Never Forgotten (Never Forgotten Series) (25 page)

"Is it weird?” Katie asked.

“What?” We were on our way to study hall, weaving through the students around us. Besides lunch, it was the only time we saw each other this semester.

“Living with your parents?”

“It’s okay.” I shrugged. “I mean, David was practically at my grandparents’ house all the time anyway before they got married.”

“And your mom’s okay?”

“She seems better,” I said. “She’ll find out more next week.”

I was glad that I didn’t tell Katie what I was. I hadn’t even told Evan much more, but he wasn’t pressuring me. After my birthday dinner, once my grandparents left, I asked my mom if they knew. Mom assured me they didn’t.

“Do you want to go out Friday night?” Katie asked. “I know you usually hang out with Evan, but I’m planning a girls’ night. There’s a new dance club in Halifax, and I’ve been dying to check it out.”

“What club?” I didn’t know any of the dance clubs, but it felt like an acceptable question to ask.

“Mirage,” she said. “Heard of it?”

“Yeah.” I actually had overheard a couple of classmates talking about it in English last week. It opened about a month ago and was supposed to be the place to go. They played the latest music, and teens from all over Nova Scotia went there to hang out.

“I’m in.” I grinned. A night out with the girls sounded exactly like what I needed.

Katie smiled back. “It’s gonna be epic!”

***

Mom dropped me off at Katie’s house. After I said goodbye to her, I swallowed the lump in my throat. There was a distance between us now, and I wasn’t sure what to do about it. I hurt too much, so the best I could manage was polite indifference. She was trying, but it was going to take more than a few kind words to heal my pain.

I hitched the duffle bag strap higher on my shoulder and started up the steps. I was spending the night, and so were Jen and Valerie, or Val as she kept insisting I call her. We were meeting here, and Katie was going to drive to the club.

The last time I had a sleepover was when Kim visited. I missed her, but I also realized, sadly, that we were growing apart. I hadn’t talked to her in weeks, just exchanged a few brief texts. I knew she had a new boyfriend now, but that was about it.

When I knocked, Evan answered the door. He smiled uncertainly at me. We hadn’t spoken much this week. It was hard keeping so much from him, but I wasn’t ready to share. It made me feel uncomfortable. I was sure he felt it, too.

“You look great,” he said.

I looked down at my puffy coat, the same one I’d worn all winter. “You can tell how I look through my coat?”

“You always look great.”

I laughed. “And, you’re trying to butter me up.”

“Is it working?” He leaned in and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“No.” I tried unsuccessfully to keep a straight face.

He stepped back to let me in. “They’re all upstairs in Katie’s room.”

When I set down my bag to take off my coat, Evan eyed it with interest. “You’re staying over, too?”

“Katie asked me, so yes.” I frowned at him, catching the wicked gleam in his eyes. “Don’t get any ideas. This is a girls’ night, remember?”

He held up his hands and gave me an innocent look. “Who me? Never. I’ll just be in my room all night, studying and watching reruns with my friends.”

“Friends?” Who was he having over?

“Yes.” He paused. “Ebb and Flow.”

Hearing their names, the two dogs ran over, bodies wiggling with excitement. I crouched and scratched them each behind an ear.

“How could I forget?” Straightening, I grabbed my bag.

Evan crouched and took over petting the dogs. “Have fun!”

When I reached Katie’s room, I stopped in the doorway. Jen sat at Katie’s desk, painting her nails. Katie was on the bed, and Val was on the floor in front of her, wincing as Katie tugged on her hair.

“Katie!” she cried. “That hurts!”

“Sorry,” Katie said. “But it hurts to be beautiful.” She bit her cheek to keep from laughing.

Val sulked. “I think my hair looked fine before.”

“Well, it will look better now,” Katie replied.

“Hi girls,” I said, entering the room and setting my bag next to the bed. I sat on the floor in front of Val. “What’s the plan?”

Katie glanced at the clock. “We’ll leave in about an hour. We don’t want to get there too early. I heard the place doesn’t get going until about ten.”

“Okay,” I said. “So what will we do for the next hour?”

“Hang out?” Katie suggested. She twisted the last few strands of Val’s hair and pinned them. The finished style was sophisticated and sexy. Val, free of Katie’s hands, rummaged in her duffle and pulled out a bottle of red liquid.

“Drink?” she asked. She opened the bottle, took a long swig, and handed it to me, smacking her lips. “Yum.”

I took the bottle and sniffed at the opening. It smelled like a cherry Jolly Rancher. I wasn’t big on community drinking, but we were all friends here. I took a sip, then a longer drink. “This is good,” I said.

Val laughed. “Right? Like liquid candy.”

“Let me try!” Jen reached for the bottle. I handed it to her and she took it awkwardly to avoid smudging her nails. Taking a small sip, she shook her head and puckered her mouth. “Ewww. I don’t like that.” She set the bottle on the desk and pointed to her bag across the room. “Val, be a doll and get the bottle out of my bag?”

Valerie rummaged around and pulled out a small bottle with an old-fashioned picture on the front. Jen smiled at me. “I prefer mint.”

Val took her bottle back and offered it to Katie. Katie shook her head. “I’m driving,” she said.

“Not even a sip?” Val asked.

“I don’t want to risk it,” Katie said. “I’m good. You go ahead.”

Val gave me a wicked grin. “More for you and me then, Meara.”

Katie stood up and closed her door. “My parents aren’t home right now, but you never know,” she said. “And, Evan is here.”

“Would he bust you?” I asked, surprised.

