Page 57 of Then There Was You

I stand from the bench and hold out my hand to her. She slips her hand in mine and stands. With our fingers still entwined, we head back to the club, bypassing the line by giving over our names again.

When we’ve both got a drink, we move away from the crush of the bar to a quieter area of the club where comfy leather sofas are filled with people talking, laughing, and making out. There’s one free, and Taylor grabs my hand.

“Quick! Before someone else grabs it,” she says, tugging me across the room.

I chuckle and let her pull me along, sitting down with her when we reach the sofa. We’re silent for a few minutes as we each nurse our drinks.

“Do you ever think about the night we slept together?” she asks quietly, her eyes fixed on her drink. I contemplate lying to her. The truth is, I’ve thought of nothing else since then, but telling her might complicate everything, and for what? I’m not sure I can lie to her, though.

“Yes,” I whisper. Her head flicks up and her eyes find mine. “Do you?”

She nods. “More than I should.”

Her tongue darts out to lick her lips, and I want nothing more than to kiss her again. I know I shouldn’t. It’s not fair when I can’t give her anything more. I don’t know if I can stop myself, though.

As if sensing my dilemma, she leans over and tentatively brushes her lips against mine. She pulls back, her eyes betraying her uncertainty. I put my bottle of beer on the table and take her wineglass out of her hand, placing it next to my drink. I hold her gaze for a few seconds before I slowly lean in and kiss her. She doesn’t hesitate to kiss me back and reaches up, winding her fingers into my hair. I bite down gently on her bottom lip, silently asking for her to open up to me. When she does, her tongue collides with mine, and she moans into the back of my throat. My hand cups her neck and my thumb strokes her cheek as I kiss her. As much as I’m loving kissing her, I wish we weren’t in a packed club and that I could strip her naked and put my mouth on every inch of her perfect body. Maybe it’s a good thing we’re not alone. I don’t think I’d be able to control myself if we were.

I pull my lips from hers and pepper kisses around her jaw and up to her ear. My teeth bite down gently on her earlobe, and she moans again, the sound a direct line to my already swelling cock.

“God, Seb. I wish we were alone,” she gasps.

I chuckle against her neck, thinking she pretty much read my mind. I continue to brush kisses along her skin until my mouth finds hers again. She tastes of red wine and Taylor, and I can’t get enough. When I finally pull my lips away, I rest my forehead against hers, both of us panting hard.

“I know we weren’t going to do this again, but I’m not going to lie. The sex last time was off the charts,” she says, her breathing levelling off. “I want more.”

My eyes widen in surprise, and I move back a little. “It was good for me too, Taylor…” I trail off and she frowns.

“I feel like there’s abutcoming.”

“I just don’t want to complicate things. I like you, I really do, but—”

“There it is,” she interrupts. “Thebut.”

“Taylor—”

“It’s only complicated if we make it complicated. We’re just two friends who enjoy sex with each other.”

“Sex complicates things, especially if one person ends up wanting more than the other can give.”

“Why are you so sure I want something you can’t give me? Maybe I just like sex.”

“I see the way you look at Nash and Paisley. You want that, andI can’t be the guy to give it to you.”

“You don’t know what I want.” She stands from the sofa and reaches for her glass. “Maybe we should go and find the others.”

My resolve is hanging by a thread. I want more than anything to be with her again. She really has been all I’ve thought about this past week, but I’m trying to be the good guy here. I’m trying to do the right thing. I guess it’s true when they say the nice guys never come out on top. If I didn’t care about her, I wouldn’t think twice about sleeping with her again, but I do care about her, and I don’t want her to end up hurt and hating me. I couldn’t bear that.

“Whoever broke your heart must have really done a number on you, Seb.” She sounds sad, but she’s right. The feelings I had for Sophie changed everything. Despite being on the other side of those feelings now, I can’t deny they’ve changed me. I don’t want to hurt like that again, and I don’t want to be the reason someone else hurts like that either.

CHAPTERTWENTY

Seb

Taylor avoids me for the rest of the night, and I know I’ve upset her. I’m trying to do the right thing, but it seems I’m hurting her anyway. Kristie’s thankfully taken my earlier hint and is currently making out with some guy on the dance floor. Rather him than me.

“Come to the bar with me,” Wyatt says, squeezing my shoulder.

I stand and silently follow him through the crowd. When we get to the bar, he orders us both a bottle of Bud and hands me one.

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