I drape my arms over his shoulders, and we move with the beat of the music, but very little of us is actually touching. However, it doesn’t appear that Asher seems to notice that.
He’s behind me, closer than he should be, considering the circumstances.
I feel his fingers trail lightly down my spine, and his head brushes the back of mine. I take in a sharp breath, and Elijah bites his lip to hold back laughter. He clearly finds his friend’s jealousy amusing.
The music is pounding, and Elijah’s eyes are such a vivid blue that they appear brighter than the flashing lights around us, but all I can focus on is the heat of Asher at my back and the sound of his breath against my ear.
My shoulder blades brush Asher’s broad chest, and my breath catches. Elijah must notice because he steps closer and lets his nose just barely brush against mine.
Asher rips me backward with an audible snarl—impressive considering how loud the music is.
My back presses against his front, and his arm wraps possessively around my waist, his hand splaying across my lower stomach.
Elijah snorts and shakes his head at Asher before backing away and being swallowed up by the mass of people around him.
I would have figured that once the threat of Elijah was gone, Asher wouldn’t be able to get away fast enough. But he stays behind me, arm wrapped around my waist, still swaying to the obnoxiously loud music. His breath moves my hair and tickles my neck, and suddenly I no longer know how to react.
Is this all just some sort of game?
And if it is, who’s winning?
His hands drift downward, his fingertips dancing over the bare skin of my thighs, and my breath catches.
It’s definitely not me.
I step back into him, and my ass presses against his crotch.
I feel like I’m overheating. Like I can’t breathe. Everywhere he touches me ignites like sparks on kindling.
I lean my head back against his shoulder, my hips sway to the beat of the song blasting across the dance floor, and his hips chase mine in response. I let my hands slowly drift down his arms, and he pulls me tighter against him, his fingers digging into my thighs before I intertwine my fingers with his.
Asher’s strong hands turn me in his arms. We’re breathing the same air, and my arms wrap around his neck, hesitant at first, but I let my fingers brush through his hair the longer we face each other. His forest green eyes dart back and forth from my eyes to my lips.
He leans his forehead against mine and closes his eyes before a pained groan escapes his throat. The sound is nearly impossible to hear above the pounding music.
Kiss me, I want to say.Pretend like none of it matters and kiss me.
But I also don’t want to break whatever spell we’re under.
Elijah has long since disappeared, and it feels like Asher and I are the only two people on the dance floor. A small, selfish part of me never wants this moment to end. But I also know that anyone from the university could see us. Anyone from the program could see us.
It would take one well-timed photo to kick me out of the program and get Asher fired. One photo to ruin everything we’ve both worked so hard for.
But right now, I don’t care.
Everything fades away. The music, the lights, the people. It’s just Asher. The dark green of his eyes, the soft pink of his lips, the faint freckle near his mouth that I’d never noticed before—couldn’t have noticed without being this close to him.
His lips just barely brush mine, and I feel like I’m about to burst into flames.
It takes every ounce of my self-control to yank myself out of his arms and away from him.
I clear my throat, refusing to meet the intensity burning in his eyes. “Look, I should get home,” I say, pushing the hair out of my face and behind my ear. “I have to drive across the state tomorrow to get to my mother’s house for a few days. If I show up hungover, she’ll never let me hear the end of it.”
He swallows, and I watch as his Adam’s apple bobs. “Let me at least walk you to your car,” he offers. “Make sure you get there safely.”
I know that I should say no. But it’s dark, and I enjoy talking to him, so instead I say, “Okay, that would be nice. I’m just in a parking garage a few blocks away.”
Asher stands back as I grab my jacket from Sam and let him know I’m heading home. “Will you be okay grabbing an Uber?” I ask.
