“Spin me,” I told John impulsively. Anything to distract me from this show.
John did better than that. He grabbed my hand and spun me so my back was to his chest, then put his other hand on my hip and held me that way, not quite grinding, but almost.
I flicked a glance at Knox to see if he’d noticed and found him looking right at me. God damn, the way his eyes glowed in the purple club lights was so unfair.
He pulled Teagan closer, front to front, so that Teagan had to brace his hands on Knox’s big, broad shoulders.
Mother. Fucker.I had a very brief but satisfying vision of ripping Teagan’s hands off his arms, which was concerning since I wasn’t normally prone to violence. Once again, I blamed my uncharacteristic behavior on Knox the Cranky Lumberjack.
I bent over slightly, hoping John would get the message and go along with it, and he did, pulling me more tightly against him and moving his hips in a simulated grind. It was approximately as sexy as dancing with a chair, but I didn’t care as long as it looked good, and the way Teagan’s eyes flashed as he staredpointedly at all the places John and I touched suggested that itdid.
It also suggested that, despite whatever fuckery had transpired with other-John, this John was very much the John that Teagan was invested in.
John pulled me upright, put his face in my neck like he was biting me or something, and said, “What the fuck are we doing right now?”
“Go with it,” I told him. I lifted my arm over my head to wrap around the back of his neck and whispered in his ear, “Teagan is giving us jealous eyeballs, dude. I think you misunderstood some shit.”
“Yeah? Well, your friend looks like he’s thinking about where to dump my body.”
And the crazy thing was… John was right. Knox did look faintly murderous. Though I was pretty sure it was aimed at me more than John, which figured.
The dance floor got more crowded, pushing everyone closer together, and suddenly I was grinding on John right next to Teagan, which was uncomfortable on many levels.
Teagan went up on his tiptoes and wrapped his arm around Knox’s neck.
“Oh, oops!” I said as I knocked Teagan with my hip. “My bad.”
He glared daggers at me and very deliberately ran his hand through Knox’s hair.
I sucked in a breath and spun around to face John. “Dip me.”
“Dip you? Do I look like Fred Asta— Oh,Jesus,” he exclaimed and hurried to brace me with his hands as I wrapped my arms around his neck and force-dipped myself nearly into a backbend.
It was approximately the least sexy thing I’d ever done. My brother Beale had been trying to get me to do yoga for years, but I hadn’t practicednearlyenough. When John lifted me back up,though, our whole bodies were aligned from chest to pelvis, and some random dude yelled, “Get a room!” which in my drunken brain meant I was winning.
At least, I thought that until I looked over and saw that Knox and Teagan had nearly stopped moving. Knox’s hand was on Teagan’s waist, Teagan’s hands were fisted on Knox’s shoulders, and their cheeks were pressed together. And whatever Knox was whispering made Teagan’s eyes slide shut as he bit his lip.
Shit. I felt nauseous. All the euphoria and competitiveness I’d felt drained out of me, leaving me empty. I moved and swayed, but I couldn’t even feel the rhythm. Knox was going to kiss him. Knox was…
Suddenly, John let go of me. “Sorry, Gage, but I’ve gotta—” He broke off with a shake of his head, then reached over and grabbed Teagan’s wrist where it rested on Knox’s shoulder.
“T, can I speak to you please? Right now? Outside?”
Teagan’s eyes opened, and for a second it looked like he was going to refuse, but then he looked away and nodded almost imperceptibly. Knox gave him a wink and let him go.
For a moment we just stood there, Knox and me, not dancing, not talking, just staring at each other. His green eyes were stormy. Wary.
And even though I knew for a fact that it was stupid—ridiculous, pathetic, hopeless, and maybe legit uncool since he’d said he wasn’t interested—I took a step toward him and slowly brought my hand up to his cheek, ghosting my fingers over the softness of his beard.
I waited for him to push me away. To step back. For his eyes to shutter as he shut me down. I knew I was risking my job and our tentative almost-friendship for a solitary moment of connection. But if this was how it all ended, how my all-consuming crush went down in flames for the final time, at least I was going out in a blaze of glory, and I was okay with that.
Except… he didn’t step back.
In fact, he stepped forward. Right into my space. Right into my embrace. And he settled both hands on my hips like he’d been waiting all night—or maybe even longer—to do just that.
I leaned back a little so we could maintain eye contact and lifted my other hand to his face also.
Knox lifted one eyebrow.
