We’re bonding.
It’s nice.
“Dance?” I squeak, looking up into his eyes. They’re almost lazy, hooded, relaxed from alcohol. Sexy as hell.
“Yeah, like the other people out there are doing right now.”
I glance out to the dance floor we created in the middle of the room. They’ve put a semi-slow song on, and a few people are there, swaying in each other’s arms, looking at one another. Kenai and Marlie are in there, her arms wrapped around his neck, his big ones resting on her hips. They look adorable. Perfect even.
“Ah, sure,” I say, because I know deep down if I say no, I’ll regret it immediately. And even though every shy instinct is screaming that I should say no, because I’m terrified I’ll do something awful like step on his foot, I fight it back.
He takes my empty punch cup and throws it in the bin, then takes my hand and pulls me out onto the dance floor. The second we’re there, he hooks a hand around my waist and pulls me closer, pressing our bodies together. I swallow, nerves fluttering around in my belly. It feels great, incredible even, yet my knees are trembling so bad I’m worried to even take a step.
Oliver slowly starts moving to the music, as if he can sense my nerves. After a few shaky breaths, I relax and start moving with him, letting our bodies sway and pull to the music. I glance over at Marlie, and she’s smiling at me, a warm, happy smile. Kenai winks at me, and I give them a small smile back. Being this close to Oliver, it makes me feel incredible. He smells so good. He feels even better.
I could spend hours just like this.
“We all did a pretty great job on this place, didn’t we?” he murmurs, his breath tickling my ear.
“Yeah,” I whisper. “We really did.”
“It’s good to see some of these people having fun and smiling again. It can’t be easy enduring what they do and never having any moments to just stop, breathe, and have fun.”
“I agree,” I say.
We keep swaying to the music, listening to the laughter all around, listening to the chatter and the happy conversations. A few more people get the courage to dance, and soon the dance floor is packed with couples, maybe even strangers, embracing each other. I notice a few familiar faces and inwardly smile at how good it must feel for them. Oliver is right about that.
A tap on my shoulder has me spinning around to see Marlie and Kenai standing beside us. “We’re going to do a few games now.”
“Sounds good,” I say, reluctantly stepping away from Oliver and moving back toward the tables.
Marlie turns the music off and grabs a microphone, getting everyone’s attention.
“Good evening, everyone,” she begins. “Welcome, and thank you for coming to our very first Halloween party. Sanctuary, as you know, is a place where people can come to feel safe, to escape the troubles in their lives, to have a loyal shoulder to lean on, so it’s our pleasure to be able to bring a night of fun to you. In case you haven’t already found it, there is a table to your left with food and drink. Help yourself. We’ll be doing a competition for the best costume later on in the evening, but right now, we have a few games up our sleeves. Prizes are here to be won, so don’t hold back.”
Everyone claps and smiles.
“The first game we’ve got is Halloween bingo. If you’d like to join in, go over to the table to the left and grab a card, then take a seat. The prize for this one is pretty great, so you don’t want to miss it.”
A big group of people go over to the tables and sit down, and then Marlie and Kaity begin the game. I excuse myself and go into the office to freshen up. I don’t really do so well with big crowds for an extended period, simply because I find it hard interacting with so many people at once. Even when I was younger, I never really loved parties all the time. So a few minutes’ peace and quiet always helps. I sit down on the sofa after grabbing my purse, and just check my makeup and phone. There are a few missed texts from Erin, asking me if Oliver and I have gotten it on yet.
I giggle.
“Mind if I join?”
I look up to see Oliver standing at the door, eyes fixed on me. I smile. “Sure.”
He comes in and sits down beside me. “Big crowds get to you too, huh?”
I nod. “Yeah, I don’t do well with a lot of noise constantly. I think it’s got something to do with how quiet I am.”
“Yeah, I know how you feel. I’m not much of a people person all the time, either.”
“It’s wonderful out there,” I say as I tuck my phone back into my purse. “It’s turned out to be a great night.”
“Yeah, it has.”
Before we can say anything else, the lights go out, plunging us into darkness, similarly to last night. Frowning, I reach for my phone and turn the flashlight on. I wave it toward Oliver. “Power outage again?”
He frowns. “Yeah, seems odd. I better go out and give them a hand. People don’t like being suddenly thrown into darkness, especially on Halloween.”
I nod and stand, pulling the office door closed behind me as we go out into the main area. It’s dark, aside from phone lights flashing around. I wave my phone around, scanning
