Jai appeared on her right just as she almost fell again, his huge arm snaking around and holding her upright with very little effort. She saw his mouth open and close, talking, and imagined he said something like “I got you,” but she didn’t hear a word. He was much too soft-spoken to register over the blaring cacophony.

They were soon turning into another parking lot, and she took the moment the bus stopped to get her legs more firmly in place and her hand more securely looped into one of the dangling straps directly above her. As they waited, she bent down to peer out the window but could see nothing but the flashing lights outside and the silhouette of a dark building. Suddenly she heard shouts of “Maddie!” from the front, and a moment later, Maddie appeared as the crowd parted for her.

The moment Maddie saw her was something she would remember for the rest of her life. Maddie was scanning the crowd around her, clearly looking for her, and her gaze skated past, not recognizing her at first, before it returned to her, and her eyes widened comically. Then her mouth dropped open, as if in a cartoon, before snapping closed. Her eyes narrowed, darkened, and Ryann’s stomach dropped as Maddie marched toward her, surefooted despite the now-moving bus. Maddie’s kiss was like none before it—desperate, eager, starving, and passionate. It was overwhelming. She felt alternately hot, cold, and almost electrified as the sensation of that kiss raced through her heart and soul. When Maddie finally pulled away, she felt almost drunk, certainly dazed, boneless in Maddie’s arms.

I guess she likes the dress, she thought, grateful now for Jos and Ted’s assistance.

It was too loud to talk, so they simply stared at each other, she up into Maddie’s eyes, Maddie down at her the entire trip, which seemed both interminable and too short. When the bus finally stopped, in yet another parking lot, she didn’t notice until the music abruptly cut off. Several people booed and shouted, but the bus driver quickly announced that they were at the first stop for the night. He also announced the name of a business she didn’t recognize, but nearly everyone around her hooted with glee, clapping and cheering in drunken excitement. She had to shake her head to come back to reality, finally stepping out of Maddie’s arms. Maddie took her hand and led her toward the door, the last ones out.