Are You In?, page 14
Knowing him, he’d probably love every second of it.
Taking in my odd expression, the bouncer eyed me, then my license, then me again, his eyes looping back and forth for what felt like an eternity. Just as Olivia started to get that impatient look on her face that never ended well, the bouncer handed my license back and moved on to the group behind us with no more than a gesture of his thumb in the direction of the door.
No turning back now.
Two hours later, sweat beaded on my brow, the cold water in my plastic cup sloshing up and over the rim as I raised it above my head, waving it back and forth in time to the pulsing music blaring from every direction.
Though I’d never admit it to Olivia, I was having a pretty decent time. I had just finished my second tequila soda and opted to take a quick break with water for a bit.
Dancing lights in every shade shone down from the rafters to cut through the darkness, bouncing off the walls, the bar, the bodies packed into the room, and making everything look hazy. From atop a platform at the front of the large dance hall, the DJ played hit after hit, keeping me moving in time to the endless string of songs he expertly wove together.
But Olivia had been right. This was fun.
As the song smoothly transitioned into another, I closed my eyes and tilted my head upwards, allowing a wide grin to spread across my lips. Liv’s arms circled me as we danced, our bodies gliding together in perfect harmony. It had been ages since I’d danced like this, but my hips easily picked up where they’d left off, circling and swaying to the beat.
I opened my eyes to catch Olivia glancing back over her shoulder toward the entrance to the cavernous dance hall, a motion I’d seen her repeat several times throughout the night.
“What do you keep looking at?” I asked, shouting to get her attention over the music.
Olivia’s eyes snapped back to me, but her expression remained blank. “Huh? Oh, nothing. There’s just some cute guy back there. I thought he was checking me out,” she answered breezily.
I gave her a pointed look that screamed I don’t believe you but she shrugged and threw her hands toward the ceiling, twirling in place in perfect time to the melody. Deciding to ignore it, I took a large gulp of my water and mimicked her movements.
Suddenly, Olivia leaned in close to my ear to yell, “I’m going to grab another drink! Stay here so I can find you.” By the time I opened my eyes, she was already weeding her way through the crowd toward the bar, the sea of bodies parting for her then swallowing her back up again in the blink of an eye.
Shaking my head at her disappearing form, I took another sip of my water right as the DJ transitioned into another song. It was one I recognized from my college days and immediately my body picked up the familiar rhythm. My smile returned, my earlier thoughts forgotten as I twirled and swayed in place, eyes closed to the world around me.
“Nice moves,” a melodic, masculine voice rumbled from behind me right as the warmth of a long torso pressed against my back. Whirling around, my mouth snapped open at the sight of Ezra Bell standing behind me, two drinks balanced expertly in his slender hands.
“Ezra! What, what are you doing here?” I stammered, complete shock in my voice and on my face.
He chuckled softly and inclined his head to gesture behind him. Following his direction, I spied Olivia leaning casually against the large bar in the heart of the dance hall, a plastic cup lifted in the air toward me in a toast. Then I noticed Peter leaning against the bar directly beside her, so close their arms pressed together.
My shock was replaced with intrigue and I nodded back at her, lifting my now-empty water cup in response. Clever girl. A night away from Olympus, huh?
Touché.
I forced myself to turn away from Olivia, tilting my head back to look up at Ezra. “How…” I started to ask, unsure how to form the words.
“Liv told us where you’d be tonight and invited us to meet you after the show,” Ezra cut in, sensing where my thoughts were headed. “And before you yell at me for the surprise, I was sworn to complete and utter secrecy by your friend over there.” Ezra leaned in conspiratorially, his lips hovering next to the shell of my ear. “Just between us, she scares me a little.”
I let out an involuntary barking laugh, my head thrown back with the sound, an image of Olivia’s piercing stare from the other day flashing through my mind. She certainly knew how to intimidate.
Dropping my eyes down to the two cups in his hands, I arched a brow, “Double-fisting tonight, are we?”
