“That was fun,” she says.
“Yeah, it was,” I say, careful with my words for fear if I say too much, she’ll take them back, and I really don’t want her to. If I could, I would lock them away somewhere where I could listen to them on repeat.
“I mean, it wasn’t level two fun, but it was close.”
“It sort of looked like level two fun from where I was sitting,” I say before I can stop myself.
Mina flashes me a look that isn’t just smug, it’s downright dirty.
“Oh, really?”
“Let’s just say, I am currently wondering if Hannah was having flashbacks witnessing that,” I say with a half-laugh.
Mina leans closer to me. “I don’t give a shit what Hannah was thinking. I care about what you were thinking.”
“No, you really don’t want to know what I was thinking,” I mumble, doing my best not to look at Mina, especially not at the way her current position pushes her breasts together.
I ready myself for Mina to push this conversation a little more in a direction I dread, but she doesn’t. She also straightens up in her chair and gives me an assessing look.
“Come on!” she says, standing up quickly.
I do the same, as much out of shock from the order than anything. “What?”
“We’re going to go and dance.”
Paying closer attention to the music, I hear it’s Sam Smith’sNot the Only One. “We can’t waltz to this.”
“I don’t want to waltz. I want to do that silly side-step dancing everyone else is doing.” She nods at the other couples on the dance floor.
I should say no. I know this kind of closeness with Mina isn’t going to do anything but fuel my desire for her, but I also know I can be respectful and I can keep boundaries. It’s not like she will be pushing those boundaries on a public dance floor with her sister and parents dancing close by. And I did promise her an Evening of Fun, so if this is what she wants, this is what she gets.
“Let me go and clean up my face first.” I move to head to the bathroom, but she grips my forearm and stops me from leaving.
“No, let me do it,” she says and I close my eyes, waiting for the napkin to cover my face, but it doesn’t. Instead, I feel the soft press of her lips on the corner of my mouth. I open my eyes and see her tongue dart out and lick up the crumbs on my chin. Her mouth moves a little higher and she does the same thing on my cheek. It happens again and again, each press, each kiss, each swipe of her tongue melting more of my resolve to keep my hands to myself. But I do it. I don’t reach for her. I don’t grab hold of her waist like I want to. I don’t slide my hands down to grip her butt like they’re so eager to do. But I also don’t move away, and I definitely do not stop her.
“There,” she says as she moves back and down, coming off her toes. “That’s better.”
I can feel my smile stretch my cheeks as I try to think of something to say to her, but I’m speechless. Wordless for how horny I feel, dumbfounded about how the hell I’m supposed to walk let alone dance with her with the heaviest aching erection between my legs. So I don’t say anything. I just smile.
“Charlie, did you know you have the most beautiful smile?” Mina says, her head tilting to the side as she studies my face.
And I lock that little soundbite away deep inside me for the future too.
Chapter Seventeen
Good Lovin’
Mina
Charlie has one more chance. Or rather, I do.
One more chance for me to convince him that I want him. Because for some reason, he’s resisting me. Part of me wonders if it’s the lack of alcohol in his system. Perhaps, that’s the main reason things escalated the way they did last Saturday night. He had drunk considerably more than he has tonight. But a much bigger part of me isn’t convinced. I see the way he looks at me. I see the way his bright blue irises darken as we hold eye contact. I see the way he smiles at me. I saw the way he watched me eat that cake. And I have been aware of the hard ridge of his erection through his jeans since we started dancing together.
Charlie wants me. But he’s not letting himself have me.
So this is my one and only chance to find out why. Because regardless of what I think is going on, if he tells me no another time, I will respect that. I will probably be a bit grumpy about it – okay, very grumpy about it – but I will very much respect it.
“So, what’s going on?” I ask, deciding to cut straight to the chase. Of all the things I have a reputation for at work, being blunt and direct is one I’m actually quite proud of.
