Chapter 80
The sound of his voice to her left caught her off guard, and she jumped a little. Her cup wasn’t full enough to slosh on her hand or dress, thank goodness. “Rain, how long have you been here?” Seth asked, stepping between a group of younger individuals congregated between herself and the dancers.
She met his jade eyes, her eyes widening as she realized her plan had been foiled. “Seth! Hi. Not long,” she stammered. “I just, uh… got here a few minutes ago.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t see you before.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m just enjoying my… smack.” That didn’t seem right. What was this stuff?
Seth’s forehead crinkled. “What?” he asked, tipping his head to the side.
“My… this. This pink stuff.”
He turned away from her, dragging his hand down his face as he clearly attempted to hide a chuckle. He wasn’t successful as she knew he thought something she’d said was funny. “Punch,” he clarified. “It’s called punch.”
“Right.” She rolled her eyes, shaking her head to clear her frazzled brain. “Anyway, I think I’m gonna head back to the house.”
“What? Why?” Seth asked his fingers wrapping around her elbow. “You said you just got here.”
“I know. It’s just… I don’t know. I feel a little out of place.” That was putting it mildly.
Seth shifted on his feet, dropping his head slightly as he removed his hand from her arm and placed both hands on his hips. “Rain, you have to stay a little longer. Come over and let me introduce you to my friends.”
Her eyes went to the spot where she’d seen him earlier. The crowded dance floor made it more difficult to see them now, but she could make out the form of the broad shouldered guy from earlier. She also caught a glimpse of honey blonde hair. Walking over there with Seth, meeting his friends, including Hannah and maybe that awful Daniel Redd person, just didn’t seem like a good idea. “I’m sure they’re wonderful people, Seth, but there’s not much point is there? I’ll be leaving soon. Either they’ll ask me questions I don’t know how to answer, or they’ll feel interrogated by me. Really, I think I’ll head back and see how Mist is doing.”
“Rain, you can’t come to a dance and not dance,” Seth insisted. “Come on, just for a little bit.”
He took hold of her hand and was moving her to the dance floor, taking the mostly empty cup from her grasp and depositing it on an empty table as he backed between couples without even looking to see where he was going, as if he knew they would part ways when they sensed him coming.
Protesting seemed like the obvious thing to do, but the way he was moving her, with a sense of purpose, toward a destination she was curious about, caused the words to congregate in her throat, none of them making their way out of her parted lips. By the time Seth found a spot on the crowded dance floor that he was happy with, she’d given up the entire idea of insisting she go. One of his hands was wrapped around her fingers, the other on her hip. Despite his light touch, warmth radiated through the thin fabric of the dress. No man had ever put his hand there, had he? Had Adam? She didn’t think so. If he had, it had been an accident. Seth purposely had his hand there, near her waist, and was already moving in time to the music, which wasn’t fast or slow at the moment.
With one hand caught in his, she tried to remember where she’d seen the other girls putting their free hand. A quick glance around gave her the answer she needed. Dropping her hand onto Seth’s shoulder, she kept her fingers together, her entire appendage bending at the first knuckle like a glastic scoop. It was unnatural and felt stiff, especially compared to the way he was gently gliding her around the small section of the dance floor he’d claimed just for them.
“Relax, Rain.” His easy smile illuminated the fact that it was more than just her hand that was rigid. She did her best to do as he suggested but felt her muscles still on high alert. This was all so new and different. Seth smelled like the same spicy cologne or aftershave he always wore, but it was a little stronger, as if he’d put on an extra spritz for the occasion. The masculine scent wafted toward her as they moved, inviting her closer. She wanted to comply with his request, but the jumble of emotions inside of her was just as tangled as her protest had become. She loved Adam, but she wanted Seth’s arms around her more tightly, and she couldn’t understand why.
“You’re a pretty good dancer,” Seth said, his mouth not far from her ear. “Are you sure you’ve never done this before?”
“I’m sure,” Rain said, trying not to shout above the music, but she wasn’t about to turn her face so that her lips were any closer to his freshly shaven cheek. Thoughts of the awkward kiss she’d attempted to plant on Adam’s lips came to mind. If she turned her head just a bit, and Seth did the same, his mouth could be on hers with little effort at all. If he wanted to kiss her. But why would he want to do that? Rain found herself glancing over his shoulder in the direction of Hannah Cooper.
She was there, all right. Standing where she had been a few moments ago. With no one to cling to, her thin arms were folded in front of her, a scowl marring her pretty face. Clearly, she was agitated. It didn’t take a mind reader to know who she was angry at.
“Seth, maybe this isn’t a good idea,” Rain said, her protest coming to fruition now that she realized she was hurting someone else.
“Why do you say that?” he asked, a tinge of disappointment in his voice. “You’re doing great.”
“It isn’t that.” He tipped his head down, so close now that her eyelashes brushed his skin as she moved to look him in the eyes. That was a mistake, too. The hurt expression she saw on Hannah’s face was beginning to form in front of her. “I’m just….” The sentence was lost when her eyes met his. She didn’t want to be the one to make him look like that--disappointed, rejected. Especially since rejection was the last thing on her mind at the moment. His hand was on the small of her back now as they’d moved closer together. Her eyes lowered to his lips. Soft, pink, she knew they’d be warm. Back to his jade orbs, her eyes lingered. All she could manage was, “Hannah.”
“Oh.” Seth looked away, but not to where the girl was standing, staring at them so intently, if she were capable of shooting laser beams from her eyeballs, Rain would’ve been dead the moment her foot fell onto the dance floor. “Rain, you really don’t have to worry about her.” His eyes were on hers again, the wounded expression replaced by something else.
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