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totally gotten over him. Moved on.
    Who knew pictures could lie?
    It was only then that I realized I was still nestled snugly against Brady’s side. I didn’t want to be obvious about easing away from him, which meant that I stayed beside him because there was no way to move away without being obvious.
    So, okay, maybe I was just looking for an excuse to stay close. The weight of his arm around me felt really nice.
    â€œYou’re not going to get something to drink?” I asked.
    He grinned and winked. “I’m not going in to buy something, but yeah, I’ll have something. Tank’s the only one who’s twenty-one. I might get carded if I tried to buy it, but I don’t usually get carded once I’m holding it.”
    I wondered if that was part of the reason he kept stubble on his chin, so he’d look older. It was considerably darker than his hair. It gave him a rough, dangerous look. Which gave me a thrill. To be with someone older, someone who looked like he could be trouble, someone who wasn’t Drew.
    â€œSounds like you have a system,” I said. There I was again, being snide, trying to find that elusive flaw. What was wrong with me?
    â€œI believe in partying hearty. And tonight we’re pedestrians, so the only crashing that will take place is when we hit the beds.” He gave me his sexy grin. (Did he have any other kind?) “Who am I hurting?”
    Tank came out with a frozen red drink.
    â€œStrawberry daiquiri,” he said. “They give a free shot of Sex on the Beach, but I couldn’t bring it out, so I was forced to drink it myself.”
    â€œBut you’re always willing to make the sacrifice,” Brady said.
    â€œYou bet! Let’s party!”
    We started walking up the sidewalk, stepping into the street when the crowds were thick on the sidewalk outside the bars that had entertainment. Music wafted out through the open doors. I wasn’t familiar with the tunes but hearing them live made me want to follow their rhythm. I thought I could probably become a fan. Expand my musical horizons.
    When we passed through some shadows, Tank passed the drink back. Brady took it and offered it to me. Okay. I wasn’t old enough, but I didn’t want to seem like a prude, either. I compromised and took a very small sip. It was tasty, so I took another. I was pretty sure all the alcohol was on the bottom and I’d lifted the straw up some, so I was drinking from themiddle. The alcohol-free zone. Sounded reasonable to me. Not that a cop would buy into my reasoning.
    A vision flashed through my mind of having to call Mom and Dad to bail me out of jail. Wouldn’t that be just great? I wondered if that was how things worked for Saraphina. Pictures just flashed through her mind and they could mean nothing, something, everything. How did she know which ones mattered?
    Brady didn’t bother with a straw. He just gulped down some frozen concoction. We passed another bar, and Tank went inside.
    I looked around. “Where’s Amber?”
    Jenna turned in a slow circle, then shrugged. “I don’t know.”
    â€œShe and Sean ducked into one of the bars we passed back there to listen to the music,” Brady said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.
    How had I missed that? I hadn’t seen Amber and Sean slip away. I guess maybe I was paying too much attention to Brady. But sitting down and listening to a band sounded like a terrificidea. One way to keep my shoes semiclean anyway. But then, I also wanted to see everything there was to see out here, too.
    â€œWe can go back there if you want,” Brady said.
    He didn’t say it with much enthusiasm. I didn’t know him well enough to read between the lines, but I had a feeling that he wanted to keep walking. I didn’t know how I knew that. I just did.
    â€œNo, I’d rather explore.”
    â€œGreat! Let’s at least go to the end of what they’ve got