Shifting as though he’d completely forgotten about them, he gestured one of the cups in my direction. “Oh! This one’s for you. Liv told me what you liked.”
“Did she, now?” I mused quietly, allowing my eyes to dart back to the bar once more. Now, Olivia and Peter had their heads pressed together, trying to hold a conversation over the din of the club, the sides of their arms completely flush with one another as they leaned in.
I turned my gaze back to Ezra and added, “Liv is just full of bright ideas tonight, isn’t she?” Nevertheless, I reached out to take the full cup from him, lifting it to my lips to take a deep swig.
Ezra’s warm, spicy scent filled my nostrils when he took a step closer, leaning in again to whisper in my ear, “You look like you’re having a good time.”
My eyes widened, my brain going fuzzy at his nearness. The only blessing was he couldn’t see my expression standing so close. “What makes you say that?”
“I just meant with Liv here in Chicago. Seems like you’re enjoying yourself, that’s all.” Ezra shrugged, the movement shifting him even closer to me so our bodies touched as we swayed slightly back and forth to the rhythm. The DJ had shifted his set to a series of throwbacks from the mid-2000s, the pulsing beats nostalgic. “Plus, I saw you dancing on my way through the crowd and I gotta say, you’ve got some pretty sweet moves. You’ve been holding out on me.”
I laughed in spite of myself, shaking my head so my hair bounced loosely against Ezra’s shoulder. I decided to ignore the compliment. “Oh yeah, it’s great to see her. I don’t think I told you, but we’re roommates. We just moved in together when I started this job,” I explained between sips of the tequila soda he’d bought me. I knew I should slow down, the slow burn I felt curling through my core telling me the liquor was doing its job to dull my senses, but the sipping kept me from fidgeting too much in Ezra’s presence.
“No way!” Ezra shouted over the song, then shifted a few inches back to take a sip of his drink—a whiskey coke by the look of it. “That must’ve been tough, having to hit the road so soon after moving into a new place.”
I nodded thoughtfully, just barely able to hear him over the noise of the club. I glanced around the packed dance hall, the crush of bodies showing no signs of slowing down despite the fact that it had to be going on one in the morning. An oddly companionable silence fell over us as our bodies subconsciously swayed back and forth to the music.
Eventually, Ezra leaned in toward me again and brought his lips to my ear. “So listen, uh… the main reason I wanted to come out here tonight—” he cut himself off to take another rallying sip of his drink.
Sensing exactly where this conversation was headed, I stiffened beside him. I knew I’d promised Olivia I’d give this a chance. But right now?
“Well, we haven’t really had the chance to talk since that night, after karaoke—” he continued.
“Oh wow, I love this song!” I interjected, my voice overly enthusiastic. I moved to sidestep Ezra, planning to mask my running away with what I hoped would be a graceful twirl to the music.
As soon as I zigged, Ezra zagged and my left shoulder careened straight into his solid chest. The shock of his solid frame against my limp arm had me tripping and then falling toward him. Ezra reached out his hands to steady me before I could hit the ground, forgetting about the still half-full whiskey coke in his hand.
I felt the shock of ice and chilled liquid splashing down the front of my shirt before my brain caught up and realized what had happened.
“Oh Han, I’m so sorry!” Ezra’s mouth gaped open in horror.
Why had I decided to wear white tonight?
Slowly, I looked down at my shirt and winced visibly at the sight of it. It was completely soaked through.
“It’s okay, I uh… I just need to get to the bathroom and try to clean this up.” I tried again to step around him and make a break for it to the nearest ladies’ room.
Just before I bolted, Ezra caught my arm, gripping it firmly, but not painfully, in his strong hand. “Wait! We brought the bus down here—it’s out in the warehouse lot. I can help you clean this up and get you a clean shirt to borrow.”
Before I had time to think, he was tugging me toward the club exit.
