Spies and Prejudice (12 page)

“I wasn’t talking about the dress.”

“Oh.” I watch Tanner watch me. My cheeks grow warm. “You look nice.”

Tanner pulls at the knot in his tie. “I think I’m being strangled.”

“It’s very James Bond.”

He smiles. “My mom would love that.” He catches himself, giving me a worried look.

“It’s okay.” People always think I’ll freak at the mere mention of someone’s mom. I can handle the fact that other people have mothers. It’s not like she’s all I think about. Still, I can’t help thinking that my mom would have liked seeing me in this dress too. She would’ve taken a million pictures and forced Tanner to pose with me in every one.

It’s my turn to catch myself. There is no alternate universe where my mother is alive. There is no alternate universe where Tanner is my date to the dance. Besides, I already have a date. With Drew.

Someone should clue in Mare’s mom, who herds us over for a picture on the staircase before I can move away.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper as she urges Tanner to put his arm around me.

Tanner’s hand slips around my waist. “I’m not.”

I try to concentrate on Mrs. Moss’s stage directions. Bend my head to the left, smile bigger, drop my shoulder. But the truth is I’m barely aware of her or the rest of our audience. I’m barely aware of
anything but the strong arm around my waist and the heat that pours from Tanner into me as he whispers in my ear.

“At least she didn’t assume I was with Jason.”

Did Tanner Halston make a joke? “Trust me. Jason would be a better date.”

Tanner’s lips brush the soft patch of skin just below my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. “I doubt that.”

“That’s it.” Mrs. Moss looks at us expectantly.

Tanner’s hand still holds me to him. Neither one of us moves.

Jason holds up his cell phone and snaps a picture.

He gets a blackmail photo after all.

T
he dance is in full swing when we get to the Valle Vista Country Club. The clubhouse has huge windows that probably have great views of the golf course in the daytime, but now they just look out into the dark. The wall of black is somehow fitting.

Mary Chris and Ryan go right out into the middle of the dance floor and start to dance.

Jason spots a group from the drama club. “What do you want to bet I can convince Clay to give Polonius a song in the second act before the night is over?”

“Tell me you’re not Polonius?”

Jason shrugs. “What? I need a song.” He darts off.

Stranding me.

Tanner fiddles with the knot around his neck, looking as uncomfortable as I feel.

“Do you want to dance?” The words come out of my mouth before I’ve had a chance to think about them. I already regret asking him. It’s a stupid idea.

He looks down at the wood floor. “I don’t dance.”

It hurts more than it should. “It’s called the Homecoming Dance. Not the Homecoming hide-in-the-corner-and-brood.” I gesture to the dance floor, where Mary Chris and Ryan are bumping hips and laughing. “Must be a shock for you. All this merriment.”

Tanner takes one look at Mare and Ryan and openly scowls.

Better. I just need to remember what an arrogant fake he is. “Why are you even here?”

Tanner finally looks at me, but his eyes are soft, not icy at all. “Maybe I like brooding in corners with pretty girls in fancy dresses who take my breath away.”

I back up a step. When did he get so close? “You’ll have to brood alone for a while.” I straighten my spine and turn away from him, looking over my shoulder before I walk away. “I came here to dance.”

I walk faster than I would have thought was possible in these heels. I don’t know where I’m going, just that I need to put as much distance between myself and Tanner Halston as I can.

A slow song starts, and the couples on the dance floor move closer together, clearing a path for me. I’m nearly to the other side when a hand grabs my elbow. I spin to break the contact and come face-to-face with Tanner. “Are you following me again?”

“It appears that way.”

“Why?”

He takes a breath. “I changed my mind.” Tanner looks down at the dance floor and wipes a palm on his thigh.

It’s all I can do to keep my eyes from following the path of his hand. “You changed your mind?”

Tanner looks uncertain. “This is stupid. I don’t know what I’m doing here.”

“Are you asking me to dance? ’Cause here’s a tip. You might want to edit out the commentary about it being stupid.”

He shakes his head, and for a second I think I’ve gotten it wrong, that he’s not asking me to dance at all. But then he holds out his hand to me.

