Undeclared (The Woodlands) - By Jen Frederick Page 0,85

forced. Bo was even joking with me, even if he kept a cautious eye out for Noah. But I liked them all. These five thoughtful, handsome guys who all took turns taking care of me, making sure I was having a good time.

Lana was out of breath when she reached me, as if she had been running a mile rather than the space of a room. “Come on and do the Single Ladies dance with us. We need another body.” Lana had learned a number of dance routines at her camp. Dancing, she was told, was a good way to keep her body in shape in a healthy way. She forced these routines on me after she returned home. I hadn’t the heart to resist her, and frankly they came in handy when we killed at Dance, Dance Revolution, which was about the only video game either of us were adept at. But I didn’t want to dance in front of the crowd here.

I shook my head no. “Oh no, not tonight. I’m tipsy and it’s been forever since I did that routine with you.” I wasn’t tipsy at all. I had stayed carefully sober so that Noah wouldn’t have an excuse to deny me, but that still didn’t mean I wanted to shake my booty in front of this crowd.

Mal was my drinking partner at the moment and looked on with interest. “Routine? Dance? I wanna see.”

I rolled my eyes. “I can describe for you what it will look like. One awkward girl who can barely remember any steps stumbling into nine drunken girls. We’ll be like dominoes.”

“Your description only makes us want to see it more,” Noah said, turning up behind Lana. I could see I wasn’t going to get out of this without making a big scene. A crowd had gathered. I weighed being the party downer or making a fool of myself and decided for the latter. If there is ever a time to make a fool of oneself it’s while everyone is half-baked and unlikely to remember in the morning.

I allowed Lana to pull me down off my perch. I made a face at Mal and Noah. “I expect repayment in the form of sober embarrassment from both of you tomorrow.”

Mal gave me a flimsy salute, and Noah pushed him in the side. But the two followed Lana and me as we approached the great room. Adam was over at the music console, spinning up the song. I almost groaned when it started. Lana took her place in the middle and I attached myself at the end. I didn’t remember the moves very well and found myself turning the wrong way a couple of times. Still, by the chorus, muscle memory had kicked in.

Noah watched from the front row, his dark eyes unwavering. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt sexier in my life. When I shook my hair or dipped low, I kept my eyes trained on his. It felt like we were exchanging secret messages I hadn’t yet figured out how to decode. My thoughts were jumbled, but I gave over and let the music take me and move me. I danced as if Noah and I were the only ones in the room.

When the song was over, there was a big cheer and clamors for more. Out of the side of my eyes, I could see the other girls preening, but Noah was walking purposefully toward me. He grabbed my hand and led me through the crowd to the police-taped stairs. He unhooked the tape from one side, pulled me through and leaned back to reattach it. Then he moved upstairs, pulling me gently but insistently behind him.

Bo appeared at the top of the stairs and gave us a knowing half smile. I flushed with embarrassment and anticipation. Noah’s room was dark and somewhat quiet. The pulsating music from downstairs, was deadened a bit by the space and the walls of the bedrooms. He paused and looked down at me. “You okay?”

I was okay, and I was ready.

Noah

I walked her into the room. Shutting the door behind us, I locked it and stuck my desk chair underneath it. I didn’t want any drunken fools to interrupt us. The room was dark. I had drawn the blinds earlier and, with the door to the hallway closed it was hard to even make out the bed.

I didn’t want to flip on the light, though, feeling that might make Grace uncomfortable. Instead, I crossed to