John didn’t put his arm back around Zack’s waist, and Zack was kind of relieved. He didn’t have anything against public displays of affection, but he wasn’t a fan either, and he hated the fake intimacy of doing it with a stranger.

“I’ll be right back,” John said. He ducked inside and disappeared into the crowd, but not before Zack noticed him teetering precariously. There was a chance he was a lot drunker than he was letting on.

Kira waited until the door had closed behind him before whirling around. “Just to make sure, that’s not the John, right?”

“No,” Zack assured her, “he’s just some guy who recognized me from a class we had. I don’t even remember him.”

“That’s kind of creepy.”

Zack shrugged. “He’s hot, I’m tipsy, and I didn’t put on my favorite outfit for nothing.”

“Fair enough.”

Kira moved to stand next to Alexa, and the two of them did a decent job of acting like it wasn’t on purpose.

Zack pointed at the bottle in Kira’s hand. “Don’t you hate beer?”

“Well, you’re always saying it’s an acquired taste,” Kira replied, taking a sip. “I’m acquiring it.”

“They were out of wine, weren’t they?”

Kira grinned. “Yeah.”

“Figures.” Zack downed the rest of his beer and set it on the table. “I’m going to grab another. Anyone want anything?”

His friends declined, and Zack headed in. It must have been getting late, because the bar was less packed than when they arrived. The music had changed from pop to a throbbing techno beat that drowned out thought itself. Zack had to scream his order at the bartender, and even then he was given a draft instead of a bottle.

Zack paid and was about to head back outside when something crashed into him. He fell back a few steps into a woman who couldn’t have been more than five foot four, including her spiky silver heels. He shouted an apology at her and then turned around. John was grinning at him from inches away, unaware of the near catastrophe.

“I was looking for you!” he called. He was blinking too much and teetering on his feet.

“I was getting a drink,” Zack answered. “Where did you run off to?”

“I realized I hadn’t seen my friends in a while, so I found them and did more shots!” John lurched forward and pinned Zack against the bar. “I missed you!”

Oh crap, Zack thought. Drunk and clingy were a lethal combination. “I didn’t realize you were here with anyone. You never mentioned.”

“I didn’t want you to think I was trying to make you jealous.” John put his mouth right by Zack’s ear and shouted, “Were you jealous?”

“No,” Zack said.