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I turn on my heel, our eyes meeting for the first time. Shit, this was a bad idea. I have to look up to him, which makes the sass in the next thing I say lose some of its flair.
"If you think I'm paying for your date's drink, you are seriously disturbed." Carina is my friend, but this whole situation has me feisty, wanting nothing more than to get some distance. As if being away from his body would remove him from my mind, my dreams, my every waking thought.
His eyes bounce back and forth between mine. He looks down his nose at me and I would be lying if I said it didn't make me want him. Colton holds his credit card up in between us, showing his intentions.
"My treat."
"I can buy my own drinks, thanks anyway."
Colton lets his eyes cascade down my body and it sends flames across every inch of my exposed skin. Which is a lot. He leans in again so that only I can hear him. "Color me curious, but where are you hiding a wallet in that dress, Laney?"
"Forty-three dollars guys." The bartender says to my back. Colton shifts his eyes off me and holds his card out over my shoulder. He leans forward just enough to push my back against the bar-top.
He smells like heat. Burning coals in an old fireplace. It's hard to not sniff his chest that is now dangerously close to me. I swear I can feel his heart pounding against my chest, my heart matching its pace. I am in so much trouble.
Before I can stop my stupid brain from doing stupid shit, I close the gap, letting my lips brush against his, a kiss as soft as the first one we ever shared as teenagers. But far less innocent. I don't let my tongue reach for him and I don't give him a chance to deepen the moment as I turn back towards the counter, forcing him to step back. I grab the drinks for Bryn and I and make my way towards the tables.
Fuck, it's packed in here and I wish I was taller so that the moving bodies wouldn't constantly be hitting my hands, sprinkling Supernova like Hansel and Gretel's breadcrumbs. Bryn was in charge of finding a table, which is a tougher job than standing in line at the bar. But now that I am trying to navigate with my hands full, I regret volunteering it. I try my best to look around and find her, but it's no use.
Colton comes up behind me, taking the two drinks from me, carrying the three glasses in a triangle with his large hands. All I wanted to do was escape him after that inappropriate baby kiss and now I have to let him walk with me to wherever Bryn is. Could this night get any worse?
I can't see much around Colton'slarge body as he acts as a plow through the bodies of people dancing and socializing. He moves to the side and I see Bryn sitting on a booth bench a few feet away. And Carina is there with her, the two of them giggling to each other about something, or at least that's my guess since I still can't hear shit.
Neither of them see us approaching and when Bryn meets my eyes, I can see the concern shooting at me like laser vision. I try to send back a telepathic message that I am very aware of how this was the opposite of what I wanted tonight. I needed to get away from my phone and stop thinking about Colton constantly. I needed to tune out the voice in my head yelling that I owe him an explanation, even if he doesn't know that there is more to the story. I needed to come here and forget about the boy turned man that stole my heart five years ago and has never given it back.
Colton places the drinks onto the table, throwing a smile at my friends. He doesn't try to say anything, knowing damn well we wouldn't hear it anyways and it would send us into a 'what' battle trying to decipher. I don't wait to clink glasses, I grab a drink, pushing the straw to the side, and taking an unladylike swig.
Getting away from the bar was almost as tricky as getting to it in the first place. I don't know how all of these bodies in such a small space aren't against some fire code or something. If we had to get out in an emergency, we would all be screwed. But here I am, leading Delaney deeper into the techno trap that is Galactic. I run my tongue across my lips, the sweet taste of her vanilla lip gloss making me crave a cupcake.
Or maybe just her covered in frosting.
Or maybe just her in general.
She's trying to get away from me, most likely unaware that we are going to the same place, Carina set on finding her friends. The clusters of people obstruct my path but I am able to coax them to move as I push past them. I can tell Delaney is frustrated with this night with how she tried to storm off, barely getting anywhere before the clumps of people blocked her. I am carrying all three drinks in my hands, taking one from her before cradling the third with my fingers.
I have the advantage of being tall enough to keep the drinks up and away from the crowd. Plus, I can see over the dancing patrons to see Bryn and Carina at a table across the dance floor. Neither of them are looking for us, caught up in their discussion. A lot has changed in the few years since I have seen people from this town. I got taller, I got thicker, and I learned how to dress and not look like a tool-bag. Not to mention the beard that took me a majority of that time to grow. Don't tell anyone, but I definitely had a beard care routine for a hot minute there, which included special oils and combing it daily, which the YouTube video I found said was the best way to stimulate hair growth. It was weird, but it worked.
Carina has a smile on her face as she talks animatedly with Bryn. I feel like shit knowing that her smile won't be from me. She doesn't know I had a hard on pressed against her friend a minute ago, whispering sultry words into her ear.
My body moves like a plow in the winter, pushing aside people, clearing the way for Delaney to follow me.
We reach the table after what feels like hours. Carina aims her gaze at me, her legs crossed in such a way that screams 'my legs are closed but they want to be open for you.' Her fuck me eyes aren't lost on me, but the appeal isn't the same.
"You found my date! He must have recognized you from the flower shop," Carina screams over the blasting beats.
"Yeah," Delaney answers sharply, grabbing one of the drinks from the table as soon as her perfect ass hits the seat next to Bryn. "One of them is a double but I lost track of which one so we shall see who gets drunk the fastest. Cheers ladies."
I try not totake it to heart that she kept me out of the 'cheers' since I don't have a drink anyways, but I sense she wanted to make it clear that she was sending a different message.Fuck off, Colton.
The three of them take long pulls from their sparkly purple drinks. I'm not sure what they put in it to make it glitter under all the strobe lights, but I really hope I don't have to see it puked up. A wince comes from beside me and Carina has her whole face scrunched up like she just tried to eat a whole lemon.
"Pretty sure I got the double," she says, placing her glass back onto the table. Damn, she drank half of it in one go. "Let's dance!"
Carina takes hold of my hand and before I have a chance to object, she pulls me a few feet away and takes charge by putting my hands on her waist. I went to a few dances when I was in high school and I really hope not much has changed. If I remember correctly, the guy gets to just stand there holding onto the girl while she uses him as her personal scratching post. We get to harness our boner all night and they get to carry out all of their stripper fantasies.
It seems like a fair trade until you are doing it in front of the girl you still love, even though she fucked up your whole early twenties. It's official, this is worse than the first date the other night.
Carina's hips are bony and my hands don't fit the same as they did on Delaney. My thumbs rest on her bones and it is kinda freaking me out. I see a glimmer from beside me and then Bryn and Delaney are dancing together in front of Carina. The three of them are like the points of a triangle and I am this weird vine growing off one of them, attached to the wrong corner.
