Hardwood - K.M. Neuhold Page 0,89

mood for this shit tonight,” I insist as Mia grips my arm tightly, Jordy walking behind me so there’s no hope of escape, dragging me through the parking lot at Jack’s.

“And I told you, I’m leaving in two days, so it’s time you stop moping and come out to give me a proper send off,” Jordy reminds me.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry I’m being such a whiny asshole about this.” I tug my arm out of Mia’s grip and stop in my tracks, forcing Jordy to run into me from behind. I take a deep breath and turn to face him. “You deserve a proper goodbye, so I’m going to suck it up and we’re going to have a good time tonight.”

“I know you’re hurting,” he says, giving me a sympathetic look and patting my shoulder.

“I just…fuck, I didn’t mean to fall in love with him, you know?”

It’s been ten days since I told Ev I needed a little space, and I’m still not totally sure I made the right decision, or what I’m going to say to him when I finally work up the courage to talk to him again. I don’t want to lose him as a friend, but I haven’t quite worked out a way to tell him.

“We know, but don’t lose heart. You never know how he’s feeling,” Mia says.

“He doesn’t even know how he’s feeling,” I mutter. “But we’re done talking about this. We are focusing on Jordy tonight. As far as I’m concerned, Ev does not exist for the rest of the night.”

Jordy snorts a laugh and the two of them exchange a look.

“What?” I ask.

“Nothing,” they both say quickly. I narrow my eyes at them in suspicion.

“What?” I ask a second time. “Something’s going on. You two are terrible liars.”

“The only thing that’s going on is I’m about to move across the country and I want to spend one last night with my best friends,” Jordy insists.

“Yes, that is what we’re doing,” I agree, resolutely pushing Ev to the back of my mind.

We step inside, and it’s decently busy for a weeknight. A few of the regulars give me creepy smiles. Between that and the way Jordy and Mia keep exchanging looks I can’t decipher. I’m starting to wonder when exactly I stepped into the Twilight Zone.

“Oh look, there’s a table over there that’s open,” Jordy points at a table right near the dance floor.

“Cool, let’s grab it,” I say.

“You do that, we’ll get drinks,” Mia offers.

“Yeah, go sit down,” Jordy agrees, nodding like a bobble head doll.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but if you’re planning to set me up with someone, it’s really not the night,” I warn.

“Stop being so suspicious. Go sit down,” Mia demands, pushing me toward the table.

“I’m going, I’m going,” I grumble.

I sit down and pull out my phone, doing my best not to think about Ev and me dancing together on Halloween or the kiss that came after. The universe seems to be completely against me tonight, because the next song that starts is “You’re the One That I Want” from Grease, because of fucking course it is.

I keep my attention glued to my Facebook feed, doing everything in my power not to look up at all the happy, dancing people. It takes a few seconds to catch my attention that everyone on the dance floor seems to be moving together like some kind of choreographed routine. Did I miss the official Jack’s Flash Mob flyer? I lower my phone to get a proper look at what exactly is going on.

They are dancing in tandem. What the actual fuck is going on? On the end, I spot one of the guys Ev was here with the other night. He’s really getting into the dance, going off choreography every few steps to do some of the most extra dance moves I’ve ever seen.

My brow furrows as I continue to scan the crowd, spotting several of the regulars who looked at me strangely when I came in, most of whom I’ve never seen dance before, suddenly part of whatever this is. Maybe I really did stumble into some bizarre other dimension.

The chorus starts, and the dancers part, and there in the middle of it all is Ev. My heart stutters to a stop and then explodes into a gallop as he locks eyes with me and starts to sing.

“What’s happening?” I ask no one in particular, my eyes burning and my throat tight as Ev does the