Roland repeated. "I'm Roland Sparks. You ever live in East L.A.? Have we met before?"
"No."
"She has a photographic memory," Miles supplied, slipping Luce a veggie hot dog, which was not her favorite, but a nice gesture nonetheless. "I'm Miles. Cool party, by the way."
"Very cool," Dawn agreed, swaying with Roland to the drumbeat.
"What about Steven and Francesca?" Luce had to practically shout to Shelby. "Won't they hear us down here?" It was one thing to sneak out under the radar. It was another to plant a sonic boom directly on that radar.
Jasmine glanced back toward the campus. "They'll hear us, sure, but our leash is pretty long at Shoreline. At least for the Nephilim kids. As long as we stay on campus, under their umbrella of surveillance, we can pretty much do as we please."
"Does that include a limbo contest?" Roland grinned impishly, producing a long, thick branch from behind him. "Miles, you going to hold the other end for me?"
Seconds later, the branch was raised, the drumbeat changed, and it seemed like the whole party had dropped what they were doing to form one long, animated limbo line.
"Luce," Miles called to her. "You're not just going to stand there, are you?"
She studied the crowd, feeling sti and rooted to her spot in the sand. But Dawn and Jasmine were making an opening for her to squeeze into line between the two of them. Already in competition mode--probably born in competition mode--Shelby was stretching out her back. Even the buttoned-up marine guys were going to play.
"Fine." Luce laughed and got in line.
Once the game began, the line moved quickly; for three rounds, Luce shimmied easily under the branch. The fourth time, she made it under with only a little trouble, having to tilt her chin back far enough to see the stars, and got a round of cheers for doing so. Soon she was cheering on the other kids too, only a little surprised to nd herself jumping up and down when Shelby made it through. There was something amazing about arching out of the limbo stance after a successful turn--the whole party seemed to feed o it. Each time, it gave Luce a surprising rush of adrenaline.
Having fun wasn't usually such a simple thing. For so long, laughter had usually been closely followed by guilt, some nagging feeling that she wasn't supposed to be enjoying herself for one reason or another. But somehow tonight she felt lighter. Without even realizing it, she'd been able to shrug o the darkness.
By the time Luce looped around for her fth turn, the line was signi cantly shorter. Half the kids at the party had already gotten out, and everyone was crowded around either Miles or Roland, watching the last kids standing. At the back of the line, Luce was giddy and a little light- headed, so the hard grip she felt on her arm almost made her lose her balance.
She started to scream, then felt ngers clamp over her mouth.
"Shhh."
Daniel was tugging her out of line and away from the party. His strong, warm hand sliding down her neck, his lips brushing the side of her cheek. For just a moment, the touch of his skin on hers, coupled with the bright violet glow of his eyes, and her days-old rising need to grab hold of him and never let go--it all made Luce pinely dizzy.
"What are you doing here?" she whispered. She meant to say Thank God you're here or It's been so hard to be apart or what she really meant, I "What are you doing here?" she whispered. She meant to say Thank God you're here or It's been so hard to be apart or what she really meant, I love you. But there were also You abandoned me and I thought it wasn't safe and What's this about a truce? all knocking around in her brain.
"I had to see you," he said. As he led her behind a large volcanic rock on the beach, there was a conspiratorial smile on his face. The kind of smile that was contagious, nding its way onto Luce's lips too. The kind of smile that acknowledged not just that they were breaking Daniel's rule --but that they were enjoying doing it.
"When I got close enough to see this party, I noticed everyone dancing," he said. "And I got a little jealous."
"Jealous?" Luce asked. They were alone now. She threw her arms around his broad shoulders and looked deep into his violet eyes.