He shifts closer, smile tilting into something darker. “Because one hit…and it’s over,” he says low enough that it’s supposed to be just for me. “You get in their bloodstream, and there’s no antidote…not that I’d be looking for one.”
Lani squeals, being way too nosy, and Simone grabs her arm, shaking it, trying to hide what they just heard like little schoolgirls.
I’m still stuck in a dangerous stare with Bash, neither of us moving or breaking it.
“Don’t pay attention to them,” I tell him.
He just laughs, not breaking eye contact, and shrugs. “I like them.”
“Whoelsedo you like?” Lani says from beside us, teasingly.
I swat at her, then look to Sandro for help with controlling his sister. He just puts his hands up and laughs.
No help.
Bash gestures to the guy walking over, who came in with him. “I know y’all haven’t officially met yet, so Lydia, this is Erik,” he says. “My roommate and best friend.”
I watch as Lani turns to Simone, placing her back to Erik. Sandro also immediately walks away when he looks and sees him.
What kind of family feud do these people have?
Erik presses his hands tohis cheeks and fake-squeals just like the girls. “He never calls me his friend in public,” he stage-whispers. “Sorry, this is a big moment.”
I lean toward Bash. “Looks like we have the same friends in different fonts.”
He laughs and leans in too.
I realize my hand is on his arm and snatch it back like I touched a hot stove. His bicep is toned and solid, and my body does that very unhelpful flood-of-heat thing.
He dips his head and says into my ear, “I like your touch.”
A shiver runs down my spine so fast it’s embarrassing. I pretend to scan the room, avoiding his eye contact now. “Simone,” I yell, “are we playing or what?”
We fall into every game with this easy rhythm. Bouncing from house to house. Bash is obnoxiously good at everything in a sexy kind of way. There’s a streak of competitiveness in him that is…highly attractive and somehow not annoying. He wants to win, but he wants us to have fun more. Erik is just as competitive, and they go at it like brothers. Lani seems to take every chance to make a jab at Erik without ever actually talking to him. Watching Erik watch Lani throughout the night tells me they have twoverydifferent feelings towards each other. It makes my curiosity that much stronger. I need to get more information out of her about their past. Bash doesn’t even know much. Apparently, Erik won’t talk about what happened between them, only that there’s a lot he wishes he would’ve done differently. He looks like a love-sick puppy around her, and she looks like she wants to bite his head off.
Bash and I slide into this easy, charged orbit together all night. He bumps my shoulder and laughs when I talk trash him. I tie his team’s bandanna around his forearm because he can’t do it one-handed. He murmurs “nice” when I answer something right that nobody expected me to know during trivia. And the wall that’s been between us feels like it lowers more and more through the night, and we both pretend it hasn’t moved while we step right over it.
Somewhere between Uno and karaoke, the room starts to tilt toward sloppy. Not our style; our safe space is sober people with snacks and the kind of loud that ends in laughter instead of passing out somewhere random. But the rest of the house is doing Friday the way Friday likes to be done. When you’re sober, the night ends earlier, the flashing lights get annoying, and the noise gets less cute.
While everyone else is talking and cleaning up behind all the drunk kids, I slip out onto the front porch with Bash. It’s getting colder in the evenings now, and I’m only wearing a short dress…because I figured cute over comfort like a dummy. It’s like Bash can see the goosebumps on my arms, because without saying anything, he tugs off his jacket and throws it over my shoulders. It’s warm and smells like him, and it hits all my senses in the most euphoric way.
“I had a good time tonight,” he tells me, with a smile.
“Me too. A lot more fun than studying,” I tell him.
“I don’t really mindwhatI’m doing when you’re around, honestly.”
He says it so casually, and it makes me feel a little giddy.
We’re close, so close. He could easily lean down and kiss me right now.
Do I want him to kiss me? Fuck, I think I do. Yeah…I really do.
The moment thickens. He looks down at my mouth and then back at my eyes. Just as I think he’s about to make the move—
“Hey,” Simone shouts, popping her head out, hands holding onto the doorframe.
I turn quickly, like I just got caught doing something I wasn’t supposed to.
