Page 112 of Sparks Fly

I glanced over at them. “What thing?”

“Looking at her like everyone else disappeared.”

I glanced over at them. “Shut up,” I muttered.

Vic smirked. “Can’t help it,” they said. “It’s cute.”

Eventually the round ended and the check was paid. Everyone spilled out onto the sidewalk still buzzing from drinks and fresh air.

“Let’s hit Blake’s bar!” Nina shouted.

I glanced down at Addison, who still had her hand in mine.

“You up for that?” I asked.

She didn’t hesitate.

“Definitely,” she said.

We split between bikes and two cars for the ride across the city. Her arms wrapped snugly around me again as we cruised through streets glowing with neon and streetlights.

Blake’s bar greeted us with exposed brick, dark wood, candlelit tables, and a jukebox that only worked when you hit it twice. The place was busy but comfortable, filled with regulars and low conversation.

I slid onto a stool and pulled Addison between my legs. She settled there easily, her hands resting against my thighs.

We sipped whiskey sodas and traded stories while Nina launched into a dramatic retelling of the time she tried to outdrink a college rugby team and lost spectacularly.

Addison laughed at something Nina said, still standing between my knees with one hand resting on my thigh. She hadn’t pulled away when Blake called her my girl. Hadn’t looked around before kissing me. Hadn’t seemed worried about who might see.

I knew this was easier here. These were my people, not hers. There was nothing brave about being queer in a room where nobody gave a shit.

But for Addison, maybe there was.

I wrapped an arm around her waist and felt her lean into me without hesitation.

Later, when we slipped away toward the jukebox, she kissed me behind it. Slow and lingering, the kind you steal when the music is loud and the world feels a little softer.

My hands slipped into her back pockets.

“You’re dangerous,” I murmured.

She smiled against my mouth.

“You like danger,” she said.

“You have no idea.”

We stayed until close to midnight. When we stepped back outside, the city had quieted into that softer late-night hum.

She held my hand all the way back to the bike, our fingers loosely tangled between us.

We didn’t talk much on the ride to my place. The hum of the engine and the press of her body behind me said enough.

By the time we climbed the stairs to my apartment, Addison was still laughing softly about something Nina had said before we left.

The door clicked shut behind us, and I barely gave her time to turn around before I backed her against it and kissed her hard.

She gasped against my mouth while tugging at the zipper of my jacket.