Page 51 of The Fall of Iris Henley
“Maybe you should stop,” Sophie says. “Maybe you should just let him crash and burn.”
Billy shakes his head sadly, but then the music changes and Sophie’s eyes light up. “I love this song,” she says. She looks at me. “Want to go dance?”
“Not yet,” I say. “You guys go ahead.”
She looks like she wants to argue, but I know her—she can’t resist when it’s a beat her body wants to move to. So she takes Billy by the hand and leads him out on the floor. They look really cute together—her small nimble body finding the rhythm, and his lanky form shifting almost lackadaisically next to her. I watch them and smile.
Then I feel a pair of hands at my waist.
There’s a split moment where I think the wordJonah. He made it after all. He’s here to surprise me.
Then I angle my head around and see that it’s Bryce.
He’s grinning like a panting dog, his cheeks flushed. “Hey there, beautiful.”
I’m stuck between him and the table, so I can’t just discreetly step away. I have to grab his hands and pull them away from my waist. “You startled me.”
“Didn’t mean to scare you,” he murmurs. He doesn’t take the hint to back off; he’s still standing, firm and heavy, just behind me. He smells like beer and citrus and sweat. “Unless you like that kind of thing.”
“Um, what do you…”
He leans the slightest bit closer, his mouth against my ear now. “Come on, Iris, give me a chance here. It’s not like you’ve got a lot of options.” He gives a sour laugh and gestures around us. “I’m the only one who even wants you now.”
Adrenaline flushes through my limbs, but I don’t want to do something that’ll make a scene. I don’t want the cameras on me again, tracking my every move. I think of all the things I could say, the ways I could say them, but I’m somehow frozen. Tears prick at the back of my eyes.
“Hey, Henley!” The voice is male, familiar, coming from my left. I look up and give a double take. Max. Max in a rumpled black suit, hands in his pockets, like a lounge singer after a set. He doesn’t even look at Bryce. Instead he gives me a searching look, though the rest of his expression is deadpan. “Been looking all over for you. Can I cash in that dance you promised me?”
I feel Bryce shift his weight—not much, but enough that I can squeeze out from between him and the table. I try to move carefully, but I can’t take Max’s hand quickly enough. “I’d love to. Thanks.”
Before I turn away to face the dance floor, I catch a glimpse of Bryce.
His fingers are clenched at his sides, like for all the world he’d love to hit someone.
CHAPTER 27
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 9:13PM
VARDA HIGH SCHOOL GYM
“Thanks,” I say again to Max. I put my hand on his shoulder and let him spin me out to the dance floor. He’s surprisingly graceful—the music has shifted to something slow and dreamy, and while we don’t press together like the couples around us, he rests a hand lightly on my back to steer me around. I wouldn’t have thought he could dance.
“That guy’s a fucking creep,” he says.
“Tell me about it. I was trying to figure out a delicate way to escape.”
“Delicate? You?” His mouth gives the faintest hint of a smile. “Here I thought you were so edgy and violent.”
“Ha ha.” I look around the gym. “Where’s Katy? I’m surprised she’s willing to share you with me.”
“She’s getting punch. She’ll be fine for a song or two.”
Based on how she acted at the outlet mall, I’m not so sure. But I let that go.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a suit before. Or at a dance, for that matter,” I say.
“Yeah, and I was right, the music does suck.” He grimaces at the DJ. “Whatisthis?”
“It’s called pop music. Short for pop-u-lar.” I overenunciate the word. “Because this is what people want to dance to. I know you like that weird stuff some skinny nerd does with power drills and a drum machine…”
