In Your Wildest Dreams (Wildcat Hockey, #4)(43)

“What? No way. I’ve barely talked to him. I would never do that to you.”

“Okay.” Ev smiles and rests a reassuring hand on my arm. “I believe you. But just so you know, if you had, I wouldn’t be mad. I know how good he is at getting information out of people.”

“He is charming,” Grace says as she brings the champagne to her lips again. “The way he was looking at you tonight. He’d die if he saw you right now.”

“What? No.” I shake my head. “If he was looking at anyone, it was you two. I was in a ratty old sweatshirt and shorts.”

“Eww.” Everly makes a face of disgust. “He’s like my brother.”

“I don’t think he was looking at your clothes,” Grace mumbles and then laughs. Everly joins in.

My cheeks are warm, which I’m absolutely blaming on the two sips of fake booze and all the bodies in this club.

“I promise you, he wasn’t looking at me like that. We’re just…friends.” That feels like the wrong word, but we’re more than acquaintances at this point.

“Uh-huh. Sure.” Grace smiles at me, hiding behind her glass.

“I’m not interested in dating. The run-in with Gabe reminded me exactly why I am on a hiatus from men.”

Everly gives me a sympathetic smile. “Understandable. After my last relationship, I didn’t go out with anyone for like two months. It was very cathartic.” She finishes her drink and then stands and holds out a hand to me. “You aren’t interested in dating hot guys, but tell me, how do you feel about heading downstairs and dancing with some?”

I take one more sip and then place my hand in hers. “I feel great about it.”





We dance for hours, going back to our VIP section occasionally to cool off and get another drink.

Everly somehow manages to sneak several drinks bought for her by a group of guys that overhear it’s her birthday. The security watching for that kind of thing is a little more lax up in VIP, but if she gets us kicked out, it’ll at least be a good story. Grace isn’t drinking at all and I’m sipping on my third vodka and Sprite.

I’m so happy I don’t even need the alcohol to feel tipsy, though it’s certainly helping. Tonight has been so much fun and I feel so lucky that I’ve found these two people after the worst year of my life. If we weren’t dancing and laughing so much, I’d probably do something embarrassing like cry.

We’re taking a breather now, sitting on the comfy leather couches. Grace is texting with Lane, and Ev with her brother.

“Tyler swears it wasn’t him,” she says. “Or I think that’s what this says.”

She hands me the phone and I read through their texts. Her replies are filled with typos and too many exclamation points. But she’s right. “Maybe it was the guy at the door?”

Ev shrugs. “Whoever it was, thank you!” She screams the last two words and we get a few looks from a group of guys nearby.

A new song starts and Grace gasps and looks to Everly, who has the same wide-eyed, excited expression.

“I love this song!” they say in unison.

“We have to dance.”

“You two go ahead,” I tell them. “My feet are killing me.”

“No way!” They each grab one of my hands and pull me up.

I’m dragged behind them to the first floor. Every hour more people have piled into this space. We only make it to the edge of the dance floor before there’s a wall of bodies too thick to move farther.

The two of them sing along with the lyrics, basically shouting them at me until they realize I don’t know them. It’s some catchy pop song. I’ve heard it a dozen times but never really listened to the lyrics. I don’t register them now either. My heart is so happy and I feel so light and free. It’s probably that last drink talking, but I don’t care. Tonight feels like a tiny baby step to getting my life back.

We’re in our own little bubble, dancing with each other and a little drunk, so at the first shout, none of us react. I look up, but I can’t see anything but more happy people dancing around us.

It’s not until someone knocks into the back of Grace and pushes her into me that we realize something isn’t right, and then it’s too late. We’re all pushed again and then there are screams. It’s eerie because we can’t see anything. The path to leave the dance floor is blocked and suddenly everyone is rushing toward us, all trying to leave at the same time.

I grab on to both Everly and Grace and hold tight as we try to keep from being trampled. Staying upright is hard, but I’m so scared if one of us falls we’ll be seriously hurt. We huddle together as close as we can get. None of us speak.

It’s not long before security is everywhere and light floods the building. We’re escorted outside with everyone else. Police cars line the street and the three of us hurry with others until we’re far enough away that it feels safe.

My heart is hammering so hard in my chest. I’m still squeezing Everly and Grace’s hands.

“What the hell happened?” Everly asks, looking back toward the club where people are still pouring out.

“I don’t know.” Grace looks the most spooked and winces as she finally inspects her foot. She’s bleeding from where she got stepped on during the chaos.