Page 96 of Hunt Me

He pulls a face. ‘I don’t dance.’

‘Why not?’

‘I suck at it.’

‘Want me to teach you?’ I ask as I watch Nico spin around a scowling Archie. He looks like he wants to be anywhere but there. It warms me slightly. Where jealousy lingered before, I now feel confident that he’s only interested in me.

But I don’t like being this far away from him at the moment. Maybe that makes me clingy, but I have a good excuse for it.

‘No, I’d rather die. I’ll watch.’

Percy shoves me lightly onto the dance floor, where Archie pulls me against him, his hands splayed across my back, his lips on the skin of my neck. I feel comfort from the tight way he’s holding me, my hips shifting slightly to the beat beneath my feet as Nico sways before us, using his hands to sign the lyrics.

In the background, I can see Milo near the door, his head bobbing as he continues to scan the crowd. He doesn’t look as miserable as he did when he first arrived, which I suppose is something.

And I feel pretty good myself. The longer I’m here, the more I realize I don’t feel the heavy presence of someone watching me like I did before, and I wonder if the injury Archie gave my stalker has kept him away.

Maybe he’s bleeding out somewhere. Hell, maybe he’s dead.

All I know is that I feel safe here in Archie’s arms. I dance with heavy, lazy limbs, absorbing the beat of the music until it ends, and then Nico jerks his head toward the bar, and Archie pushes me along to follow him.

Jasper is back from the restroom now, his coat sporting a wet spot where he attempted to get the drink from the fabric. He no longer looks annoyed as he stares over at Gabriel, who has moved several seats down, a beer in his hand. Jasper’s gaze is piercing though, and while I don’t know much about Archie’s parents other than that his mom passed, I have to wonder if his dad is interested in men.

I don’t have time to think about it, though, because Fayid appears from a break in the crowd, looking like he just came from campus, sporting his usual smile.

I grin back at him, and he gives me a nod, pulling me in for a hug. Archie’s hands tighten around me for a moment before he realizes who I’m greeting, and he offers Fayid a slight smile as he tugs me back against him and away from Fayid’s hands.

‘Everyone is here!’ I sign, and he nods, and then my eyebrows meet. ‘Wait. Why are you here?’ I ask.

‘Aurora,’ he fingerspells, and my eyes widen.

Having been away, I completely forgot about our guest performers. Tonight is the drag show with Nova and Indigo, two Deaf drag queens from Fairbanks, Alaska, who travel aroundand bring the aurora borealis with them. It’s a fantastic show that uses projectors, lights, signs, and music to make it feel like you’re standing under the northern sky, watching the sky turn from black to green and purple.

Fayid frowns. ‘You forgot?’

My cheeks heat up, and I bite my lip. ‘It’s been a busy week.’

Before Fayid can press, Nico interjects, sliding between us and offering Fayid his usual flirty smile. ‘Hi, who you?’

I sip on my martini as Fayid blinks at Nico, and the mood shifts. It’s entirely unexpected because Fayid is one of the most chatty people I have ever met, and that’s saying something. A moment goes by, then two, and I start to wonder if I’m going to have to speak for Fayid when he seems to unfreeze and lifts his hands.

‘Fayid.’ He spells it and then gives his sign name. ‘I work with Denver.’

Nico’s eyes are settled on Fayid’s face, his eyes twinkling. ‘Here?’

Fayid coughs in surprise, then shakes his head. He looks nervous, which is really strange, and part of me wants to ask, but I also don’t want to embarrass him. ‘No, at the college. I teach art history.’

‘He has a PhD and is researching Egyptian tombs,’ Archie cuts in, signing for the first time.

Nico gives him a slow up and down, then smirks. ‘Nice to meet you. I’m Nico.’ He gives his sign name and then asks, ‘You want a drink?’

Fayid blinks at him again and then adjusts the collar of his shirt, but he doesn’t answer right away.

‘I can get you anything you want,’ Nico adds, a little suggestively.

Though it’s hard to see in the dim light, I’m pretty sure Fayid’s cheeks have gone a little dark with a flush. ‘No. I don’t drink.’

‘Dance, then?’ Nico offers.