Strangely Normal - By Tess Oliver Page 0,34
dawn or until everyone passes out. Whichever comes first.”
“Will Jude be there?” My question immediately solicited a raised eyebrow of interest from Finley.
“Maybe. Why do you ask?”
“No reason.” I hadn’t mentioned the bet to Finley, and now I was attempting to convince myself that the wager was my only motive behind the question.
“Uh huh, I see.” A small smile creased her cheek.
“Not every question has a hidden meaning.” I opened the door and ushered her out to the hallway before she had a chance to rethink her bracelets.
“No,” Finley said slyly, “but that one did.”
I decided to ignore her teasing. Music drummed through the house, and it sounded as if a lot of people had already congregated downstairs. There was an actual party room complete with wet bar and pool table, which I suppose should have been expected in a house with an elevator and theater.
One step into the room and I immediately felt out of place. The people gathered around the pool table and wet bar reminded me of the snooty half of my high school, only the snobbery was taken up a notch. My stomach twisted into a nervous knot, and suddenly, just as Jude had predicted, this was the last place I wanted to be.
“Finley!” two girls screamed with fake excitement.
“I hate these two girls,” Finley whispered from the side of her mouth.
Both girls looked as if they’d spent an entire day getting ready for the party, not a hair, eyelash, or fake nail out of place. They hugged Finley with even more overdone drama than they’d put into their greeting. One of the girls, who was passably pretty mostly because of the professional make-up job and expensive haircut, looked at me and made no effort to conceal her lack of approval. The diamond stud in her nose danced a bit while she crinkled her nose and stared down at my jeans.
“Nice vintage jeans,” she said. “Saks Fifth Avenue?”
“Mutli-family yard sale,” I answered. “Third Avenue.”
The girl snorted a derisive chuckle.
“We’re going to get drinks.” Finley took my hand and dragged me mercifully away.
“Gee, I can’t imagine why you don’t like them,” I said. “And they really seemed to like me.”
Finley smiled. “Hey, if they didn’t insult you then you should be worried. Just the fact that they took notice of you means they consider you a threat.”
We reached the bar and a tall, thin guy with a pair of thick rimmed glasses smiled down at us. “Hey, Finley, long time no see. What can I get you girls?”
“I’m not much of a drinker,” I whispered to Finley.
“Something sweet with not too much alcohol,” Finley told the guy. She glanced around casually and then she grabbed my hand so tightly her nails dug into my skin. “There he is.”
I glanced in the direction she was looking and found a guy who matched her description of Max perfectly. He seemed to sense we were staring at him and looked over with a friendly wave. The bartender pushed two icy drinks our way.
I leaned over to Finley. “This is your chance. Go talk to him before you lose him in the crowd and before you draw blood from my hand.”
She looked down at the death-like grip she had on me and laughed. “Sorry about that.”
“Go talk to him. I’ll wait here in the shallow end.” I lifted my glass. “I’ve got my floaties, and if I stay close to the side, I’ll be safe.”
I felt a bit like a nervous mother watching her child go off to school for the first day. I definitely wanted things to go right for Finley. In fact, I worried what may happen if it didn’t.
“I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show.” Jude was standing so close I could feel the heat of his body on my back.
I decided it was safer not to look at him. “Haven’t you heard the phrase fashionably late?” I glanced around at the crowd and realized Jude had instantly become the center of attention. Particularly with the female guests, and in particular, the two girls who’d I’d already met.
Jude pulled out his phone. “It’s eight minutes after ten.”
“I’ve already been here for at least five minutes.”
“Fine, then we’ll make your start time three minutes after.”
The two girls were making their way toward us. I looked back over my shoulder at Jude and wasn’t prepared for how close his mouth was to mine. It seemed to take us both by surprise and a heated hush fell between