Seven Levels Below

XXVIII

Mitch was leaning against one of the marble pillars with a drink in his hand, sipping occasionally and watching the sea of people dance. The party had very quickly evolved to a club-like atmosphere while he and Scott had been gone, with multicolored lights flashing around the now dark room while bass-boosted dance tracks blasted from a DJ booth.

Mitch was alone now, with Scott having run off to continue being a "pleasant host", as he'd called it, and Avi having checked in with him but wandered off quickly after. Mitch wasn't surprised; Avi had blushed pretty hard upon meeting Mitch's eyes, and Mitch didn't blame him for trying to give space to the dude he had just walked in on making out with his closeted boyfriend.

He was having a good time surveying the crowd and listening to the music. He may not have gone into music, but he could still appreciate the production. He could see Kirstie mixed in the mob of people, Ben probably nearby somewhere, bopping and swinging her arms around to the beat.

He waved a little when she spun around and spotted him from across the room, and he could see her eyes sweep over him and narrow, before her head disappeared from view. He went back to sipping at his—what was this?—alcoholic beverage that was awesome.

"You ditched the party to make out with Scott?"

Mitch jumped when a bundle of energy popped up at his shoulder. "Holy shit, Kirstie," he clutched at his chest, before her words registered. "Wait, how the hell do you know that?"

Avi and Matt wouldn't have snitched, and even if they had, Kirstie had been on the dance floor—

"You have four buttons open. We only convinced you to open three earlier."

Mitch's jaw dropped and he stared down at his shirt. "Oh my god. When did he do that?"

Kirstie laughed. "Can I tell Nicole she owes me $5? We bet that Scott would figure out a way to get it opened more."

"You too?"

Kirstie just laughed more. "I guarantee that no one has any complaints about it being open." She mimed her head exploding. "You'll never guess who I talked to before."

Mitch raised an eyebrow. "Spill, girl."

"Candice Lambert loves the dress."

Mitch flung his drink-less arm out to grab Kirstie and nearly sprayed her with his drink. "You're lying. That's not funny. Candice Lambert?"

Kirstie beamed and nodded. "I told her you designed it and made it, along with your suit, and she said to pass on her compliments if she didn't see you yet tonight."

"She's here? And she likes my dress? Candice. Freaking. Lambert." Mitch was nearly bouncing on his toes and squealing.

"You have to try to get Scott to introduce you. It's already starting to get late, and I don't know if she's somewhere else or if she left already."

Mitch's head shot up and immediately began scanning the room for Scott. His eyes locked onto his boyfriend (boyfriend!) near the bar and started over towards him to the sound of Kirstie cheering him on.