Free Heat by Francine Pascal Page B

dress. "I'm not saying I'll stay long. Once everyone's had a good laugh, I'm leaving."
    Mary shook her head. "You really don't see it, do you?"
    "See what?" asked Gaia.
    "Believe me. When the guys see you in that dress, there is not going to be any laughing." Mary pulled her coat on over the translucent top and short black skirt that made up her own outfit. "Let's get moving."
    Gaia wasn't afraid. She
couldn't
be afraid, but she was definitely not looking forward to this evening. Her mood wasn't improved when she saw that Ella was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs.
    Ella folded her arms and leaned back against the stair rail as the girls approached. "Well," she said. "And where are you two going?"
    "Dancing," Mary answered before Gaia could open her mouth. "Want to come along?"
    Gaia winced.
She could read the sarcasm in Mary's voice. She had no doubt that Ella heard it, too. But that didn't mean Ella wouldn't say yes just because she knew how much Gaia would hate it. Gaia looked back over her shoulder and glared at Mary, but Mary only smiled in reply.
    Ella gave a short laugh.
"I do love to dance," she said, "but no. I'm afraid I have my own duties to attend to tonight."
    "That's too bad," Gaia said quickly. "Well, I'll see you later."
    She started to step past, but to Gaia's surprise, Ella reached out and laid her hand on Gaia's arm. "Do be careful, dear," she said.
    Concern wasn't usual for Ella. "Sure. All right." Gaia walked on, and
Ella's fingers slipped away.
    "Please tell me you weren't serious," Gaia whispered as she and Mary reached the door.
    "What? About Ms. Niven coming with us?" Mary grinned. "It would be something, wouldn't it? I'd love to see if she even can dance on those heels she wears."
    "It would be something, all right," said Gaia. She pushed open the door and stepped out into the cold night.
    It wasn't until she was outside the brownstone that Gaia realized how happy she was that Ella couldn't see what she was wearing under the coat. For the first
    time since she had come to New York, Gaia was wearing a shorter dress than her foster mother.
    Oh my God. I'm dressed in Ella wear.
    "TWENTY-THREE?"
    Vodka
    Sam nodded.
    The woman behind the bar was thin and thirty something, with
pink hair piled on her head
, a neat gold hoop through the side of her nose, and deep lines around her eyes. She looked skeptically at the ID card, then at Sam, then at the ID again. "You look younger."
    "It's a curse," said Sam. He reached out for the card, but the bartender pulled it away.
    "I wish I had a curse like that," she said. She gave the card another long look and held it up to the light. "This is a good fake."
    Sam jerked the card away from her and put it back in his pocket. "It's not a fake!" he said.
    The woman held up her hands. "Hey, don't get so worked up. I didn't say I wasn't going to serve you." A phone rang. The bartender turned and picked it up.
    While she talked, Sam spun around on his stool. There was a dance floor in the club, but no one was dancing. Not yet, anyway. Up on the stage a band was
    just beginning to set up and a couple of men were arranging lights. Sam wasn't sure what kind of music the band played. He thought about asking, but after a moment he decided it didn't matter.
He hadn't come into the club for the music.
    He pulled out the ID card he had used to get in. These days, with color laser printers, there was almost nothing that couldn't be faked. Making the ID hadn't taken ten minutes.
    The bartender finished with her phone call and strolled back over to stand in front of Sam. "You're getting an awfully early start, kiddo."
    "Sam."
    "Whatever." The woman leaned one elbow on the bar. "What's it going to be tonight, Sam?"
    Sam stuffed the fake ID down in his pocket and studied the bottles behind the bar. The range of beverages was a little intimidating. He wasn't a regular drinker. In fact, he usually skipped both the beer and the shots available at campus parties. He just didn't