Chapter 1: Chapter 1

The bass was a physical thing, a throb you felt in your teeth. Caleb leaned against the slick, sticky bar, scanning the crowd as a green laser cut through the haze of sweat and perfume. Every face was a blur of intent, of hunger. It was all so fucking predictable.

“You’re like a shark who’s decided he’s suddenly a vegetarian,” Cameron shouted over the music, sipping a vodka tonic. “It’s unsettling.” He grinned, easy and open, his eyes already tracking a redhead by the DJ booth.

“Maybe I’m just tired of fast food,” Caleb yelled back, the words tasting hollow even to him.

Justin materialized beside them, smelling of expensive cologne and cheaper decisions. He nudged Caleb hard. “Eleven o’clock. Red dress. Moving like she invented sin. I’m calling dibs before I even finish this beer.”

Caleb followed his gaze. The woman moved with a hypnotic, self-contained rhythm, a dark cloud of hair swaying against bare, dusky gold shoulders. The red fabric clung and gleamed under the strobing lights. She wasn’t smiling. She was somewhere else entirely, and for a second, Caleb forgot to breathe.

“You have a girlfriend,” Cameron reminded Justin, his tone light but firm.

“And Melanie has a yoga retreat in Sedona,” Justin countered, not taking his eyes off her.