I should leave him hanging. I should turn around and walk away. Far away. How is it that I know exactly what I should do where Tanner Halston is concerned, but I can’t quite bring myself to do it?

I place my hand in his, and I can’t prevent the warm tingly pulse that travels through the rest of my body. “I thought you didn’t dance.”

“I might be terrible.”

“Stop the presses. Tanner Halston is terrible at something?”

“It happens.” His other hand finds my waist.

I bring my palm up to his shoulder and we are close enough that the heat coming off his skin moves through our clothes. The part of me that wants to be even closer is appeased when he steps into me, following the music.

Except I have to move a half a beat early to avoid his foot. “You are kind of terrible. Keep your feet still.”

He stops altogether. Not just his feet, his whole body is frozen. “This isn’t dancing.”

“We’ll get there. One thing at a time. Start with your hips.” I bring both my hands to his waist and slide them lower. “Here.”

He sways and I go with him. “Good. Now, step slowly. That’s it. And turn slightly as you step.”

He turns and steps right on my toes.

“Ow! Okay, forget the stepping for now.” I laugh and bring my hands up to his shoulders. We barely move. He stops dancing.

“I told you I didn’t dance.” He smiles at me, and I have to remember to breathe.

“You’re doing fine.” Better than fine. We find the slowest beat of the song, swaying together. The movement brings us close enough that I have to slide my hands around his neck to keep them from getting trapped between us. Every beat of the song pushes us along, nearer to each other. His palm moves against the bare skin between my shoulder blades. I should be embarrassed by the way the hard lines of his chest press against the softness of mine, by the thigh that rests between my own, but I’m not. I’m pretty sure that I’m the one who’s pulling him closer.

His breath whispers along my neck, its warmth coming faster as I curl my fingers in the fine hairs at the base of his neck.

“Berry,” his lips brush across my neck as he says my name.

“Hmm?” I rest my head against his shoulder.

“The song’s over.”

I lift my head and look around at the couples walking on and off the dance floor as the music changes to a thumping bass. What just happened? I know better than to let myself lose track of my surroundings. Fields’ rule number seven: be aware of what’s going on around you at all times.

I stand up straight and push off of his shoulders. “This is the part where you’re supposed to thank me for the dance.” My breath is ragged and my voice cracks just a little.

“Thank you.” Our eyes meet and I see a spark in his gaze that ignites a fire deep inside me. Then he spins on his heel and disappears through the crowd of dancers.

I was wrong before.

This is what it’s like to be stranded.

I need fresh air. The patio outside is crowded with couples who came outside to be alone, only to discover that a hundred others had the same idea. At least the air is cool, and I let it wash away the last traces of heat from my body.

Much better.

“Berry, Berry, Berry. You are really messing with me.” Collin Waterson slides next to me, his eyes glued to the line of cleavage bared by my dress.

“If I was messing with you, Collin, you’d be face-first in the punch bowl with a knee in your back.”

“Sounds crazy.” Collin finally looks at my face. His eyes are shot through with red.

He lurches forward, reaching for my wrist. “I need your help with something.”

I jerk my hand away. “Why don’t you try asking someone who might actually want to help you?”

Collin shakes his head, staggering backward. “Can’t. You’re the only one.” He stumbles forward again, his hand moving toward my chest.

I duck my shoulder and twist away so that he falls into a planter and grabs a handful of dirt instead of any part of me. I walk away, blindly at first, but eventually I follow a lighted path that lines the fairway.

Collin trails me, staggering a few feet behind. “How much longer are you going to keep running from me?”

I turn to face him. “That depends. How much longer are you going to keep pretending that I am in any way interested?”

“This is getting old, don’t you think?” Collin stops in front of me. Too close.

“Yes, I do.”

He moves faster than I expect, and I’m not ready for it. His arms come around me, pulling me against him, trapping my arms with his. “So let’s do something about it.”

“Let go.” I stomp at his foot, making contact with his instep, but I’m off balance, so my foot just glances off his.

“Kiss me first. I just need to see something.”

