A Shade of Vampire 8: A Shade of Novak(16)

I couldn’t stop the grin from spreading over across my face as Ben swallowed a mouthful of his drink a little too quickly.

“Yeah,” he said. “Sure.”

He took her hand, following her to an empty spot a few feet away. She started dancing as soon as they reached it, placing her arms around his shoulders and moving her hips to the beat.

Jake cleared his throat next to me.

Oh.

He looked down at me expectantly, a smile on his lips. He nodded his head toward a spot next to them.

“You want to dance?”

“Uh. O-okay.”

He held out his hand and led me toward a spot near Ben and Kristal. Ben threw me an exaggerated wink as soon as he saw me. I rolled my eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

Jake was looking down at me, frowning.

Crap.

“I-I was just making a face at Ben.”

“Okay,” Jake said, smiling now—though he still looked a little disconcerted. “Because if I’m boring you and you’d rather dance with someone else, just say.”

“No! No. Of course not!” I blurted out the words so quickly it made the situation feel even more awkward.

My cheeks blazed.

I felt uncomfortable dancing. The girls in skimpy dresses all around me were dancing like they’d been born in a club. I felt clumsy and out of place in my flowing dress and brown sandals.

Sandals. What were you thinking, Rose? I was shocked to find myself wishing that I’d borrowed one of Kristal’s short dresses.

I tried to concentrate on the rhythm and beat of the music. But the music felt so foreign to me, it was hard to flow with it. The more I tried, the more I pictured myself as the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz.

Ben and I had been exposed to music aplenty. But not this type of music—club music. Stuff that people our age listened to.

Our father had encouraged Ben and I to take up musical instruments from a young age. I’d played both the harp and piano since I was six years old, while Ben played the piano and guitar. Our dad had taught us both. But our dad’s taste in music was rather old-fashioned, as one would expect from a man born in the fifteenth century.

“They’ve arrived!” Jake shouted over the music, pointing toward a group of girls and boys our age who’d just broken through the crowd. He let go of me and walked toward a tall, skinny blonde girl in a black glittery minidress and heels so high they made my feet ache just looking at them.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and reached down to kiss her on the lips.

Oh.

I see.

Kristal’s newly arrived friends all dressed and danced like goddesses. Just like Kristal herself and apparently every other girl on this beach except me.

Jake pulled the blonde toward an empty patch of sand and she started gyrating against him. All the other boys seemed to have arrived with partners.

Ben was still dancing with Kristal. She hadn’t left him as Jake had left me. And he was coping better than I was with the music. Much better. Then again, Kristal was doing most of the dancing against him; he just had to follow along with her, supporting her moves. He looked like pretty much any other guy in the party.

“I’m going to take a break.” I didn’t know why I said it out loud, since nobody could have possibly heard me.

I thought back to the brochure my mother had given me of that Scottish survival course.

Maybe I would have been better suited wallowing around in one of those mud pools.

I walked over to the bar and, flashing my passport, picked up another glass of champagne. I sat down in the corner in view of the dance area and downed it in one gulp. The bubbles shot up my nose and I descended into a coughing fit. Thanks to the music, nobody noticed except for the bartender. I stood up and picked up another drink from the counter.

Or maybe I just need to be drunker. All these girls seem pretty drunk. Maybe that’s how they dance so well.

I downed one glass after the other until my head felt lighter, and my discomfort started to dull. But when I looked around the party again, I couldn’t spot any guy free who was good-looking enough for me to want to approach.

I waited for about half an hour, sitting and looking around hopefully. But the only men who looked available appeared older. Much older.

The heavy electro music reverberating around the party was starting to make my eardrums hurt. I walked toward the border of the dance area and turned around to glance back at Ben and Kristal. When neither noticed that I’d even moved from my place, I split from the crowd. Removing my sandals, I walked onto the sand toward the dark ocean. I breathed in deeply and approached the waves, dipping my feet in.

I think I can dance now. I just need to find someone…

Oh, my.

Almost as soon as the thought entered my head, a dozen young-looking guys walked along the beach toward the party. There were no girls in sight.

My eyes fixed on the young man at the front. He looked around Jake’s age, maybe slightly older.

He is… handsome. Very. Handsome.

He wore black jeans and a smart navy shirt. He was tall—several inches taller than Ben—and well built, the muscles in his arms flexing as he walked. His strong jawline was covered with just enough stubble to give him a rugged, sexy look, while his dark hair brushed the sides of his face. He had deep chocolate-brown eyes.

Quick, Rose. Move!

Flinging my sandals into the waves, I raced toward him barefoot across the sand.