Page 101 of Sparks
I frowned and said into her ear. “He’s going to think you’re trying to hook us up!”
She shook her head. “No, he won’t!”
I turned to Dean with a tight smile. “He’s a friend of mine—”
“A really protective friend,” Holly explained, and I nodded.
“So, I need to go say hi to him,” I said. Dean raised his eyebrows and nodded, probably realizing there was underlying drama. “Dean, this is Holly. Holly, Dean.”
I left the two of them to talk as I went to the bar to greet Silas. He watched me approaching, his face serious. It made me weirdly nervous.
“Hey,” I said. Damn, he looked yummy.
He peered out at the dance floor. “I didn’t mean to take you from your date.”
“He’s not my date,” I said. But my hopes of kissing anyone was pretty much smashed. I couldn’t get freaky with cute Dean or any other guy in front of Silas. We’d been doing really well as friends, but I’d be lying if I said our little episode in the shower was not always there between us like an unacknowledged elephant in the room. “What are you drinking?” I asked.
“Long Island Iced Tea.” He turned toward the bar and took another drink off the counter. “And here’s your Cape Cod, top shelf. Happy birthday.”
“Aw, thanks!” I happily took the drink. I could never get a good enough buzz at clubs because it took forever between drinks to get another. So crowded. He tapped his glass to mine and we both drank. I took a second to admire the fit of his lightweight navy, V-neck sweater and dark jeans. Likewise, he took a second to glance down at my slinky black dress and knee-high boots.
Then he peered back out over the dance floor and took another drink. Without looking at me, he asked, “You still on that Sparks app?”
“Pssh.” I sucked down a gulp and waved a hand. “I’ve been off that for ages.”
He nodded, studying me. “I’m thinking of getting on.”
Ew. A really gross feeling slithered through me. “Really?” Was he just starting to date? Or maybe he’d been dating all summer? I had no idea. We never talked about that.
He gave a nod and flicked a glance to me. “My divorce was final this week. It’s time.” His head bopped minutely to the beat as he continued to peruse the room.
“Wow,” I said. His divorce was final. They’d gone through with it.
“Wow what?”
I shook my head and he watched me. “I guess I thought…”
“What?”
“That you two would get back together.”
“I figured that’s what you thought.” He drank from his glass while looking out over the dance floor. I didn’t know how to take that, and I didn’t know what to say.
To be honest, I hadn’t let myself daydream about Silas during his six-month separation. Each time I started, I imagined him back together with Jacquie, just like Shawn and Natalie. I pulled away from Silas, hard. It was my protective mechanism. But now? Ugh. He was single. Fully single. And he would get snatched up so fas—
A flash of light nearly blinded me. I pulled my head back and covered my eyes, then blinked to see Silas messing with his phone. He grinned and turned it around for me to see a horrible resting bitch face picture of myself, complete with forehead crease.
“Aw, Silas! Come on!” I grabbed for the phone and he yanked it out of my reach, laughing.
“That was a good one,” he shouted. “Best one yet.” He slid the phone down into his pocket as I glared and took another drink.
“I hate you,” I said, but he continued grinning.
I looked over at Dean and Holly, both with huge toothy-smiles, leaning in close to talk, then laughing. Aw. They were kind of cute. Guess I didn’t need to go back over there.
“I have a question for you.” I took a big drink and felt suddenly shy as he waited. “Do you still have that napkin?”
His grin grew into something mischievous. “Yes.”
