“Ask her,” I pleaded.
“I can’t interrupt her set.”
“Please. Her name is Sarah. Her uncle is Julian Matz. Her brother-”
The bouncer grumbled. “Fine. But I’m keeping an eye on you.”
I slid by him before he could change his mind. When I reached Sarah, she was fiddling with some dials on her turntables.
“Hey!” I yelled.
Since my voice didn’t carry through her headphones, I gesticulated my hands. That caught her attention. She looked up from her laptop. A frown gusted over her face, but then she recognized me, and a sizeable smile curved her lips. She held up a finger, tapped on her laptop-probably cuing up the next song-and then she lowered her headphones.
“Welcome to my den. Did you just get here?”
I leaned over the tall booth. “I need Julian’s phone number.”
“Why?”
“I need to ask him something.”
“Ask me instead.”
I supposed I couldask her. “I’ve been invited to your brother’s wedding, and I need a dress.”
She frowned, her thin eyebrows slanting over her wide brown eyes. “Not sure what you heard, but my uncle doesn’t wear dresses.”
I balked at her answer. “I was just hoping he could help me get one.”
“Why would he help you get one?”
“Because he offered to help me the other day.” Before she could jump to any conclusions about her uncle’s reasons for aiding me, I added, “He pities me for being the only girl in my pack.”
Not my best lie ever, but it seemed to appease Sarah because her forehead uncrumpled. She raised a finger again, then set the headphones back on her ears and cued up the next song. The beats overlapped seamlessly, before the new song glided over the fading one.
She pushed the headphones down again, then sized me up. “You’re what, a four?”
I nodded.
“You can borrow one of mine. Come over to my place tomorrow.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.” She rolled her eyes. “Now, go dance. I need to concentrate on my set.”
I started to turn away when I remembered I had no clue where her placewas. “I don’t know where you live.”
“Give me your phone.”
I entered my password and passed it over.
She typed in her contact information, then handed the phone back to me. “Don’t come before twelve! I’m dead to the world in the morning.”
“‘Kay. Thanks.”
She fluttered her hand in a don’tmention-it gesture, then stuck her headphones back on and bobbed her head.
I clambered down the stairs, past the bouncer, who’d lost interest in me after ascertaining I wasn’t some crazed fan. I zeroed in on Skylar and Emmy’s location at the bar and threaded myself through the mass of bodies.
The newest song Sarah was playing had people jumping and pumping their fists in the air. Twice, my feet got trampled. The first time, the person didn’t apologize-they probably hadn’t realized. The second time, though, the tramplercaught my arm and leaned over to apologize. The boy’s breath reeked of beer and bad dental hygiene.
“It’s okay,” I said, shrugging him off.
His gaze skimmed over my face, then dipped to the V-shaped neckline of my dress. Subtle.”Can I buy you a drink?”
I was about to turn him down when someone beat me to it.
Liam loomed over the boy. “No. You can’t.”
The boy turned toward him before backing away faster than a spooked rabbit.
“Maybe I wanted a free drink,” I said.
Liam’s eyes flashed dangerously. “Then I’llbuy you a drink.”
Not the answer I was expecting. “Forget it. I don’t want anything to drink.”
“Did you come with Everest?”
I shook my head. “He’s out of town.”
Liam’s jaw tightened. “Of course he is.”
What was that supposed to mean?
“Did you come alone?”
“No! I came with two coworkers from the inn.”
Someone shoved into me, and I momentarily lost my balance. Liam shot out a hand and caught my elbow, steadying me. Once he’d established I could stand on my own two feet, he let go.
I rubbed the patch of skin he’d touched. “I should go find them.”
“Females or males?”
My forehead furrowed at his strange question.
“Your coworkers, are they women or men?”