Page 54 of Voracious

We walk into the crowd, and Base beelines straight for Luciella, but his eyes drop to the writing on her chest, and his jaw ticks. Taking a gulp of his vodka, he looks at Tylar. “Dez is like an impatient puppy waiting on you.”

She sighs and heads over to him.

Base glances at Luciella again. “Am I still getting the silent treatment, or are you going to talk to me, princess?”

She sucks on her teeth, narrowing her eyes. “Nope,” she replies and spins around, walking away from him.

His nostrils flare as he keeps his gaze on her, watching as she vanishes into the dancing crowd.

“She is a nightmare,” he says, shaking his head.

“You kind of are too,” I reply. “Points for consistency though.”

He huffs and finishes his drink, crushing the plastic cup. “Yeah.”

“Have you heard from Kade?”

He frowns. “No, why? He’s still working on that uni project overseas.”

“Oh.”

“Does Rhodes have a little crush on my guy?” he teases, and I shove his arm. “You have as much chance as I do with Ella. They’re the most stubborn pair. Emotionless assholes.”

I laugh. “They’re not.”

“If you say so,” he mutters, his eyes finding Luciella again. She’s asking someone to stop swinging on the hoop, and a guy says something to her – I think he’s telling her to chill out. Base rolls his shoulders and goes towards them.

I grab a drink and stand aside, watching everyone dancing around. The music is blaring, and my face is starting to sweat under the mask already.

Three hours later, the place is packed with swaying, sweating bodies, dancing to the heavy beat that’s making the whole manor vibrate. Dez and Tylar are tangled together and sucking each other’s faces off. Lu is ignoring Base while he tries to talk to her, and I’m attempting to not check my phone for the millionth time.

Eventually, my friends and I, and Dez and Base, are jumping among the crowd.

The strobe lights flash faster, and I nearly stop dancing as someone appears at the very back, away from the moving crowd. Someone tall, who wasn’t there before, leaning against the wall, watching me intently.

Too tall to be Chris.

Wearing black combat pants, boots and a black hoodie with the hood up, a man with a metallic silver skull mask – tipped up slightly to free his mouth – smokes a joint and watches only me as I move around the dance floor, Tylar twirling me around.

We go for shots, and my chest heaves as I wait for Base to pour each test tube.

I take the shot, and my eyes trace the room to find the person, but he’s gone.

When I slip out of the party and freshen up in the bathroom, I check my phone. If that was Kade, he would’ve texted me, or at least called to say he was okay, right?

I have a message from Barry, informing me that he’s boarding the jet now. Kyle wishes me a happy birthday and tells me to enjoy the party, apologising for not being able to make it. Technically, my birthday isn’t until tomorrow, but no one wants to throw a party on a Sunday.

When I go back to the main room, Tylar is standing by the DJ booth, the music lowering and everyone turning to face her. She takes the microphone and announces that it’s the games hour. She pulls flashcards from behind the booth and reads off them.

“Okay. First one. Down your drink!”

“Boring!” Base boos. “Something spicier, Spence!”

She looks over at Lu; Base is standing beside her with another tumbler of what I know will be straight vodka. “Kiss someone wearing a mask! Anyone who doesn’t is eliminated from the game!”

Oh God.I don’t want to kiss anyone.

Dez lifts Tylar with one hand gripping the back of her thigh, pushing up both their masks so they can devour each other like they’re starved animals. People around me do the same.

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