“Here’s some towels. I'll dig up a clean shirt from my spare bag and be right back,” Ezra said, thrusting a whole roll of paper towels at me before he sprinted toward the bedroom area at the back of the bus. Why they’d decided to bring the entire tour bus out to this remote warehouse district I didn’t know, but I was grateful for a quiet place to hide.
I stood in the small kitchenette next to the booth I’d worked from so many times over the last several weeks it almost felt like home. While Ezra rustled through a bag in the back of the bus, I started dabbing at the stain on my shirt. It had spread on the walk from the nightclub to the tour bus, the thin fabric of my crop top completely soaked through.
“Got one!” Ezra crowed, hoisting a ball of black fabric above his head triumphantly as he emerged from the bedroom area and jogged back toward me. “Ugh, that’s so bad. I’m really sorry,” he added when he took stock of the dark, spreading stain. “Here, let me help.”
Without thinking, Ezra grabbed the lump of paper towels from my hands and began dabbing at my shirt, trying desperately to sop up the spilled liquid. I bit down on my lip, my arms frozen at my sides as he firmly patted the towels up and down my torso. Heat bloomed in my cheeks, spreading down my neck at each touch that pressed the cold fabric into my skin.
“Um, Ezra—” I tried to say, but struggled to form the words.
“We should probably just get this off and try soaking it in the sink,” was all he said in response, completely disconnected from his hands on my body, his focus entirely on trying to undo the damage.
“Ezra—” I said more firmly and he finally looked up from my shirt to see my wide blue eyes blinking slowly beneath my arched eyebrows. I watched his eyes dance between my shirt and my face as his brain caught up, then widen in horror.
“What am I doing? I am so sorry, Han, I don’t normally just… I don’t know, grope people like this! I just felt so bad about the drink and wanted to help, but this was probably not the best way to go about it and—”
Ezra finally stopped his rambling at the sound of a low, bubbling giggle filtering from my lips, the sound slowly growing louder and louder as my foggy brain processed the ridiculous situation unfolding between us.
“You’re… laughing,” Ezra said slowly, his expression cagey, like he thought maybe this was a trap. My laughter grew louder still, the sound becoming a cackle that echoed in the otherwise quiet, empty tour bus.
Then Ezra was laughing along with me and the beautiful sound of it nearly stopped my heart. My face softened when our eyes met, our laughter slowing, then stopping, until all that remained were tender smiles curving both of our lips.
My eyes traced a pattern along his face, taking in the five o’clock shadow coloring his jawline and the way he chewed on his bottom lip nervously. Unconsciously, I licked my lips and I could’ve sworn Ezra stopped breathing for a moment. The intensity in his amber gaze pierced through me, rooting me to the spot. All I could do was watch as he took one slow step toward me, then another, the sweet and spicy scent of citrus and sandalwood flooding my senses and making me dizzy.
With every ounce of willpower I had, I forced myself to step backward, away from Ezra’s advancing form, until I felt the cushion of the booth seat against my knees. “Ezra, I… we can’t.” The words were breathless and lacked conviction, but I willed them to come out just the same.
“Why?” Ezra pressed, throwing his hands out to his sides. “I know this can’t be all one-sided. I know you feel this, this… this thing, too. Why ignore it?”
“Because!” I exploded back defiantly, irritation rearing up in me like a lion that had been caged for far too long. “Because we work together. This is my job and I take it very, very seriously. Because I don’t want to end up being the next Camila!”
My hands balled into fists at my sides, my chin inclined with a determination I didn’t feel. I knew I had told Olivia, promised her in fact, that I’d give this a chance. But I couldn’t. Not yet, at least. Not until I knew the truth about what happened to my predecessor, what could happen to me if this all went south.
Rather than arguing with me like I expected him to, Ezra’s brows arched high on his forehead in question, his mouth twisting in confusion. “Camila? What on earth has she got to do with us?”
I sighed deeply and looked down at the floor, then hugged my arms around my middle as though I could physically hold myself together for this conversation I’d been putting off for weeks.
