Dan followed her。 He’d forgotten all about Vanessa。 But she looked
like she was having a good time talking to the bartender。
“Hey Vanessa;” Serena said; touching Vanessa’s arm。 “Dan just got
a call from his sister at the party。 He has to go get her。”
Vanessa turned around slowly。 She was waiting for Clark’s eyes to
settle on Serena。 For his eyeballs to suddenly register “beautiful
girl” in bold black letters like the cherries in a slot machine。 But
Clark only glanced at Serena like she was just another customer。
“What can I get you?” he said; slapping a cocktail napkin down on
the bar in front of her。
“Oh; nothing; thanks;” Serena said。 She turned to Vanessa。 “I think
I’m going to go with Dan。”
“Hey Serena; we better take off;” Dan called urgently from behind
them。
Vanessa turned around to look at him; waiting so eagerly for
Serena。 His tongue was practically hanging out of his mouth。
“Okay; have a good rest of the night;” Serena said。 She leaned over
and gave Vanessa a kiss on her cheek。 “Tell Ruby I thought she was
awesome。” Then she slipped away to join Dan。
“See you; Vanessa;” Dan called; turning to go。
Vanessa turned back to Clark without a word。 She couldn’t wait to
kiss him again; and forget all about Serena and Dan; heading off
into the night together。
“Who were they?” Clark said; resting his elbows on the bar。 He
picked an olive out of a dish and held it just in front of Vanessa’s
lips。
Vanessa bit into the olive and shrugged。 “Just some people I don’t
really know。”
Dan hailed a cab and opened the door for Serena。 The October air
was crisp and smelled of burnt sugar; and Dan suddenly felt very
elegant and mature—a man in a tuxedo out on the town with a
beautiful girl。 He slid into the seat beside her and looked down at
his hands as the cab pulled away from the curb。 They weren’t
shaking anymore。
Unbelievable as it seemed; he had touched Serena with those very
hands while they were dancing。 And now he was alone