Page 37 of A Barista's Guide to Love & Larceny
Kass snorted. “He’s into owning things he can brag about over cigars.”
“Well, either way, this is dope.” Dani leaned closer to the case, but instead of coming up against the hard surface of the glass, her forehead pressed into something like a rubber net humming with power. She pulled back just in time to avoid getting zapped and saw the illusion she had just revealed: The glass was actually a shimmering, chaotic crisscross of magical threads that reminded her a bit of an electrical fence. The area she had touched spat angry sparks.
“Are you okay?” Kass asked, making to reach for her and then stopping himself. “I should have told you it was armed. Did it shock you?”
“No,” Dani said, rubbing her forehead, which did feel a little numb. “I’m fine. I’m an adult—I should know better. I swear I don’t go to galleries and try to touch the artwork.”
Kass laughed. “It’s not your fault. My dad’s a total security freak. This is his signature defense system he had designed by some bespoke security agency.”
“There are bespoke security agencies?” This talk of security made Dani think of Katya, which made her think of Silva, which made her think of Oliver. She shoved down the upswell of anxiety that accompanied those thoughts. Not tonight—she’d promised McKenna.
“There’s a bespoke agency foreverything.”
A series of vigorous knocks startled them both.
“Kass?” came a voice from the other side of the door. “I know you’re in there. This tracking charm has got you on lock.”
“What do you want?” Kass called. He pulled an over-the-top grimace, which succeeded in making Dani giggle. “Hunted in my own home,” he said quietly to her, then, louder: “Come in, if you have to.”
The door opened to admit three guys in half-assed Halloween costumes and various shades of drunkenness: Their apparent leader was the soberest of the bunch, with no beer in hand and a much more appropriate reaction to seeing Dani, as opposed to the whooping from his cronies.
To his credit, Kass ignored them. “Dani, this is Tristan, Zaid, and someone I don’t know.” He gestured to each of them in turn. “Guys, this is my friend Dani. What’s up?”
“Sorry to interrupt, man,” Tristan said, and he did seem a little sorry, “but they’re about to bring out the cake, and we kind of can’t do that part without you.”
“Fine, fine, I’ll come to my own party,” Kass said with the sigh of one greatly burdened. But when he glanced at Dani, he was smiling. “Would you accompany me, milady?”
She had both hoped and dreaded that he’d ask her that. Of course she wanted to go with him—but the thought of standing next to him while people watched him blow out the candles on his birthday cake filled her with abject misery. A crowd like this was already a big ask for her; putting herself on display in front of all of them was even worse. But his face shone with such anticipation and sincerity that she said, “Sure.” She couldn’t bring herself to let him down again.
He offered his arm. Dani accepted it, along with the sense of impending doom that escalated as they exited the room to a deafening lack of music. She could only hear the noise of laughter and conversation in the foyer.
“Come on,” Tristan said, “everyone’s waiting.”
Sirens were wailing in Dani’s ears, but try as she might, she couldn’t think of a way out of this, and before she could really process what was happening they were emerging onto the balcony in the foyer, andsome souped-up version of the happy birthday song started playing, everyone was cheering, and they were staring down at the crowd of partygoers like the king and queen of birthdays.
Her whole head was on fire; she was sure that her hair must have changed color from the sudden jump in body temperature. Kass was laughing graciously, waving to the people he’d told her weren’t his friends, and it was all she could do not to break away from him and go running back down the hall. She remembered what that frat guy Wyatt had said earlier—high on his own supply. Had he been right? Was Kass secretly enjoying the hell out of this?
Someone was carrying a spectacularly large cake, candles already lit, into the middle of the crowd, and people were beckoning Kass into the arms of the waiting masses. Each step down sent Dani’s heart rate skyrocketing higher. She felt a drop of sweat roll down from her armpit to her rib cage. The faces in the throng blurred together, but she felt the heat of their eyes on her like laser beams. She looked over to Kass, his face shining with colored light, his shoulders relaxed and at ease; he looked back at her, and his smile faltered.
“I—I’m so sorry,” she stammered. “I can’t do this.”
“What?” he said. “Dani, wait—”
But she was already taking the rest of the steps two at a time, breath tearing in her lungs, the party morphing around her like a nightmare.
“Babe,” came a familiar voice as she fought her way through the crowd. McKenna. “Dani, are you okay?”
“Cantaloupe,” she gasped. “Cantaloupe, please.”
McKenna nodded. “Come on,” she said, wrapping an arm around Dani’s waist. “Let’s get you out of here.”
A round of cheers went up behind them. Dani looked back as McKenna steered her toward the exit, getting one last glimpse of Kass as he descended into the bright dawn of his birthday cake, though his eyes weren’t on the candles. He was searching for her.
Thirteen
Dani cried the whole ride back to their apartment. She didn’t calm down until McKenna had helped her change into her favorite pajamas, made her a cup of marshmallow hot chocolate, and tucked her into a nest of blankets with Gingerbread watching over them. Only then did her heartbeat settle and her breathing return to normal, just in time for a tsunami of self-loathing to wash over her. How come she could make it through a certified nightmare at OneiroLabs without panicking, but not a college party?
“I knew I didn’t like Halloween for a reason,” she said.
