“Ohmigod!” Sam jumped up next to me, grabbing my arm in a vice grip. “Ohmigod. Ohmigod… Did you hear that? I think she called my name. Ohmigod!” She squealed so loud I thought I might bust an eardrum as she danced from foot to foot and grabbed onto Kyle’s lapels.
“Dude, we are, like, the hottest couple in school!” Kyle said.
“Ohmigod! Ohmigod!”
I couldn’t help smiling as I watched Sam and Kyle run up the stairs to the stage amid a roar of applause from the crowd to receive their crowns. Kyle’s was a short, sparkling thing that looked like it belonged in a kid’s dress-up box, and Sam’s rivaled anything I’d ever seen on
Last year’s queen put a sash over Sam’s head, and Kyle and Sam held hands, grinning from ear to ear as the crowd cheered.
“Congratulations, Samantha and Kyle,” Mrs. Bailey said into the microphone again. Though above the roar of the crowd still clapping, it was almost a lost cause. “Now we’d love to have all the couples on the dance floor join our king and queen in their first royal dance.”
Slow music erupted from the speakers, a soft Jason Mraz song. The crowd settled down, dispersing, as people paired into twos, standing close to each other and swaying back and forth. Sam and Kyle descended the stage stairs and took up a spot in the center of the dance floor, one hand on each other, the other on their massive crowns to keep them from falling off.
I turned to go find another glass of Mango Madness when I felt Chase’s hand on my arm.
“Hey. Where are you going?”
I glanced at the dance floor. “Well, it’s only for couples.”
Chase raised an eyebrow at me. “You are my date.”
I blinked at him, trying to figure out if he was joking.
He grinned, a lopsided thing that showed off a dimple in his left cheek. “Come on. Dance with me, Featherstone.”
I pursed my lips together, tasting lipstick. “Okay. I guess.”
Chase took my hand in his, and I instantly felt goose bumps break out, shivering down my bare arms. Must have been a sudden gust of wind. Certainly couldn’t have anything to do with how warm his hands felt. How strong. How intimate.
Yep. Just the wind.
I gulped down a wave of apprehension as Chase moved in close, putting both hands at my waist. His palms were so hot, I was sure they were making smoldering handprints there. I ignored the sensation, focusing on moving my feet a few inches at a time to the left, letting Chase lead me in slow circles as we swayed with the rest of the couples.
“I like the dress,” Chase said, his voice low. “Red’s a good color on you.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but only a strangled sort of squeak came out. I cleared my throat and tried again. “Uh, thanks. You… you look nice, too.”
He grinned, that dimple making an appearance again. “Thanks. I feel kinda ridiculous in this, to be honest.”
I shook my head. “No, you look good. It looks good on you. I mean, it’s all good.”
His smile widened. “Good.”
And then he moved in closer, getting rid of any space that might have existed between us, his arms going around my middle, his cheek close to mine, his breath heavy on my hair.
My entire body was suddenly filled with awkward energy. Was I stepping on his feet? Was my deodorant holding up okay? Where was I supposed to put my hands? I suddenly had to concentrate on the simplest of tasks. Like breathing. I inhaled the spicy scent of what was definitely cologne this time.
“Relax,” Chase whispered in my ear as if he could read my racing mind. “I don’t bite.” He paused. “Unless you want me to.”
Oh boy.
I stumbled, tripping over his foot, and twisting my ankle beneath my too-high heels.
Chase caught me. “Dude, I was kidding,” he said, teeth showing as he grinned at me.
I nodded. “Right. Yeah. I know.”
“You okay?”
“Great. Fine. Dandy. Just… it’s a little warm. I’m gonna go hit the bathroom.”
“Okay, I’ll come with you,” he said, grabbing my hand again.
I quickly pulled it back. “I think I can manage by myself.”
“I’ll walk you there.”
“I’m fine. Geez! I’m just going to pee, okay?”
He paused. But instead of looking hurt, he just grinned again. “Okay. Go ‘pee.’ I’ll wait here.”
“Thank you.”
I quickly scuttled from the dance floor, ducking my head so that my red cheeks didn’t telegraph the mix of sensations rolling around in my belly right now. God, what was wrong with me? Clearly the tiara was cutting off circulation to my brain.
At the back of the cafeteria was a short hallway that ended in both the girls’ and boys’ bathrooms. At the moment it was nearly empty, since most of the school was out on the floor slow dancing.
While I needed a few minutes to get away from the heat, the truth was I did have to pee. Being nervous did that to me. And dancing with Chase had made me way nervous.
I turned down the corridor and made a beeline toward the bathroom.
But I never made it to that blue cutout of a girl figure on the door.
Instead, I felt something come at me from behind, a blinding pain erupting behind my right ear as bright spots danced in front of my face. The ground rushed up to meet me, my heels buckling under my feet, as the world went black.
Chapter Twenty-Two
THE FIRST THING I NOTICED WHEN I WOKE UP WAS THE HIPPO squatting on my head. Or at least that’s what I assumed was happening based on the pressure building to a blinding pain between my ears. I took several beats, slowly breathing in and out, willing the hippo to go away before venturing to open my eyes. I slowly blinked one, then the other open, cringing through the pain.
It was dark. A faint glow from somewhere just outside my field of vision was the only light illuminating the area. I realized I was outside, a cool breeze whipping over my bare arms and making me shiver. It smelled faintly of chlorine, making me think I was near a swimming pool. I could hear faint sounds in the distance-crickets, music, the rumble of the freeway.
I blinked a few more times, slowly letting my senses come alive again, and realized I did not, in fact, have a large water mammal on my head, just a really bad headache. I guess being brained from behind will do that to you.
I wriggled my hands and fingers as I tried to get my bearings, and quickly realized I didn’t have much wiggle room at all. My hands were tied together behind my back. Ditto my feet. Whoever had hit me over the head had done a bang-up job of making sure I couldn’t respond in kind.
As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I could see a metal utility shed in front of me, and the outline of the top of the math building. I was at the school. If I had to guess, near the swim team’s pool.
And the faint glow of light I’d seen was coming from underneath the door of the utility shed. Someone was inside.
I moved left, then right, then realized not only were my hands and feet tied up, but I was tied to something. I craned my head around in the dark, coming up against a starting block. I wriggled back and forth. The bonds at my wrists were some sort of rope, strong and tightly knotted. No way was I going to break them before whoever was in the shed came back. I kicked my legs, twisting, but it was no use. I was stuck there.
