her of course, but they didn’t have a good relationship, so Landry had left home at eighteen. She’d worked her butt off ever since to support herself. I was glad to see she didn’t have to work the party tonight. She deserved to let loose.
I drank the mystery cocktail and chatted with Landry and some of our other friends. Sam and Alex were on their mini-honeymoon, ‘glamping’ in Acadia National Park. They planned to go to Scotland in the spring, but wanted to get away for a little bit now. I was happy for them, but their absence was felt, especially when Raf arrived. I didn’t see him approach, only knew he was there when Sara called his name.
“Rafael! A pirate. How fitting for our man of the sea.” She hugged him and handed him his own smoking drink, which seemed to confuse him. I knew he noticed me, since I was standing only a few feet away, but I ignored him completely, focusing intently on a story Landry—dressed in yellow plaid as Cher from Clueless—was telling about her last date. It sounded miserable and the thought of dating almost made me want to go home and crawl under my blanket.
“—and then he had the audacity to Venmo request half the cost of my iced tea. An iced tea! Are you kidding me?! I sent him the full dollar-ninety-five.”
The girls around us erupted in conversation at that, but I frustratingly caught myself peeking at Raf to see what he was doing. It wasn’t even anything, just sitting next to Theo and talking like they do every other place they go. But then Landry shrieked at one of her friends and the noise caught his attention.
He looked over this way and his eyes found me almost immediately, tracing a path up and down my body, and not even trying to hide it. My cheeks grew hot and my nipples tightened. He knew I was angry at him, but he didn’t seem to care right then.
I’d seen Raf check me out before. I’d known, even if I thought he wasn’t into me like that, that there were times when he appreciated my body. But never once had he looked at me like this until tonight. Like he wanted to devour every inch of me. Like he was holding himself back from taking me right here in the middle of a crowded room.
I shivered and he smirked. Asshole.
I turned around to ignore him and pretend to be involved in Landry’s conversation again, just in time for them to pass around some shots that looked like blood. We toasted to the night, and I felt the liquid course through me. I wasn’t anywhere near drunk, but I felt lighter than normal, and figured that would do me good tonight.
A few minutes later, the girls decided to dance, so they dragged me to the floor and I let loose. The music was so loud, I couldn’t hear anything the girls were saying, but it didn’t seem to matter. Lights flashed around us, strobing, making all of our movements look skewed and bizarre. House music blared from the speakers, and the DJ, dressed as a zombie, commanded the dance floor like this was Ibiza, not our little New England town.
I couldn’t move without bumping into others, but it didn’t seem to matter. The dancing crowd moved as one, teeming with energy.
I felt a hand on my waist, and turned, seeing Derek behind me, dressed up as a cowboy. He said something, but I couldn’t hear it, so I shrugged. He laughed and started dancing next to me, occasionally grabbing my waist in an effort to keep me close.
I’d been honest with him the night of the wedding that I wasn’t sure what I wanted. That I probably wasn’t in the right state for a relationship, but if he wanted to hang out as friends and maybe do something casual, I could probably handle that. He seemed eager to agree. I’m not sure if it’s because he thought he had an ‘in’ and could wear me down, or ifheonly wanted something casual too. But either way, he was here for it, and I didn’t worry about leading him on, since I was up front about my wishes.
More test tube shots were passed around, this time neon green liquid that looked like ooze but tasted like pineapple. Suddenly Theo appeared and said something into Derek’s ear, then dragged him off toward the sitting area again. I didn’t bother to watch or go after them. I was having the time of my life dancing my heart out.
But then I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I swiveled around to find Raf standing close to me. Too close. Our bodies were almost touching, and with people dancing and moving around us, we were jostled into each other more than was safe for my psyche.
I tilted my head up to look into his eyes. They were hungry. He leaned down and spoke in my ear.
“Dance with me.”
I shook my head. Who did he think he was? I turned away from him, but he slid his hands to my hips and started moving behind me. My ass immediately backed up against him, like it had a traitorous mind of its own.
I felt him lean down and speak again. His mouth was so close to my ear, I could hear him through the music, but could also feel the vibrations of his words as they traveled down my spine.
