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impress whoever she was with. I didn’t bother trying
to figure out who she was trying to dazzle. Instead, I pulled out
of her hug, patted her on the shoulder and took off for the
ballroom, dodging other partiers on my way there.
    The room was even more crowded than I’d
thought; I realized that as soon as I stepped through the arched
entry. I skirted friends and acquaintances, stretching to see over
their heads. Anything to possibly catch a glimpse of my mysterious
biker. When did I start thinking of him as my biker?
    It didn’t matter. I’d lost him.
    I gave up my search and wove my way through
the mob of dancing teenagers toward the edge of the room. They were
suffocatingly close, and I needed space right then. The party had
only just started, and already I needed fresh air. When I turned
back to face the room, I spotted Brad and Maya both standing at the
doorway to the foyer scanning the room for me.
    I ducked out onto the terrace before they
spied me.

Six

     
    Roman
     
    Katie was alone on the terrace when I stepped
through the doors. My stomach twisted in a fit of nerves the second
I saw her, and I ducked into the shadows behind the french doors.
 Now, not only was I awkward and shy, but creepy, too. I
couldn’t bring myself to step out into the light, though. What if
she turned around and saw me? What if she recognized me behind the
old motorcycle gear and two-sizes-too-big-for-me leather boots I’d
pilfered from my father’s closet? I removed the helmet and checked
the mask over my face, testing its security and position under my
sunglasses, then relaxed once I’d reassured myself my face was
still mostly hidden.
    The music spilled out through the open doors,
a soft, slow number that existed in perfect harmony with the beauty
and peace of the dark terrace. The setting was like a world all our
own. I let my gaze rove over her in a way I wouldn’t have had she
known I was there—committing her every feature, every curve to
memory. I fought the urge to remove my sunglasses to get a better
look at her. I needed that extra layer of protection, even if for
my own comfort. She was like a princess with the moonlight shining
down on her, giving her blonde waves a silvery tone and lighting
her skin as if the moon was a spotlight designed just for her. Even
though she was facing away from me, looking down at the pool area,
I could almost picture her soft, full lips with their pink pout,
her gray-blue eyes with their exotic tear-drop shape, her button
nose, and high cheekbones. She was perfection. And I was
unworthy.
    I shouldn’t have come; I didn’t belong here.
Doubts crowded in on me, and I shuffled back toward the entrance to
the ballroom. Maybe I could escape quickly, and she would never
know I’d been here. My too-large boot scuffed the ground, and I
froze, hoping she hadn’t heard.
    She whirled with a startled smile, probably
ready to greet whoever she found there. Her smile faltered when she
saw me, but was back in full force when she spotted the helmet in
my hand. “Hi!” She called and lifted her hand in a small wave.
    “Hi,” I repeated. I hadn’t intended to use a
lower register, but my voice sounded deeper, more gravelly. Maybe
it was from a subconscious effort to disguise any defining detail
about myself. I didn’t belong here. I wasn’t one of the cool kids.
Sure, she’d invited me, but Brad had driven the point home that I
just didn’t fit in with Katie’s crowd. She was so far out of my
league, we weren’t even playing the same sport.
    Katie tilted her head to the side, giving my
person a slow perusal from head to toe and back again. I needed to
say something, anything, to distract her from what was clearly an
attempt to identify me. “Like what you see?” I bit my tongue the
second the words were out of my mouth. What was wrong with me? I
didn’t talk like that.
    Katie smiled that slightly crooked grin of
hers. “And what if I do?”
    Her words sent a little thrill through