Page 23 of Dark Love

The elevator door opens.

Mindy and Diane are standing right in front of us.

“Hey!” Mindy turns and smiles at Adonis.

That smile is different from any I’ve seen before, not that I’ve known her long—Mindy more than likes Adonis!

Does he know she’s interested?

Office place drama! The brownies were totally worth making.

***

This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever done. Nothing even comes close. Not putting ketchup on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Not the time I tried to stand up on my bicycle while going down a hill. Nor the time I tried to do one of those fancy spins you see on the television after learning to skate two hours before. This single container of ‘thank you’ cookies takes the top prize in the stupidity games of my life.

All I need to do is tell the taxi driver to take me someplace else.

But I stay silent, watching the lights of Urbium streak by. The city is a different entity at night. It transforms from a hive of chaos to caverns of secrets that no one wants to be told.

Why didn’t I just go home? I could be curled up in a blanket with a book in hand.

But now I’m in the back of a cab, about to pull up to a club that I’m not welcome in… to give the man who threw me out, cookies.

Really good chocolate chip cookies. But still, he kicked me out, and I’m crazy.

The cab comes to a stop.

Get up!

Tell the driver to take you somewhere else!

Why am I even doing this?

Because it needs to be done. This has nothing at all to do with my inexplicable need to see Vex again.

With more confidence than I feel, I step out of the cab. There’s an endless line wrapping around the block.

I don’t want to dance. There’s no way I’m waiting all night to hand Vex a cute tin of cookies.

Tac is at the rope again.

Hopefully, he remembers me.

Bypassing the line, I walk right up to him. “Hello.”

“Back of the line.” Tac doesn’t even look up at me.

“Um. Hi. I’m Diane’s friend.”

His eyes swing over to me, widening with shock or irritation… I’m not sure which. “I told her not to bring you here again.”

“Um. She didn’t. I came here alone.”

“We don’t allow trouble in the club.”

What is their problem? “I promise I won’t be any trouble.”

His eyes move up and down my body, taking in my outfit. It might not be covered in sparkles like Mindy's and Diane’s, but this is a perfectly acceptable little black dress. The hem is a bit shorter than I’m used to, brushing the tops of my knees, but I shouldn’t look all that out of place. Except for the cardigan, but Mom was right it’s getting colder.

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