My bravado faded as quickly as it had come. Eventually, in a barely audible voice, I explained, “Don’t play dumb. I know something happened between the two of you. You got close, started seeing each other? I heard it ended badly and that’s why she left Rabbit’s Foot… why I got this job in the first place.”
I could feel Ezra’s intense stare on my face, but I avoided it. Silence stretched between us for one, two, three seconds…
Then Ezra laughed.
No, he didn’t just laugh. He howled.
Incredulously, I looked up at him, my mouth gaping wide. “Why are you laughing about this?” I demanded, hugging my arms even tighter around my torso.
“Sorry, I—” Ezra wheezed, trying to speak through his cackling. “I know I shouldn’t laugh, but—” he tried again, but couldn’t finish.
I merely glared at him, blinking back the rage firing up in me again.
Finally, he regained some semblance of control over himself, his expression turning serious—well, as serious as Ezra could be. “That’s what you think happened with Cami? You think she and I started hooking up and then—what? She dumped me or something and ran off to California?”
California. So he kept up with her whereabouts? Odd for them to keep in touch after such a dramatic ending to their affair, but it could check out if they’d been close.
But wait, did he say she dumped him?
“No, no. Well, yes, but you got the last bit wrong,” I stumbled, waving my arms in front of me as if that would clear things up. “You dumped her after you got bored, and she left the label in disgrace.”
As the words tumbled out of my mouth, I started to consider them against the man I’d come to know over the past month. It just… didn’t add up. My defiance faded, replaced by the sinking feeling of skepticism and embarrassment. And guilt.
Ezra’s smile faded, too. As he tilted his head to look at the floor, I could see my accusation had hit a nerve. After a moment, he huffed a steadying breath and looked up to face me fully. His amber eyes gleamed with earnestness in the dim light of the bus and I knew what he was about to say would be the truth.
“Cami and I did become close during her time as our social media rep,” he started, his voice so soft I had to strain to hear him. “Really close, but not in the way you assumed.” There was the tiniest hint of venom in that last word.
“We became close friends,” Ezra started again, “and yes, we started spending a lot of time together outside of work. Cami’s a cool girl.” He shrugged, adding, “But she wasn’t interested in me like that. Her type is like… the complete opposite of me.” Ezra chuckled, lost in his thoughts, and reached a hand up to scratch aimlessly at the back of his head. It ruffled his shaggy hair even further, a look that only seemed to make him more attractive.
“I guess I don’t get the joke. Gonna need you to elaborate a little further on that,” I said, trying to keep the bite of frustration from my tone.
He sighed again and forced himself to meet my eyes again. “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this. It’s not my place to say, but given the circumstances….”
I lifted my eyebrows in his direction, silently willing him to keep going.
“When Cami and I were spending so much time together, she made friends with some of my friends. In particular, she started spending a lot of time with my best friend, Lexi. They became very close and—” he trailed off, his eyes widening slightly, mentally willing the dots to connect in my head.
And then they did.
“Oh, oh, oh my gosh, I—” I stuttered, my mouth falling open. Heat immediately rose to my cheeks once again at my mistake and I reached up to rub a hand over my face, trying to scrub away the last five minutes of my life.
Ezra smiled politely at me when he knew I understood and reached out a gentle hand to squeeze my arm. “Anyway, things started to heat up between them. They fell in love. The only issue was Cami hadn’t exactly told her family about her… about that part of her just yet. She and Lex were at a crossroads in their relationship where it was either take the next step or call it quits. Lex is an all-or-nothing type of girl.” On his last sentence, he smiled and the corners of his eyes wrinkled adorably.
I barely noticed. I bit down nervously on my bottom lip, my mind trying to jump forward to the end of the story, jumping to the worst possible conclusion.
“Cami decided it was time to talk to her family. She wanted to be with Lexi. Wanted her to become part of her family one day. They went back to Colorado—where Cami’s from—to see her parents.”
I sucked in a sharp breath, afraid to hear what came next. I didn’t realize I was biting down so hard on my bottom lip until I tasted metal.
