I lifted my heavy head to examine what he offered. I leaned down and took a long drink from the straw. When I looked back up at him, everything was fuzzy, and I got that warm feeling of affection again, thinking about this brave soldier willing to put his life on the line. I pulled him down and gave him a sloppy kiss, though he didn’t seem to mind. He chuckled, wrapping an arm around my waist.
“Girl, you’re even more wasted than I thought. You’d better take it easy.”
“Nah, I’m gooood.” I reached for the drink in his hand, but he lifted it way up high, and I jumped for it, wobbling. His free hand still held me around the waist. His laughter was playful, but I was serious about wanting to down the rest of his drink. The fact that he wouldn’t hand it over was ticking me off, and he seemed to think it was terribly cute.
I heard a familiar sound while we haggled over the drink. A whistle. It was the same intonation my dad used during training, but it wasn’t his pitch. I peered around the room in what felt like slow motion.
There went the whistle again!
My slow eyes found Kope standing against the wall, sleeves still rolled up to his elbows. When he knew I saw him, he held up a glass of water.
Ned was swaying us back and forth, trying to dance.
“I have to go to the bathroom,” I told him. Well, that was what I meant to say, but it was slurred, so I hoped he got the gist of it as I disengaged from his arms and stumbled in Kope’s direction, bumping into people along the way. I finally got to him, and he held out the water and inclined his head to a chair. I took the water, but didn’t sit. He spoke to me in that maddening calm, gentle way of his.
“Have a rest. The Legionnaire has gone.”
Hallelujah. Now all I needed was another drink. I’d have to be sneaky, since Kope was trying to sober me up. Hey, come to think of it...
“You whistled,” I said, pointing at him. He nodded but did not look at me, and I wondered whether he was ashamed of me. That thought made me clutch my stomach, saying, “I really need to go to the bathroom.”
I staggered to the side, and Kope took my arm to steady me. He lifted my chin without saying a single word. I watched his hazel eyes, feeling his thumb move back and forth across my jaw, his way of saying he thought no less of me. I gathered strength from his strong gaze, knowing I wouldn’t be getting another drink after all. I gave him a single nod.
When he dropped his hand from my chin, I walked away from him, dizzy, trailing a hand against the wall until I got to the nearest exit. I went to the hall with the bathroom but stopped in the entryway. Why was it so dark? Oh, wait. This wasn’t right. It was some utility hall, where two people were making out.
My body locked up with the shock of recognition. Looking away would have been the smart thing to do. But my feet were weighted down by some terrible charm as I took in the sight of Kai’s lean back and strong shoulders. Manicured fingernails roamed over the short hair on the back of his head as he kissed her hard. They were fully dressed, but might as well have been naked, the way his hips ground against hers. She lifted a knee, hiking her dress up to her hips and revealing red panties. She pulled his blue dress shirt out of his waistband and put her hands in, touching his back. I knew exactly how silky his skin would feel.
I finally got enough sense to back out of that hall. I rounded the corner and came nose-to-nose with Ginger, who grabbed my upper arm in a death grip. She peeked around the corner to confirm that I’d gotten an eyeful, then pulled me down the hall away from them.
“What the hell are you thinking?” she whispered through clenched teeth. “Leave him alone while he’s working!”
“I was looking for the bathroom.” I tried to pull my arm from her strong grasp.
“Likely,” she spit.
“You don’t have to talk to me like that! And freaking let me go!”
She flung my arm down, getting in my face again. I hoped Pharzuph wasn’t camped out somewhere nearby listening, because Ginger obviously wasn’t worried about throwing me under the bus.
“I watched you tonight, Anna. You enjoyed yourself, didn’t you? You loved the attention of that bartender and the eyes of the men on you while you danced for them. Admit it. You loved it.”
I wanted to deny it. All my life I’d been invisible. I’d been too good to be noteworthy. Tonight I felt accepted by the crowd, and in spite of the horrid spirit trailing me, I’d managed to have fun along the way.
“All of those guys giving you attention?” she continued. “Yeah, they wanted to get laid. That bartender? He’s engaged. I’d scouted him out before you even got here. And did you happen to notice all of the girls who were wildly envious as their boyfriends tried to get a glimpse up your dress while you danced on the bar? Because that’s what was happening while you were enjoying yourself.”
“Stop. That’s not fair.”
“Fair.” She snorted, scoffing at the notion. “You’re no better than the rest of us.”
“I never thought I was.”
As I stared into Ginger’s eyes the room began to spin again. Someone was coming up behind us, talking to us. I worked hard to focus. It was Blake. He stuck out his knuckles at me, and with great effort I finally bumped his with mine.
“You know it’s a good night when you lose your shoes.” He laughed. We looked down at my bare feet, toenails painted sparkly red. “Who knew you’d be the kissing bandit after a few drinks, huh?”