“Nah,” she said. She looked at me pointedly as I took another drink from the bottle. “But he wouldn’t like to see his girlfriend drinking and going out without him.”

“True enough,” I said.

She crossed behind me to her dresser and turned on some music. The heady beat made me want to dance. “This is what they play at the club,” Katie said. She started to move, and we joined her, dancing around her room. Valerie and I continued to pass the bottle between us. Jen carried her own, singing into it like a microphone between sips.

I giggled. For the first time in weeks, I felt good. I threw one arm around Katie and the other around Val. “I love you guys.”

They both hugged me back, and Jen came over and wrapped her arms around all of us. “Group hug!” she cried.

Katie disentangled herself first. “Easy on the refreshments, ladies. We have a long night ahead of us.”

Val waved her arm in reply, and I said, “We’ll sober up on the drive over.”

Only we didn’t sober up on the drive over. I tripped a bit as I got out of the car, and Val banged her head. “Ow!” Rubbing her head, she frowned. I wrapped my arm around her waist, and she put hers around mine. We supported each other to the club entrance. I looked back at Katie. Her arm was around Jen’s shoulders. Jen swayed and hiccupped.

“Sober my ass,” Katie murmured. I didn’t think she meant for any of us to hear, but I heard anyway. I didn’t care. I was having fun.

Once inside, it was impossible to hear anyone without shouting. The club was dark, pulsing with colored lights and a deep bass rhythm. Heady perfume and sweat mingled in the thick, warm air. Bodies packed the dance floor, hands up and heads bobbing to the music. Katie grabbed my arm and shouted in my ear, “Let’s see if we can find a table.”

We found one in the corner and threw our jackets over the chair backs, eager to dance. I bounced to the music, not caring how I looked. Val pulled my hand, and I struggled to balance.

“Let’s dance!” she shouted. The three of us followed her. We broke through the crowd only to be swallowed by it. It felt as though we moved as one. I let the music take me, losing myself in the beat.

It wasn’t long before a group of guys discovered us. I looked up and saw one behind each of my friends. They looked like models—perfect hair, chiseled features, and thick, dark lashes. My friends’ eyes widened in awareness as they realized someone was behind them. At the same time, I felt hands light on my hips and warm breath on my neck. A deep voice rumbled near my ear, “I haven’t seen you before. Do you come here often?”

Do you come here often? Wasn’t that, like, the oldest pick-up line in the book? I covered my mouth with my hand to hide the giggle that I couldn’t hold back. I shook my head, but didn’t turn around.

“What’s your name?” he persisted. His hands touched me, my skin tingling where his fingers brushed. Did I tell him the truth?

“It’s Meara!” Val shouted, winking at me.

Great, thanks for the help, I thought sarcastically.

“Meara.” His pronunciation of my name sounded exotic, a roll to the r. “I like that.”

The voice, the touch…I shouldn’t be attracted, but my body told me differently. Guilt, hot and heavy, coursed through my veins. I should have walked away, but I couldn’t help myself. I turned to look at him. I was eye level with his chest, showcased in a tight, black t-shirt. It was made of a shiny, slinky material that might look feminine on some men, but not him. It clung to his muscles and his flat abs. I swallowed and looked up, up, up, into dark, slightly upturned eyes. My breath caught. He didn’t look like he was from here. He didn’t look like he was from anywhere I’d ever been. His spiky, blond hair bordered on white, and his skin was buttery toffee. He smiled down at me, straight teeth gleaming in the club lights.

“I’m Kieran.” His voice was melodic.

“Do I know you?” I frowned. Even with his unusual looks, I swore I’d seen him before. I tried to remember, but my foggy brain refused to help.

“We haven’t met.” He winked. “You would have remembered.”

All that and arrogance, too, I thought as Kieran’s hands gripped my hips tighter. He moved with me. “You’re not from here, are you, Meara?”

I shook my head, and he nodded. “I didn’t think so.”

“What about you?”

“No, I’m not from here.” He didn’t elaborate. His hands felt good on my waist. I fought the urge to run my hand down his arm, to feel the strength. He must live at the gym to have muscles like that, I thought. My cheeks burned. I shouldn’t be doing this. I shouldn’t be having these thoughts. Evan was my boyfriend. I loved him. Yet, even as I chanted this mantra, my eyes were glued to the man in front of me. Unlike Evan, Kieran had moves.

The song ended and another began. He dropped his hands from my side and took my hand in his. “Can I get you a drink?”

“I think I’ve had enough.” I wasn’t trying to be funny, but he laughed. He had a beautiful laugh. It fluttered inside me and shivered down my spine.

“I meant a Coke or water or…” His dark eyes held mine.

“Diet Coke is great.” I turned to see if my friends wanted anything, but they were gone. I quickly glanced around the area, but I didn’t see them in the crowd. “Where is everyone?”

Kieran nodded toward the back of the dance floor, and I followed his gaze. Katie, Val, and Jen were all dancing close with the other guys. They were just as built and beautiful as Kieran. I looked at him and raised my eyebrow. “Friends of yours?”

“Friends.” He seemed to mull it over. “Yes, I suppose you could say that.”

I tilted my head and studied him. He was so different from other guys. Was he older? He seemed like it. Maybe early twenties. Mom would be furious. Before I could think about it more, he pulled me with him to the bar. He paid for the drinks and handed one to me, tilting his glass toward mine as if to toast. With a half-smile, he put it to his lips.

I drank greedily. I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was. When the glass was empty, he took it from me and placed it on the bar. He ran his finger down my forearm. I shivered, but didn’t pull away. Even as my body responded to his touch, I felt another burst of guilt.