Player(14)

I could barely stand it. I wanted to watch him play forever, but I was dying for him to get down here and dance with me.

After a while, their set ended, and the crowd erupted in cheers and whistles as the band headed offstage, instruments in hand. The piano player stayed put, plinking out a swinging jazz tune that got everyone dancing again as stagehands cleared the set for the next act.

I took a breath, pressing my hand to my stomach to try to still my nerves. “How do I look?” I asked Amelia.

She beamed. “Like a million and one bucks.”

“Don’t worry,” Katherine said. “It’s gonna be great. Here he comes.”

I swallowed hard and turned to find Sam winding his way through the crowd toward me, smiling in my direction. Hands reached out to pat him on the shoulders, smiling faces praised him, and every female—plus several men—in his path stopped to watch him walk by. He was a magnet moving through metal shavings.

I almost didn’t believe it when he stopped in front of me. “You made it.”

“I did,” I said, trying to keep my cool. “That was incredible! I had no idea places like this even existed!”

He laughed. “You can’t unring that bell. Looks like we’ve got ourselves a new regular.”

Ian stepped out from behind him, his face too angular, too sharp. He was technically handsome—strong jaw and bright blue eyes, golden hair and a gorgeous smile. But something about him sang the warning of a predator, a man with little care for others, especially of the opposite gender. I’d heard enough chatter from the woodwind section to know he was a player through and through.

“Hey, Val,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve officially met. Ian Jackson. These your friends?”

I tried to smile at him, but it felt about as genuine as the Flendi bags guys sold on the street in Midtown. “This is Katherine, Amelia, and Rin—my roommates—and this is Court, Rin’s boyfriend.”

“Nice to meet you,” Sam said to the group.

Katherine stuck out her hand stiffly. “Nice to meet you, too.”

Sam took it, amused, and she gave it a pump. Amelia gave a timid wave and took a step behind Katherine.

Ian slithered around Sam to stand by Katherine. “So, Katherine, is it? And what is it you do for a living?”

“I’m a librarian.”

“You’re kidding. Tell me you have glasses and wear your hair in a really tight bun. You stick your pencil in it, don’t you?” He was practically frothing at the mouth.

Court’s eyes narrowed to slits, the muscles at his jaw bouncing. He shifted like he was going to take a step, but Rin stayed him with a hand on his arm and a smirk on her face.

“I have twenty-twenty vision, and I only use pens.”

He laughed. “Let me buy you a drink, Dewey.”

Her brows drew together. “As in the Dewey decimal system? That’s not terribly clever.”

Another laugh as he tried to put his arm around her. “Man, you are too good to be true. Come on, what are you drinking?”

She shrugged out from under his arm. “Your request implies a desire for sex, but I’m a lesbian,” she lied with a completely straight face. “See?”

Katherine turned on her heel to Amelia, grabbed her face in both hands, and planted a sloppy, closed-mouth kiss on her lips.

Amelia’s hands flew out and windmilled, but Katherine held her still while she finished the job. When she broke away, it was with a pop, a curt nod, and a clinical brush of the corner of her lips.

I thought I actually heard the thunk when Court’s jaw hit the ground.

Amelia stood stock-still, her blue eyes wide and blinking and her face the color of my dress.

“So, there you have it,” Katherine said matter-of-factly. “Very much gay. Thank you for your kind offer, but I think my date would be offended if I accepted.”

Ian’s mouth gaped like a trout, and a single ha burst out of him. “Well, my mistake.” He turned to Sam, who seemed like he was trying very, very hard not to laugh. “I’m off to the bar. Don’t get into too much trouble now. Okay, kids?”

Sam gave him a look. “We’ll try to be good.”

“But not you two,” Ian added with a glance at Katherine and Amelia.

Amelia still hadn’t moved other than her eyelids, which still blinked like a camera shutter.

And with that, he left.

I found myself breathing a little easier once he was out of sight.

Sam extended his hand, and when I placed mine in his palm, he held it up, inspecting me. A long whistle left his lips. “Now, this is a dress.” He spun me once, the chiffon lifting away from my legs, lighter than air. “I’ve been waiting all night to dance with you. Would you do me the honor?”

My heart did a back handspring. “I’d love to.” My smile slipped. “I’m not very good. I’ve never really danced like this,” I warned.

With a solid tug, I was in his arms. One steady hand held my ribs, and the other held mine to the side as if it were the most natural thing in the world, to hold me like that, to sway this way. The smell of him invaded my senses, spice and musk and clean, masculine sweat.

“All you have to do is stay on your toes. I’ll do the rest.”

I must not have looked certain because he added something that hit me deep in my chest.