Read Online Illuminate by Aimee Agresti - Free Book Online Page B

me over, patting at the sliver of an empty seat between him and a table stocked with all manner of partially drained bottles.
    “Looks like we’re in,” I said.
    “Nerds’ night out!” He thrust both arms in the air, cheering. Then stopped abruptly, resuming his party pose, slouching back on the cushy bench.
    “Right, because the important thing now is to play it cool and look like we belong,” I joked.
    “It goes without saying.”
    “So how’d you get us in?”
    “I asked and they just gave me that look.” He did it now, the vacant stare over my shoulder. I let a quick laugh escape and glanced around to be sure no one noticed. No one was looking at us at all.
    Lance appeared at the top of the steps. Since we were hemmed in by the table beside me and a gaggle of the long-limbed Outfit girls beside Dante, he found a seat across the circle from us.
    “We need some props,” Dante said. “Switch with me, I’m going to familiarize myself with the bar.” He got up and I shifted over to his seat.
    “Um, I don’t think we should—”
    “Relax, I’ll keep the cocktails strictly virgin for you. Hey, Lance!” he called out through the sea of milling Outfit members. Dante made a motion with his empty hand, like he was drinking something, then pointed back at Lance. “Anything?”
    I shielded my face behind my hand, on reflex, as though this small action could hide me. I thought the idea was to not draw too much attention to ourselves. I had the feeling that Aurelia would find out about anything that happened tonight. Drinking was probably not the best idea.
    “Sure, thanks. Surprise me,” Lance called back. He leaned back into his seat, content to watch the electric current travel between all of these figures around us.
    Dante, bobbing his head to the music, looked like he was doing an experiment in AP Chemistry—holding up his glass as he poured in each new liquid, touching his fingers to his lips, deep in thought, deciding what to add next. I had to laugh watching him: he didn’t really know what he was doing. This just wasn’t something we ever did. We had decided early on that we didn’t want to be those kids who got wasted and sloppy on weekends, and then we had really sealed our fate by getting elected co-presidents of the Students Against Destructive Decisions chapter at school. So that was that. I had had no more than a few sips of alcohol in my entire life.
    Recipe complete, Dante weaved between the beautiful people to deliver to Lance his concoction, a tall glass brimming with an amber liquid. He nodded in appreciation and Dante crossed back toward me. “You’re next!” He pointed, making pistols out of his hands.
    Across the way, I spied Lance’s taste test. He tossed back his head, taking his first gulp, then spit it right back in the glass. He made a face and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. He caught me looking and shook his head at me. I chuckled to myself. Dante, who missed the response to his bartending skills, parked himself on the other side of the table and began mixing some more. Another amber-colored libation took form, and he allowed himself a healthy guzzle. He looked at me, rolling his eyes.
    “I know what you’re thinking. When in Rome, okay? Let’s have some fun for a change. No one here knows us, it’s amazing! Reinvention, baby!”
    I put my hands up, surrendering. “I didn’t say anything.”
    A song with a throbbing Tommy-gun beat cranked up and everyone who was standing in our area began swaying, moving. Dante hopped up from his seat, drink in hand, and took to the dance floor, in his own world now. I was on my own. I watched the bodies around him. Some of the men had rolled up their sleeves, while those in jackets had taken them off, revealing muscles that were perfectly formed and rock solid. The girls looked so at ease, dancing in the highest heels I’d ever seen. I studied everything: the cut of their dresses, the way they parted their hair, the length