"The quarry is before us," Rachel said, "so dust off your supply of pickup lines and let's stalk our prey."
"I don't have a supply of pickup lines," I said.
"Then you can use one of mine. Try: Is it hot in here, or is it just you?"
I laughed because I couldn't imagine myself saying that to anyone. My gaze traveled around the room. "They're nice, healthy stock," I said.
"Got anyone in your sights?" Rachel asked.
I didn't answer and kept looking. It only took me half a minute to realize that this wasn't such a good idea after all. I'd forgotten that trying to pick up guys involves the very big possibility of rejection. And did I really need any more of that right now? I think not.
"How about that tall blond guy by the door?" Rachel said. "He's here with a friend but he keeps looking around—a sure sign he wants to meet someone."
When I didn't protest, she nodded in his direction, sizing him up again. "We'll have to approach slowly so as not to scare him off. Blonds startle easily."
I didn't move. I just stood there clutching my glass. "You know, I'm not sure I want to do this. It's been so long since I've been hunting, I think I've forgotten how to talk to new guys."
Before Rachel could answer, a voice off to my right said, "Oh, I don't know about that. You didn't have any problem talking to me."
I recognized the voice. Even before I turned, I knew the Clark Kent guy stood next to me.
Chapter 6
I gasped and said something that came out as, "Ahh eeh!" Plus I jumped a little, which jostled the drink in my hand so that some of it spilled onto the floor. This was especially bad since he obviously worked here and probably didn't appreciate people sloshing soda around in the restaurant.
"Oh, sorry." I grabbed a few napkins from the table and bent down to mop up the mess.
"No, it was my fault." He took some more napkins and bent down to help me. "I shouldn't have spoken like that. I'd forgotten how easily blondes startle."
I felt myself blush bright red. I'm not sure which embarrassed me more: That I'd run into him again after taking his money and disappearing, or that he'd heard Rachel and me discuss hunting guys.
In an attempt to regain some dignity, I stuttered, "Uh, thanks for your help. With the floor I mean. And also, you know, the other night."
"You still owe me a dance," he said.
I blinked at him, surprised that he still wanted anything to do with me. "Do you want to dance right now?"
He glanced at the table. "Sure. Cup cleanup can wait for a few minutes.''
I'd forgotten he was working. "We don't have to if it's a problem," I said. "I wouldn't want to get you in trouble."
He grinned. "You're not getting out of our bargain that easily. Remember, I paid for you."
Rachel's jaw dropped, reminding me that I hadn't told her the complete story of how Samantha and I had gotten into the Halloween dance. I'd have to do that soon. In the meantime, I sent her a shrug and followed the guy toward the dance floor.
"I really meant to come back," I said as we walked, "but then I had to leave suddenly." Really suddenly, while being escorted by an angry security guard to the back door. Only I didn't want to admit to that. What would the guy think of me if he knew I'd been kicked out of the dance for disorderly conduct?
He shook his head. "You know, Bo Peep gave me a really bad time because you ditched me."
"I didn't ditch you. It's just a very busy time of year for angels."
Luckily I didn't have to hear his response to that, because Rick started up his next song and it was, as usual, too loud for any conversation and most brain-wave functions. It must be the loudness of the music, after all, that made it so hard to think straight. And also made my stomach feel fluttery this way.
As I danced I told myself not to continually stare at the guy. Which was hard. My gaze kept traveling back to him no matter how hard I tried to find something else to look at. I loved that his dark hair had a hint of curl so it looked like he'd just run his fingers through it. And that he had perfect angular features. And . . .
I made myself look for Adrian. She danced by herself right in front of the band. Her gaze didn't leave Rick, and I noticed for the first time how short her leather skirt was and how the black fishnet stockings she wore made her look ten years older. I'd have to point that out to Mom.
My gaze wandered back to the hot guy and I found him watching me. He smiled and looked away. The fluttering in my stomach spread through my whole body and Adrian's words ran through my mind. "The first time he danced with me, I knew it was love." Was this how Adrian had felt when she looked at Rick?
I dismissed the idea. It was foolishness. It was just because Mike was across the room paying attention to Naomi. Of course I wanted some new guy to notice me. Who wouldn't? There was no such thing as love at first dance. You couldn't really love a person when you knew nothing about him. We probably had nothing in common.
I peered at a wall for a full twenty seconds before my gaze slid back to the guy. Okay, who needed anything in common when a guy had broad shoulders, an easy smile, and Clark Kent blue eyes. I didn't want to just dance with him, I wanted to put on a cape and soar through the sky with him.
I forced myself to look away and take deep breaths. How old was he? He didn't look that much older than me, but it was hard to tell m the low light. If he was a freshman in college—just a year older than me, then maybe he'd still consider dating me. Although, even this felt like hoping for a lot.
As I watched him he turned and saw me staring. He smiled, but I turned away, embarrassed.
Off to my left, Rachel danced with the blond guy we'd been talking about. Further off Mike and Naomi danced, which yeah—who cared about them? Suddenly Mike seemed so young and blasé.
The song ended and the band slid into a slower beat. I didn't think Rick was capable of composing a ballad. So far everything I'd heard vibrating through my bedroom wall had been stuff you could pogo stick to, but he stepped to the mike and said, "We're going to slow things down for a few minutes. This is one of my new songs called, 'The Pretty Girl Curse.' "
Leave it to Rick to come up with a name like that for a slow song.
We stopped dancing and the guy looked over at the band then at me. "Well, I guess your debt to me is paid."
I put my hand on his arm so he wouldn't walk away. "But I accumulated interest. In more than one way."
Another smile. He had great teeth. "Then we should dance some more." He pulled me into slow dance position. I liked the way he smelled subtly of aftershave and how I fit so comfortably against him. I also liked the way he kept looking over at me, as though trying to read something in my face.
The only thing I didn't like was that the music grew so loud again that we couldn't talk. But it was nice standing with him, swaying to the music. I even started to think that Rick was not such a bad singer after all. His voice was sort of melodic when he wasn't using it to screech things.
Then a line in his lyrics caught my attention. "Cheerleading girl—behind the facade, isn't it odd, how ugly is your world." And the song went on, all about how awful cheerleaders were.