He wraps an arm around my shoulder and takes me from group to group. Kids at school who haven’t given me the time of day are suddenly nodding, smiling, and making conversation as we talk about the game we won tonight. The opponent next week, who we’ll crush. The hobbit chem teacher no one likes and the art teacher everyone does.
The experience is almost dreamlike. I’m not sure if it’s because Daniel is by my side, or if news of the Royal truce has trickled down to the little people, but everyone is nice. Their smiles are bright, and the laughter—the shared giddiness—is infectious. My cheeks ache from smiling so much.
“You having a good time?” Daniel murmurs into my hair.
I lean against him. “I am. I really am,” I say in surprise. Reed is off somewhere and this time it’s probably him and Abby rocking his Range Rover and not Wade, who I saw inside with a girl perched on his knee. But so what? Nice Daniel is here with his solid arm across my shoulders and his warm body snugged up to mine. A strange sluggishness creeps over me. The alcohol is stripping down my defenses, just like Easton warned, and a prickle of alarm zips up the nape of my neck.
“Let me get you another drink,” Daniel offers.
“I think…” I stare up at him, unsure of what I’m thinking.
“She needs to use the bathroom.”
I frown at the intruder. Savannah Montgomery. What’s she doing here? Before I can protest, she drags me off to the closest bathroom and shuts the door.
I watch as she turns on the faucet and dips a hand towel under the stream of water.
“What the hell is going on right now?” I demand.
She turns with a cloudy expression. “Look,” she says bluntly, “I don’t like you much—”
“Gee, thanks.”
“—but I wouldn’t let even my worst enemy be sucked in by Daniel.”
My confusion triples. “What’s wrong with Daniel? Reed and Easton vouched for him. They said he’s a good—”
“You want some advice?” she cuts in. “Don’t take a Royal’s word for anything.”
That bitterness Easton had mentioned is now painfully obvious. It’s in the tight set of her jaw, the harshness of her words.
“I get that you don’t like them,” I say softly. “I heard about you and Gideon—”
She interrupts again, her green eyes burning with disgust. “You know what? I changed my mind. You and Daniel are perfect for each other. Have a great night, Ella.”
With that, Savannah throws the wet towel at me and it strikes me across the face, soaking the front of my T-shirt. Bewildered, I hang the towel up and pluck the wet fabric away from my chest. What the hell just happened?
Daniel is waiting outside the bathroom, concern etched into his face. “What’s wrong? You and Savannah get into it?”
“Not exactly. I don’t know what happened back there other than she got mad and soaked my shirt.” I point to the wet Astor Park T-shirt I borrowed from one of the twins and tied in the back to make it fit.
“Do you need another shirt? I can grab one from Farris’ room.” He points upward.
“No, that’s okay. It’ll dry.” I flap the fabric. It’s thin enough that it should dry fairly quickly.
He nods. “Look, I don’t want to say anything bad about her, but Sav isn’t a real happy person these days. Don’t let it rub off on you.”
“Yeah, I get that.”
“They’re setting up a dart game in the other room. You interested?”
“Sure, why not.”
He hands me a water bottle. “Don’t know if you want this since you’re already soaked, but I thought you might like it. Those drinks Farris mixes are potent.”
“Thanks.” I twist the bottle open, noting that the seal hadn’t been broken. Daniel clearly falls in the good guy category, and I’d be really stupid not to at least give him a chance.
His arm bumps against my shoulder as we walk down the hall.
“You know, Daniel…” I take a breath. “I think we should go out.”
“Yeah?” He beams.
“Definitely.”
“All right then.” He pulls me to his side and kisses me on the temple in another nice, reassuring move. “But first, let’s go kick some ass in darts.”
The dartboard is a bar-sized thing in the pool house at the back of the Farris property. The sight of two other girls already lounging on a leather sectional eases my mind that Daniel hadn’t immediately assumed my agreement for one date meant I’m ready to get down.
“This is Zoe and Nadine. They’re from town.”
Zoe lifts a limp wrist. “We go to South East High.”
“Didn’t we just play your team tonight?”
“Yup,” she confirms. “And now we’re celebrating.”
I have to laugh. “But you lost.”
“Then I guess we’re getting consoled.” She and Nadine giggle again.
“Good thing we have Hugh here.”
Hugh is a wiry guy, a few inches taller than me, who takes a drag of whatever it is he’s smoking and merely nods.
Daniel winks at the girls. “Well, Ella and I have a date with the dartboard. You three want to join us?”
“Nope. We’ll just watch. Hugh likes watching, don’t you, Hugh?”
Hugh blows smoke in their faces, which makes them laugh even harder. Not hard to guess these girls are drunk or stoned.
“You want red or yellow?” Daniel holds up two darts.
“Red.”
He hands me the red darts, then pulls me over to the dartboard. Before I can throw mine, I feel a prick in my upper arm.