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.”Both eyebrows rose.“Ripley? I've heard of that school.An interesting take on education, isn't it? Special courses for special students?”“Something like that,” I said, pulling the beer back over to my side of the table and taking a drink.Something in the way she said “special” struck me as strange.Maybe she was making fun of me in some obscure way.“It's a pretty nice place.Some odd things happen there, but I think you can say that about all colleges.What about you?”She shrugged.“I work.Been working since high school.”“What do you do?”“This and that,” she said, waving her hand dismissively.“Odd jobs.I'm saving money so I can go to school like you are.”“You could always get a loan,” I said.“I don't like being in debt,” she said, then looked over at her friends.“Did you know that tonight is karaoke night?”“No, we're just passing through,” I said.“Are you going to sing?”“Of course,” she said.“Would you like to sing with me?”I shook my head.“You don't want to hear me sing.Really.I'd love to, but I think people would start tossing barstools at me.”She laughed.“I doubt it.Your voice is strong.If you're not a singer, that's fine.How about dancing? Will you dance with me?”I looked toward the center of the floor.One of the bartenders was moving some of the tables out of the way, while the other was setting up a portable karaoke machine between orders.“I'm not that great a dancer, either.”She stared at me and both eyebrows shot up again.“Don't sing, don't dance.What do you do for fun, Kevin? Maybe you are as shy as your friend said.”“It's not that I'm shy,” I said.“I just have a girlfriend back at school.”Idiot.I bit my tongue and waited for her to cool off and walk away.I didn't expect her to laugh.“So?” she asked after catching her breath.“I don't see you as the seductive player type.You're not going to betray her so easily.I can tell.But, she doesn't know you're here, does she?”I sighed and looked down at the table.“I didn't tell her that I was going to Florida until just last night.She didn't take it too well.I think she's pretty angry with me.”Star's hand walked across the table and covered mine.“Sorry.I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories.But you haven't answered my question.Will you dance with me? Maybe it'll take your mind off your girl.” She laughed again.“Just so you know, I plan on dancing well enough to take your mind off everything but me.What do you say? Last chance!”“Sure,” I said.“But I’m serious about being a bad dancer.I don't want your broken feet to come as a complete surprise.” I grinned in spite of myself.I had never had a girl flirt so openly with me, let alone one as gorgeous as Star.I did need to get my mind off Nikki.She wasn't here and I was just going to have some fun.I wasn't going to be trying to seduce anyone.We were just going to dance.How could I say no?She stood up, pushing her drink toward me.“Good.I'll be back for that.Go ahead and try it if you want.I always get the first song of the night.People think I've got a nice voice for some reason.” She grinned at me and sauntered away.I watched her walk up to the bar and chat with the bartender, then glance over at me.I picked up her drink and took a sip as she watched.Her lips curved into another playful smile.It took another few minutes for the bartenders to finish setting up, transforming the place from a dive to a low-key club.When they were ready, they handed Star the microphone right away.The entire bar went silent.She had to be the one the agent was looking for.The song started playing and I recognized the tune as a ballad from a few years ago.Her singing voice was powerful and pitched perfectly, a little deeper than the original singer, but sounding even better than the song I remembered.When she finished, she was breathing deeply, then took a bow with a flourish.Applause rippled through the bar and I joined in.After she handed off the microphone, she walked back to my table, moving quickly, a little unsteadily.She slid into the seat and breathed in sharply before saying anything [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]