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As she opened her mouth to correct him on both accounts, Michael wrapped an arainst his side "Stella’s an econoazed up at hie his escorting to his cousin Then, she mentally rolled her eyes Her social skills were bad, but they weren’t that bad

Quan surprised her by leaning toward her with a bright expression "That’s related to economics, isn’t it?"

"Yes"

"Has she met Janie yet?" he asked Michael

Who was Janie?

But Michael didn’t appear to hear the question His attention was focused on a petite blond woman seated at the bar When she patted the eot to his feet "I’ll be back in a second"

Stella’s body went cold as she watched him stride to the bar He sat on the indicated bar stool, and the blonde trailed her fingers down his arm They spoke, but their words couldn’t be heard above thecrowd

When had so many people arrived? Their numbers had almost doubled since she’d entered More continued to file into the club in a steady stream

"I-is that Janie?" she asked

"I don’t knoho that is, but it’s not Janie" After glancing at Stella’s face, Quan shtly "He clearly didn’t want to talk to her, okay? You have nothing to worry about"

But it didn’t feel like she had nothing to worry about The blonde laughed at soed closer to hiainst his arathered around the bar

"Are there usually this many people here?" Stella asked

"Nah" Quan rubbed at the scruff on his head and stretched his neck side to side "This popular DJ is spinning tonight, so it’s busier than norood here Prepare to be bloay"

She sed past a luut Since as being bloay a good thing? Hundreds of bodies packed the roo electronic boo, and Stella’s heart lurched so hard her chest hurt The roo up the walls The crowd screaled to breathe Lasers and s receded, and ephemeral, orchestral sounds whispered over the room Before she could atte speed with a slow buildup

"Don’t look so scared," Quan shouted "That’s not real fire It’s just LED lights and projectors"

The waitress appeared out of thin air and plopped a drink onto the table She said so, but Stella couldn’t hear it In two blinks, the waitress vanished into thebodies The rew agitated as it neared

Stella picked up the drink and took a large gulp Lemon, cherry, and aht ethanol It would work faster that way

Quan gave her an aital sirens screeched, silence hung over the rooood five seconds, and a , the bass resu speed The croild

Her heart pounded in a dizzying rush, and fear threatened to swamp her Too much noise Too much frenzy She bottled up her emotions and buried them deep inside herself, forced herself to take slow breaths As long as she looked cal this The ot a clear view of the bar The blonde was playing with the collar of Michael’s shirt, leaning in too close

She sealed her lips over his

Stella flinched like someone had slapped her She waited for hies, waited until the crowd ain and blocked her view