I turn my head to the side and try to get a better stance to break away. “Let go.”

“Come on. I’m the only guy at this school who will even touch you.” Collin laughs against my cheek like he’s just made the funniest joke of all time.

“Let her go.” Tanner walks up the path toward us, his eyes narrowing on Collin.

As Collin twists to look at Tanner, I finally get some weight on the ground, giving me leverage to raise my knee into Collin’s thigh. I make enough contact that he loosens his grip on my arms. I elbow Collin in the chin, which is enough to send him flying backward.

I charge after him before he can get his balance, grabbing his arm and twisting it around his back.

“Had enough?” I growl in Collin’s ear.

“That hurts.” His voice is a squeak.

I let go of his arm.

Collin struggles to regain his balance, rubbing his arm. “Ouch.” He glares at me through bleary eyes. “I don’t know why I bother.”

Tanner watches Collin walk away, not turning to look at me until he’s sure that Collin is safely back inside the clubhouse. His grin is absolutely wicked. “Watching you take him out might be the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”

We stand there watching each other. The cool air does nothing to stop my rising temperature. I try not to think about how much his smile affects me. I change the subject instead. “Mary Chris said you were homeschooled?”

“Something like that.”

“So McHenry is your first real school?”

He nods.

“When you said you didn’t dance, is that because you’ve never been to a dance before?”

“Are you trying to embarrass me?”

“No. This is called small talk. We ask each other questions about our hobbies, school activities, that type of thing. Did you at least play sports or something?” He’s way too fit to be a couch potato.

“I’ve had some martial arts training.”

“Seriously? Is there a level below white belt? Because I think one of the first things you learn in any system is how to avoid someone else’s feet.”

“Sparring is different than dancing.”

“I know how to spar.”

“No kidding.”

“What else do you do? I’m pretty sure you’re not a gamer.” He said Rockstar Hero wasn’t his thing. Was it because he’d never played before?

“Video games? I’ve played some. Mostly first-person shooters and simulations.” He lets go of his tie. “Who’s giving who the third degree now?”

He’s right, but for some strange reason I want to understand him. To know him. “You want to go somewhere?”

Tanner raises his eyebrows. “I’m pretty sure the answer is yes, but I think I should ask what you have in mind before I commit.”

“Dragon Holes.” It occurs to me that Tanner didn’t want to go before because he doesn’t know how to play. That can be fixed. “We can take the limo as long as we’re back by ten.” For my date. I don’t mention that part. It doesn’t seem relevant. “Of course, there is a very real possibility I’ll beat you.”

“So I saw.” Tanner’s lips curve into that take-your-breath-away smile. “Still, I think I’m up for getting out of here.”

“Tell me that after I drum you at medieval mini-golf.”

We find the limo in a back corner of the parking lot. I give the driver directions and climb in the back. As Tanner slides into the seat across from me, I consider telling him about my date with Drew. So he doesn’t get the wrong idea about this little outing. Set the boundaries right up front.

Tanner runs a hand through his hair, making it stick out in several directions at once. “You’ll have to teach me how to play.”

“You really should get out more.”

“You should invite me more often.”

My lips curve up in a smile before I can stop them. Forget boundaries.

Y
ou’d think that people would have better things to do on Friday night, but Dragon Holes is packed. We have to wait ten minutes for a gang of middle schoolers to finish the first hole and another group waits behind us.

I explain the rules and demonstrate with a first shot that ricochets off the concrete wall and heads under the miniature castle just before the drawbridge comes down.

“The drawbridge blocks the entrance?” Tanner sets his red ball in the depression on the right where mine had been. “Isn’t that counterintuitive?”

“Just go with it. There’s a water-breathing dragon on eighteen.”

Tanner’s tie hangs over the club as he leans forward, and he whips it back over his neck. He hits his ball too hard, sending it careening off the wall, over the drawbridge, and into a pit that will dump his ball behind a low wall that blocks any direct path to the hole.

“Not bad,” I lie.

When we walk around the castle, my ball is a foot from the hole, while Tanner’s is predictably trapped in no-man’s-land.