“Your brother,” Ran says again, pulling my hips closer to him. “We transported him that night when he couldn’t stop vomiting.”
“You remember that?” I ask. “He’s okay.” While I’m answering, someone from behind clocks me between my shoulder blades with their elbow and I stumble forward, slamming my cheek onto Ran’s chest. A cool liquid spills down my back and pools at the base of my spine. It reeks of alcohol and now I do, too. “Ugh,” I groan, completely annoyed.
Ran peels the layer of fabric off of my skin and pulls at it, fanning me. “Want me to beat him up and demand money for dry cleaning?” he teases, holding up a fist like he’s ready for the punch.
“Nah,” I smile. “This is Cora’s top anyway.”
“Cora?”
“My roommate.” Ran hasn’t loosened his grip on my waist, and my previously gawky movements start to mesh with his, my body following his rhythm because we’re so close together it doesn’t have room to do much else. “At the dorms.”
“You’re in school,” Ran says, more like a statement than a question, like he’s confirming something he already knows to be true. The DJ starts another track and the beat picks up tempo, transitioning from dazed and drawn out into a faster pace.
“Yeah, first year.”
“I know that, Maggie.” I look up at his face, at his perfect mouth, and the nerves that creep into every inch of my body feel just as electric as the atmosphere in the club. “I do remember you, you know.” He draws up one eyebrow to a point.
“You do?”
“Mmm hmm.”
I gulp nervously. Ran didn’t miss a beat when the DJ rolled this new track. His body has crazy good rhythm and it’s so distracting because it makes me think things I shouldn’t about it.
“What do you remember?” I stutter, looking down at my feet like I’m commanding one to move, then the other. It’s pretty much what I am doing, because any dancing skills I might have been able to claim were left in that booth back there. I have absolutely no control over my body when it’s in Ran’s arms.
“You might be surprised by what I remember,” Ran whispers into my hair. My scalp prickles and a shiver races down the length of my body.
“Tell me.”
“Well,” Ran starts. His body is pressed so close to mine that I have to remind myself that we’re in a heavily populated, public location. Everything in me craves feeling him even closer, and I shove those thoughts out of my head. We’re dancing. Just dancing. He danced with many other girls earlier this evening. This is no different. I need to ingrain that in my memory. “I remember the night of your accident,” he continues. “I remember giving you the balloons and you not-so-politely thanking me for them on the way to the hospital with your brother.” His hands on my hips are burning. “I remember you saying you liked my lips. Or was it you wanted to lick them?” He curls his mouth up on cue. “And I remember not being able to sleep at night because all I could think about was how badly I wanted you to experience that.”
My heart stops.
“It’s weird, Maggie,” Ran says softly. I’m surprised I can hear him above the roar from the speakers, but it’s as though all that exists in this moment are the two of us. Like the frantic bustle of the rest of the world continues while Ran and I decelerate to slow-motion speed. “I have memories of us, so I know there’s more than you’re letting on.” I bite down on my lip and try to avoid his eyes, but he won’t let me as he dips his head to stay connected. “But it’s hard to tell where my memories with you end and where my dreams begin.”
I really wish he hadn’t said that.
I glue my eyes to the floor, because even though every other inch of me is in contact with him, my eyes are the one thing I have control over. I can’t look at him. I can’t be drawn further into the depths with him that way, the way I usually see his soul through those big, bright eyes.
“Maggie.” Ran slides his finger under my chin and pulls it up. “Were we ever together?” I feel his chest push harder against mine. Everything in me aches.