Shit.I accepted the challenge and threw back my own punch. And boy did it punch. The liquid scorched all the way down. I was pretty sure it could be repackaged and sold as a prescription to clear sinuses.
Setting our cups on a nearby table, Piper took my hand, and we made our way out onto the dance floor. There, among the people grinding and swaying to the music, I could get lost in the moment. Piper wrapped her arms around my waist, and we moved our hips back and forth in time to the music. I wasn’t sure I would call what we were doing dancing, but it was fun nonetheless.
The alcohol was kicking in when I opened my eyes to find Grey dancing with Carina across the room. He was staring at me while dancing with her. Anger turned my vision red. I wasn’t sure who I was madder at—me or him. I was mad at myself for yearning for him so badly that I had to force myself not to run across the barn and kiss him. And I was angry at him for pushing me to this point, for pursuing me even though he was taken.
Piper reached up for my face with her hands. “What’s wrong?”
I could tell from the slight tilt in her voice that she was feeling the alcohol as well.
“I think they put Everclear in the punch,” I said. “I feel way more drunk than I should.”
She smiled. “Same.” Then she rose onto her toes, and her lips found mine.
I froze in shock for a moment. Her lips were so soft and squishy and slick. I didn’t know if I actually enjoyed kissing her or not, but her lips were there, so I kissed her back.Because whyshouldn’tI kiss her back?She was an attractive girl, and we were drunk at a party, swaying to music.
Still, my eyes flitted open only to make eye contact with Grey, who smirked at me as if to say,Oh, so this is what we’re doing?The next thing I knew, he was pulling Carina’s face to his as he gave her a slow, passionate kiss, never breaking eye contact with me.
Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I watched Grey kiss Carina. Grey’s eyes bored into mine as I deepened my kiss with Piper. As if in response, Grey’s hand reached up to pull Carina into him. He smirked at me as he nibbled on Carina’s bottom lip. Her response was to wrap him in her arms and pull him closer to her.
Flashbacks to my dream of Grey bearing down on me played across my mind. I could practically taste him, though it was Piper in my mouth. I could imagine what that kiss must be like—how rough his hands would feel, built up with calluses from playing the guitar. His lips were probably firm, too, strong and unyielding, an unstoppable force that had they been directed at me, would’ve come up against an immovable object.
Piper groaned, but I didn’t really hear her. In my head, it was me across the room, tangled up with Grey, having his hands trail down my spine, raising gooseflesh wherever he touched. It was him pulling me closer, tongue playing with my lips. It was Grey who filled my nostrils—vanilla and spice. And it was him who moaned with pleasure from my kiss. And the best—or worst—part was his eyes told me he felt the same. Though he was glued to Carina, he was with me in his mind’s eye.
Then the music stopped.
The tension rising within me shattered in an instant. Piper pulled away from me, and we looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. My face was flushed, and blood slammed through my chest. I was dazed, still hungover from Grey’s intoxicating eyes. Every time I blinked, I could see him, watching me kiss Piper while I watched him.
“The cops are here!” someone shouted into the crowd.
It was enough to clear my head. Pandemonium erupted inside the barn. People ran for the exits, shoving past us to get there. Someone pushed themselves between me and Piper, forcing us apart.
“Ethan!” she yelled over the panicked cries of the partiers.
“Meet me outside!” I shouted back before the rush of people swept her away from view.
A guy shoved me in his mad dash to escape, and I slammed into the barn wall. I tried to pull away but was immediately shoved back against the cold, hard surface. I felt a pop in my rib cage as something hard rammed into my side, and I gasped in pain. No one seemed to notice me pinned there as person after person ran past, even as some tripped over my feet and legs in the process.
I’m going to die here.What a stupid way to go, plastered to the wall in a barn, drunk on Everclear punch. Then my overdramatic ass realized the much more likely possibility was that I would be arrested by the cops everyone was fleeing from.
Just as I began to accept my fate and give up, Grey appeared. Like an angel sent from above, he was there, holding out a hand to help me up. I accepted his hand gratefully, wincing in pain as he made room for me to pry myself away from the wall. Even through the pain, my skin prickled at his touch.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I think I broke a rib,” I said.
He frowned. “You should go to the ER.”
“I’m sure several cops would be totally willing to drive me there.” I rolled my eyes.
“Fair point,” he said. “Let’s get out of here.”
He was still holding my hand. I kept thinking he would let go, hating that somehow it felt likethatwould be the worst thing to happen, but he didn’t release me. Instead, he gripped my hand tighter in his and led me out of the barn to safety.
Chapter 10
Hidden
My eyes burned from the sudden brightness of the lights from the police cars the moment we stepped outside. To the right was a severely intoxicated guy getting arrested on the hood of a car. Meanwhile, dozens of partygoers filed to their vehicles with their heads down, hoping not to get singled out by the cops. I stood still for a moment, stunned, until Grey tugged at my hand, forcing me to keep moving.
