The Hidden - Jessica Verday [79]
“Hey,” I said to Beth in between songs. “Do you know where Cyn is? Did she come?”
Beth swayed to one side, with her arms up above her head as a pounding beat started. “Haven’t seen her.”
“Oh.” I cast another glance around. “I’m going to check outside. See if she’s smoking.”
Beth nodded, barely noticing when I left. She seemed to be having a ton of fun with Grant. It looked like she’d made the right choice.
The cool night air bit into all of the more exposed parts left behind by the skimpy material of my dress when I stepped outside, and I shivered. It didn’t look like anyone was out here.
I thought about calling Caspian. To see what he was doing, and see if he was missing me as much as I was missing him. It was almost like I was split in two. One part of me was having a great time being here with Ben and seeing Beth so happy, getting this chance to have this time with my friends was more than I could have ever hoped for.
But the other part of me longed to be home with Caspian. To be waiting as the clock turned to midnight …
A loud voice from the alley beside me caught my attention, and I saw a girl in a pink dress trying to practically climb on top of a boy standing next to her. The boy moved, distancing himself, and I saw a flash of gray.
Ben?
“Ginger, don’t. I’m here with someone else.”
His words confirmed that it was him, and I tried to shrink back into the shadows. If I could see them, they could probably see me. And I didn’t want that.
“But don’t you want to?” her drunken voice slurred. “I’ve been waiting all night for you. Come ’ere. Just give me a li’l kiss …”
“Ginger. I’m serious. I said—”
I moved out of the shadows then. “Ben?” I called. “Ben, I was looking for you. You promised me the next dance.” I walked over to him, and the girl, Ginger, was practically falling out of her dress. Her hair and makeup looked awful. I had a brief twinge of compassion for her.
“He’s mine, bish,” she said, moving clumsily toward me and trying to stand up straight. “Go fine your own man somewhere else, ho.”
Compassion? Gone.
Ben gently moved her to the side. “She’s right, Ginger. Are you going to be okay out here?”
“You’re leaving me? Leaving all of this?” She looked outraged, but still managed to flounce her hair. “Fine. Whatevs. Bye.”
Turning to totter clumsily back to the front door, she left Ben and me standing there. I managed to wait a whole thirty seconds before bursting out into laughter.
“You know how to pick ’em, Ben.” I said. “Another ex?”
“Regretfully,” he replied. “Ready for another dance?”
“If you can handle all of this,” I said with a snort of laughter.
We went back inside, where the DJ was announcing that the next song was “for the ladies.” I turned to Ben. “You ready for another dance, sexay man?” He brushed imaginary dust off the collar of his suit, and did a silly move with his hands.
“I was born ready.”
I took his outstretched hand and followed him to a clearing on the dance floor. Ben put his arms around my waist, and I hugged his neck. A slow intro had already begun to play, and the space around us quickly filled in with the crush of eager bodies.
I laid my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes. Ben was a good guy, a really good guy, but he wasn’t the one for me. And we both knew it.
I lifted my head after a couple seconds of moving back and forth, and stared up at him. “You know, you really are a great person, Ben,” I said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever told you that, but you are.”
He looked down. “Thanks, Abbey. You’re pretty great too.”
“I’m really glad I had the chance to get to know you better,” I said. “And for the record, I think that you and Kristen would have made a great couple. I wish you could have had that.”
“Me too,” he said softly, and I laid my head back down on his shoulder.
We were almost to the end of the song when a sudden melancholy