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“Only part-time,” Ander shot back, and I shook my head with a resigned smile.
“Okay, fine. But you owe me for this, seriously.”
“You’re the best fucking friend in the world.” He leaned in, and I felt the barest brush of his lips across my cheek before he withdrew, giving me a wide grin.
I stared at him. He was an affectionate guy, and he gave me hugs freely. But kisses? That was new.
Probably part of his experimentation. I hadn’t missed how he’d been dancing with JJ’s sexy friend earlier, although I’d attempted to reassure myself with the fact that nothing else had happened. Not that I’d been tracking his moves…fuck, okay, I had. Curtis had held a significant amount of my attention—more than I’d expected, in fact, but there was a part of me that was so attuned to Ander. I was expecting at any minute to see him with his tongue down another guy’s throat, bracing myself for the sight because I knew that it would hurt. A lot.
By the time we were up on the stage and I was in the chair, I’d relaxed a little. Ander was playing around, flexing his muscles and showing off, as were the majority of the other guys up here with us.
I couldn’t stop my grin as he spun around to meet my gaze. Cocking my brow, I eyed him with amusement. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“No idea.”
It was such a typical Ander response that I couldn’t help laughing. “I guess you never let that stop you before.”
“Nope.” Planting his hands on the back of the chair on either side of me, he leaned down, speaking into my ear. “E. You know that you’re my best friend and you love me.”
I shifted in my seat to hide the shiver that went through me as his breath skated across my overheated skin. “Yes…”
“You want me to win, right?”
“Yes…” Alarm bells suddenly blared, and I forgot all about the effect he was having on me. Angling my head away from him, I twisted so I could meet his gaze. I sighed. “Just say it.”
Even though I’d angled my head back, we were so close that I could see the little flecks of gold in his hazel eyes, dotting the greens and browns. So beautiful. It was almost impossible to stop myself from getting lost in them.
Falling silent, he held my gaze, and I couldn’t look away.
“Ander?” I whispered.
“Uh.” He cleared his throat. “You…you’re the only one up here with a top on. I think it’ll look better if—”
“No. You can’t— Have you seen how the others look?” Not that I was insecure, but I was realistic. Try being surrounded by thirteen other guys that looked like they spent the majority of their lives in the gym—it was enough to make any mere mortal feel more than a little inferior.
Ander’s brows pulled together, and his mouth set in a flat line. “Elliot Clarke. Top. Off. Now. And check a fucking mirror because from where I’m standing, you have exactly zero reasons to worry.”
“You can’t make me,” I hissed, irritation warring with the warmth that was spreading through my body at his words.
He seemed to deflate. “Yeah. I know. Sorry. Forget I said anything.”
“Why do you do this to me, Loveridge?” My words came out as a sigh. “Fine. I’ll do it. But you owe me so much for this. So, so much.”
A gorgeous smile spread across his face. He straightened up and took a step back, letting go of the chair. “I’ll buy you a hundred bags of ice.”
“I can make my own ice for free in the freezer.” My fingers curled around the hem of my top, and I took a deep breath. Better to get this over with as soon as possible.
Whipping my top off, I leaned forwards and shoved it under my seat, then straightened back up. My heart was pounding way too fast, and my palms were clammy.
I lifted my gaze to Ander’s, but his eyes weren’t on my face. His gaze was scanning my body as if he’d never seen it before, which was ridiculous because we’d seen each other shirtless a million times. His scrutiny made my cheeks heat, and I had to suppress the urge to curl myself into a ball and hide away from his gaze.
I was saved when the guy with the mic began to speak, informing us all how the challenge would be judged—loudest cheers at the end of the dance—and then the music started.
Then there was no time to worry about how I looked because I had a job to do, which was to look like I was enjoying being up here.
And despite everything, Iwouldenjoy it because my hot-as-fuck, amazing best friend, who I loved, was going to be dancing for me.
The dance passed in a blur of colour and noise, sweat-slicked bodies sliding against each other, spurred on by the crowd.
