AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Liz laughed and steadied herself against Abigail, who stood up and reached out for her friends in front of her. Liz glanced over at Hayden with the biggest smile plastered on her face.
He was standing there only a few feet away, just staring at her. She couldn’t judge his expression. It was like a mixture of curiosity with disbelief and a whole lot of where the hell did that come from?
Hayden caught her staring back and smiled. He took a few steps to bridge the distance between them and grabbed her hand, pulling her away from the girls. She landed against his chest and he drew her into him.
“Good Lord, what have you been doing all summer?” he whispered into her ear.
“What do you mean?” Liz asked innocently.
“You’re so…free,” he said, as if it was the only word he could come up with.
“It’s just me, Hayden. ”
“You say that,” he said, his hands sliding to her hips and swinging them into time with his, “and then you dance like this. ”
Liz wound her arms up around his neck. “No reason not to dance,” she murmured.
“No,” he agreed, “no reason at all. ”
He stared down at her then and she saw in his eyes something she hadn’t noticed before—lust. Liz swallowed hard and tried to forget about it. That wasn’t what this was. Hayden had his chance at the end of the semester and had made it clear they were just friends. But she knew for certain that he was not looking at her like a friend.
The crowd drew in all around them as couples paired off, but when she was dancing with Hayden, it felt as if there wasn’t anyone else in that room.
As they continued to dance, Liz felt her heartbeat rise along with the temperature in the room. She couldn’t believe that after two years of crushing on Hayden, here he was finally showing her the attention she had been craving all along. It didn’t feel fair that it had taken a summer with Brady to change her, to open her up. It was as if he had unlocked a piece of her that she hadn’t even known existed.
Now here she was in a crowded nightclub with the guy she had always wanted, and to say she was conflicted was an understatement. She couldn’t turn off two years of attraction like a light switch, but she owed it to Brady. They had too much to work out for this to happen.
Their dancing slowed almost to a stop as Hayden drew her closer and closer to him. She dragged in a ragged breath as her eyes rose to his. She could feel his hot breath on her cheeks and his fingers dig softly into her back.
Oh God, she thought, seeing everything play out before her eyes as if in slow motion.
“Guys!” someone called, barreling against them and clinging to Liz’s arm.
Liz broke out of her trance and took a step away from Hayden. Her heart was beating fast and she knew her cheeks were crimson. She broke his gaze and looked over at the person holding on to her.
“Jamie,” Liz said, relieved. That had been close.
Jamie smiled brightly at her. She was dressed simply in a striped hi-lo dress and sandals. She threw her arms around Liz with a cheer. “Oh my God, you guys are still here!”
Liz laughed and moved her to arm’s length. “Of course we’re still here. How drunk are you?”
“The girls gave me too much wine,” she said with a giggle. “We should dance!”
“Um…your sister is pretty wasted,” Liz told Hayden.
“Shhhh, don’t tell him,” Jamie whispered into Liz’s ear.
“Jamie,” Hayden said, shaking his head. “You can hardly stand up. ”
“Don’t you start. ” Jamie pointed her finger in his face. “James will be here any minute, and I’ll hear enough from him. ”
“Do you want me to go get you a water?” Hayden held her steady.
“Yes, I do, but first, bathroom,” she said with a giggle. “Liz, shall we?” She gestured out dramatically in front of her.
“Sis, your Drama Club is showing,” Hayden teased.
“Smack him for me,” Jamie told Liz before striding toward the bathroom.
