Sanctum by Madeleine Roux Page B

of dancers.
    “She’s tough,” Micah observed with a laugh. “Your girl, I mean.”
    “Yeah.” He felt the wind leak out of his sails as she turned back to Lara and kept on dancing. Why didn’t she want to hang out with him? “My girl.”
    “Something the matter there? I mean . . . Shoot, don’t share if you don’t wanna.”
    Dan took a quick slug from his cup, feeling the whiskey burn down his throat. God, his parents would murder him if they could see him now. Sorry, Mom and Dad . He turned his back on the dancers, worried that if Abby so much as glanced at him she would know he was talking about her. “We just never really defined what we are. Sometimes it seems like things are great, but sometimes it feels like we’re not even really a couple. And I’m afraid if I ask what we are, it will, like, pop the bubble, and we won’t be anything.”
    “Just ask, man,” Micah said. “She’s not a puzzle box. The next time you two get a down moment just lay it out there. Trust me, you’ll feel better knowing exactly where you stand.”
    “Maybe I will, but—”
    “Telling secrets?”
    Dan spun quickly, almost slopping half his drink down his shirt when he found Abby right there behind him, cheeks red and forehead shining with sweat. His pocket buzzed. Startled, Dan almost dropped the cell phone as he retrieved it, venting a long internal groan.
    Just checking in, sweetie. How’s campus? Behaving yourself?
    Mom. How did parents have just the perfect timing? He would answer later, he decided, when he wasn’t facing down both Abby and Micah.
    “Dan was just telling me what a special girl you are,” Micah said, smooth as silk. “Weren’t you, buddy?”
    “Um, yes. Yes exactly,” Dan stammered. He tried to give Micah a grateful smile, but his host didn’t notice.
    “Now, see?” Her face broke into a wide smile, and she leaned heavily on his arm, touching her cheek to his shoulder. “That’s just . . . That’s really sweet, Dan.” She grimaced, pointing at the boy in the football jersey who had crashed into her and Lara. “That jerk, on the other hand, is not what I would call sweet. Can you believe he actually called me princess? Princess! He doesn’t even know me. Like that’s some kind of compliment . . .” He had never heard her talk this quickly or with so many hand gestures. Abby whirled on him, pressing her pointy forefinger into his breastbone. “Tell me you would not call me that.”
    “Um,” Dan stalled, thankful he hadn’t had more to drink. “Khaleesi?”
    “Better.” She smirked, putting both hands on her hips. “Yeah, I’ll take that.”
    “How many drinks have you had?” he asked gently. Micah left them behind, slipping through the dancers, aiming for Football Jersey.
    “Two . . . ish? Twoish or threeish?” It wasn’t funny exactly, especially not when they were supposed to be sneaking off any minute, but she kept poking her tongue out to the side in the silliest way. . . .
    “Guys!” Both he and Abby turned to find Jordan, balancing three red plastic cups in his hands. “Here! Drink up!”
    Dan sniffed the cup curiously. “Rum? Vodka?”
    “No, idiot, it’s just soda. Drink more or we’ll stand out. The others will be tipsy soon and we can disappear. Finish the one you’ve got, Dan, then have this one.”
    Jordan was right. Everyone had a red cup in their hand. Some had two. Dan spotted Cal in the corner tossing his back like a man dying of thirst.
    “Good call, Jordan,” Abby said, peering out from behind the lip of her cup. “Very sneaky.”
    “Hey, you’re not allowed in here. . . .” It looked like there was a bottleneck forming at the door, with two girls in matching sorority sweatshirts attempting to elbow their way into the party. The girls were forced to turn around when both Micah and Cal blocked the entryway.
    “Turn around,” Cal snapped, pointing over the girls’ heads to the cold, dark night outside. “I said turn around. Now,