Read Online Captive by L. J. Smith - Free Book Online Page B

relief she glimpsed a sleek auburn crop and a head of long, light-brown hair interwoven with tiny flowers. It was Melanie and Laurel, in animated conversation with two outsider boys. If they'd seen what happened on the dance floor a minute ago . . .
    But Laurel swung around at Adam's "hello" and said, "Oh, there you are!" and Melanie's smile was quite normal. Cassie was grateful to talk with them while the boys talked about football. Her lightheartedness, inspired by the magic of the dance, began to return.
    "There's Deborah. She always gets one dance in before heading off to the boiler room with the Hendersons," Laurel murmured, smiling mischievously.
    "What do they do there?" Cassie asked as she followed Laurel's gaze. Deborah was wearing a black micro-mini and a biker's hat decorated with a gold link bracelet. Her hair was mostly in her eyes. She looked great.
    "Play cards and drink. But no, not what you're thinking. None of the guys would dare try anything with Deb-she can outwrestle them all. They're just in awe of her."
    Cassie smiled, then she spotted someone else, and her smile faded. "Speaking of awesome . . ." she said softly.
    Faye had on a flame-colored dress, sexy and elegant, cut in her usual knockout style. Her hair was black and glossy, hanging untamed down her back. She was like some exotic creature that had wandered onto campus by accident.
    Faye didn't see the three girls scrutinizing her. Her entire attention seemed to be focused on Nick.
    Cassie was surprised Nick was even here; he wasn't the type to go to dances. He was standing by a blond outsider girl who looked frankly spooked. As Cassie watched, Faye made her way over to him and placed a hand with red-tipped fingers on his arm.
    Nick glanced down at the hand and stiffened. He threw a cold glance over his shoulder at Faye. Then, deliberately, he shrugged her hand off, bending over the little blonde, whose eyes widened. Throughout the whole incident his face remained as wintry and remote as ever.
    "Uh-oh," Laurel whispered. "Faye's trying to hedge her bets, but Nick isn't cooperating."
    "It's her own fault," Melanie said. "She kept after Jeffrey until the last minute."
    "I think she's still after him now," said Cassie.
    Jeffrey was just coming off the dance floor with Sally. His expression was the exact opposite of wintry; he looked as if he was having a wonderful time, flashing his lady-killing smile in all directions. Proud, Cassie thought, to have the Homecoming Queen on his arm. But it was funny, she thought the next minute, how quickly people stopped smiling when they ran into Faye.
    Jeffrey tried to hustle Sally back onto the dance floor, but Faye moved as quickly as a stalking panther and cut them off. Then she and Sally stood on either side of Jeff, like a big, glossy black dog and a little rust-colored terrier fighting over a tall, slim bone.
    "That's stupid," Laurel said. "Faye could have almost any guy here, but she only wants the ones who're a challenge."
    "Well, it's not our problem," Melanie said sensibly. She turned to the outsider boy beside her and smiled, and they went together onto the dance floor. Laurel looked nettled for an instant, then smiled, shrugged at Cassie, and collected her own partner.
    Cassie watched them go with a sinking heart.
    She'd been able to block out Adam's presence for the last few minutes, but here they were alone again. Determinedly, she looked around for some distraction. There was Jeffrey-he was in real trouble now. The music had started, Faye was smiling a lazy, dangerous smile at him, and Sally was bristling and looking daggers. The three of them were standing in a perfect triangle, nobody moving. Cassie didn't see how Jeffrey was going to get out of it.
    Then he looked up in her direction.
    His reaction was startling. His eyes widened. He blinked. He stared at her as if he had never seen a girl before. Then he stepped away from Faye and Sally as if he'd forgotten their existence.
    Cassie was dismayed,