Ricochet Read Online Free Page B

one with the long, blond hair dancing next to her? That’s me.” His smile told me he was proud of himself and his girl. She was hot, something I couldn’t deny, but she reminded me too much of Arianna. I’d had enough of the J. Lo look-alikes for one lifetime.
    “I’m going down there to talk to her.” I nodded, feeling determined. “Elle,” I said her name again. “I’m going to talk to Elle.” Both guys pulled me back before I could get to the stairs.
    “Are you crazy?” Warren shook his head and pointed to the girls dancing with each other. “They’re in their zone, and by the looks of it, celebrating something. You don’t wanna mess with her right now.”
    I didn’t get it. “How can you tell they’re celebrating?”
    Laughing, Warren rolled his eyes. “Her head. She’s got one of them shitty crowns on. That’s Girl Code for birthday. Or worse, bachelorette party. Either way it screams ‘off limits’.”
    Even though I wasn’t going to listen, for clarification purposes I asked, “So what you’re saying is I shouldn’t go talk to her?”
    “Hey.” Warren put his hands up and took a step back with one of those “you’re on your own” smiles spread across his ugly face. I think he was just happy I wasn’t leaving and actually thinking with my dick and not my head or my fucking heart. “I’m not saying not to. I’m just saying—”
    “I’m going.”
    Neither he nor Corey said anything to stop me this time.
    Slowly, I made my way down the stairs. I tried to act cool, calm, like I had my shit together, but my stomach was heavy with nerves. Getting shot down didn’t make me nervous . Rejection was the nature of the beast. It’s the way I might get shot down that worried me.
    A simple no and a headshake I could deal with, but getting laughed at or being mocked was not something my fragile ego would be able to handle. What if there was pointing involved? Just thinking about it almost made me run back to the guys.
    A different feeling weighed my stomach down when I thought about leaving the club. I needed to find out a little about Elle. I didn’t want to have any regrets tonight. No what-ifs. And frankly, I didn’t want to spend another fucking night alone or hear another one of Warren’s lectures about moving on. With that in mind, I pushed forward.
    As I got closer to the group of girls, the one Corey said was his girl leaned in toward Elle. They were no longer dancing. Elle nodded while her friend’s focus darted in my direction a couple times.
    I’d learned the good and bad of that gesture. She was either telling Elle there was a hot guy approaching and to look alive or to pretend to be her lesbian lover because there was some ugly creep staring at her.
    Elle slowly turned her head , locked eyes with me, and smiled. I did an internal fist pump.
    The group of girls dispersed quickly, leaving Elle dancing alone. I exhaled and sent a quick thank you to God. If they had stayed together, I might not have ever penetrated the pack unscathed.
    I sidled up behind Elle and placed my hand on her lower back. My confidence grew when she didn’t flinch away.
    “ Wanna dance?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
    Nodding, she leaned against me.
    Unfortunately, she almost took my eye out with that damn thing on her head. Its presence reminded me of what Warren said about why they might be at the club.
    “What are we celebrating?”
    She titled her head slightly and squinted.
    “This.” I tapped the crown. “What’s it for?”
    “My birthday!”
    She was so loud I flinched back. When I felt her stiffen in what I assumed was embarrassment, I wrapped my arm low around her. I wanted her to feel comfortable, but really I wanted an excuse to keep touching her.
    “Well, happy birthday, beautiful.” Cringe. I would forever leave that part out if I told this story to anyone. Happy birthday, beautiful ? I should have thought of something better. Regardless of how I felt, though, my words