Clique Bait - Ann Valett Page 0,62

hand, and she took a long drink before handing it to me. “Screw it, let’s dance.”

After taking a mouthful I had no time to object before she dragged me to my feet, my half-emptied drink forgotten on the table beside the seat.

Girls swayed their hips and ran their hands through their hair, laughing together, and guys watched them carefully from the sidelines. Maddy didn’t release my hands as she started moving with the rhythm. It was reassuring. I felt less awkward moving with someone else, and I think she sensed that too.

A few songs past and I found myself smiling. It was fun to watch Maddy mock the other people around us with her hilarious moves—which seemed to be getting more and more clumsy as the night went on—and somehow the beat of the music was easy to dance to, making me even enjoy the sensation. I was becoming warm and breathless when a bright flash temporarily blinded me.

“Des!” Maddy squealed over the music before my vision could right itself. By the time it came around, I could see Maddy hugging the boy behind the camera with enthusiasm.

“I’ve missed you, Mads,” he said, just loud enough for me to hear. “Pity you didn’t invite me to your party last weekend.”

“Hey, it’s not like you gave us a date that you’d be back!” she said, her voice slurred but her smile bright. “I didn’t realize you got the gig.”

“I didn’t,” he said. “This is my job trial.”

Desmond had jet-black hair and olive skin, his jaw sharp and his eyes dark, at least as far as I could tell with the lighting. He didn’t seem to notice me, until Maddy pulled me closer to her side. “This is Chloe, Will’s girlfriend.”

Desmond’s attention turned to me, and he raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t know dating was his thing.”

“Well, it is now!” Maddy said. I hadn’t realized how much her voice had slurred over the last half hour or so. “Hey, take another picture of us while we’re actually looking!”

Maddy wrapped an arm around my waist and Des positioned the huge camera in front of his face, giving a quick warning before the flash went off again. I think I smiled, but I couldn’t be sure.

“Hey, I—” Maddy paused, swaying on the spot. I let her throw an arm around me to steady herself. “I don’t feel so good.”

Then, before I could stop her, Maddy fell to the ground.

She almost pulled me down with her, but I managed to turn enough that I could half hold her up. “Maddy?”

She groaned and held a hand to her head as she tried to stand again, only managing to sway on the spot. Desmond quickly bounced into action, pulling her from under her arms and taking her unstable weight as he walked her off the dance floor. Around us, people were watching, some showing concern and others amusement.

Maddy slouched against the wall by the stairs as Desmond tried to get her attention. “Maddy, Mads, can you hear me?”

There was no response, and he shook her shoulders a little.

“Madeline!”

She groaned and tried to shove him away, mumbling more to herself than us. “Maddy, not Madeline.”

Des sighed, looking to me. “How much has she had to drink?”

“I—I don’t know,” I said, my mouth dry. “Two drinks in total, I think. She seemed fine—this is so sudden. Surely she can’t be this drunk already?”

He had resorted to pulling Maddy up again as I rambled, and then a burly security guard approached us from the side of the room. “She can’t stay in here if she can’t stand.”

“I think she’s okay—” I said quickly, but the man cut me off.

“She’s out of here. You too if you’re her friend.”

I was about to bring up the fact that her dad was a pop star—perhaps, like getting us into the club, it would get this guy to treat her better—but Desmond cut in. “I’ll get her out as soon as possible.”

It was lucky that Desmond was strong, because getting Maddy down the stairs was difficult. After a lot of maneuvering and swear words tumbling out of Maddy’s lips, we managed to get her outside, the night air hitting me like a slap in the face as we went to the other side of the building to avoid the crowd. “What’s wrong with her?”

Desmond sighed, slowly lowering her to the paved ground and lifting her chin. She grinned at him loopily, her eyes fluttering shut as if she were struggling to stay awake. “Maybe she