Of the Trees(33)

“I guess we’ll see him sometime later,” Ryan said.

“I guess,” she answered, cocking her head at him. “What do you—”

“Do you want to—”

“You first,” Cassie suggested, pointing toward him. The music beat around them, filling the darkened room and Cassie moved closer to catch Ryan’s words before they were swallowed into the bass.

“Let me find a place for these,” Ryan said, nodding to the jackets, “and then maybe we’ll see who’s here?”

Cassie nodded, and he offered her his arm. After a moment’s hesitation, she took it, linking her hand through the crook in his elbow and letting him steer her around the room. He dropped their coats on an empty section of bleachers and then led her into the dance. It took barely any time at all to make a circuit. They discovered quickly that Samantha Collins had come and seemed to be glad Jon wasn’t playing basketball. The two were already dancing—pirate and, if Cassie wasn’t mistaken, some kind of cat—winding closer to each other in the random beats of light that sparked in time with the music.

People continued to flow into the room, swelling through the doorway and into the crowd at the front. Cassie was right in assuming most would consider this a costume party. There were a lot of girls dressed like animals—cat ears and tiger tails adorning the otherwise nice dresses that they would have normally worn anyway. Some of the guys went more out, superhero capes and, in one instance, Cassie wasn’t sure who he was, a full gorilla costume. The only lights were from the bar above the DJ booth and the reflections that flared off the bits of jewelry and the sheen of the girls’ dresses.

“Have you seen Laney?” Cassie asked, looking from Ryan and back to the floor. One thing about the Masquerade theme people really did seem to get, it was hard to tell who anyone was. “She’s dressed as a wood nymph.”

“What the hell does a wood nymph look like?” he asked, staring at her quizzically. Cassie opened her mouth to answer and then shook her head with a laugh.

“I’ve no idea,” she answered, shrugging.

He grinned and then bent lower, bringing his mouth close to her ear. “Maybe she’s in there,” he said, his voice low and his breath warm on her neck. She tried to ignore the shiver that traversed her spine at his proximity, the warmth she felt when his breath settled around her. It meant nothing, it couldn’t because he had already made it very clear that he didn’t want it to mean anything. She cleared her throat and looked toward the dance floor, following Ryan’s line of vision. Laney could be in there, dancing already. Cassie hadn’t seen her, but Laney was small, easy to miss.

She stood on her tiptoes, leaning into Ryan for support as she brought her lips to his ears. “Are you trying to ask me to dance?” she asked. She kept her voice low and teasing, trying to pull off friendly. She wasn’t sure she succeeded. Her voice was breathier than she wanted it to be. He jerked back from her, his eyebrows raised. A smile curled his lips though, and he shrugged, offering her his hand. She took it and let him pull her into the throng.

It was warm on the dance floor. Someone had already propped open the back door, the cool air of the night wafted in over the dancers and pushed leaves across the floor. But even with that, it was hot. Cassie was pressed from all sides as laughing, dancing classmates surged around her. Ryan kept her within arm’s reach at all times, his hand darting out to her waist, resting on her arm, sometimes entangling his fingers with hers. It was good, dangerously good. She felt tingly and hot. Cassie’s attention was pinned with his touch. She’d turn and laugh with one of her softball teammates only to find the press of his fingers warm and distracting, returning her to him. A head she thought was Laney’s pulled her mind away, but he squeezed her hand, and she ricocheted back, grinning up at him.

When the music slowed and shifted into a slow dance, it was natural to step into his arms, press her cheek against his chest and rest against him. Other couples drifted past them, pairing off. Cassie glanced around from his chest, looking for the smirks she was sure would be waiting for her. Because here she was, again, treating Ryan as though he were her boyfriend, dancing with him as though it meant something, and even though it could to her, it didn’t to him. Where was Jessica now, or Rebecca? Where was the teasing and the jeering?

Cassie didn’t know. It was hard to tell who anyone around her was anyway. There must have been a lot of underclassmen there because there were a lot of people, even with their faces masked and their outfits outlandish, that she didn’t think she’d ever seen before. She took a deep breath and pressed her cheek to his chest again, the even thumping of his heart sounding loud in her ear.

“I hate to say this,” Ryan murmured. Cassie lifted her face, looking up to him. His attention was drawn to the door, and then he looked down, smiling at her. She felt a grin tug the corner of her lips in response. “I think I see Laney.”

“Really?” Cassie asked, stepping back and looking behind her. Ryan nodded as he pointed toward the open door. “C’mon.”

He followed her slowly, squeezing the hand she had held back for him. Laney was standing by the open back door. Her dress was forest green and in place of the traditional feathers, Laney’s mask had sprigs of leaves, twisting around vines. It was a beautiful mask and Cassie wondered if Laney made it herself, though she was never really crafty. She smiled when Cassie finally reached her, her hand encased by some stranger’s. He was masked as well, a brown mask that matched his trousers. It was done in dark, textured tones and reminded Cassie of ancient tree bark. His shirt was a dull green, very close to the color of Laney’s dress. Cassie felt a frown form at how much like a couple they looked, even though it had only been a few weeks. Laney beamed as she took in Cassie and Ryan, seeming completely unconcerned.