My gaze bounced around our surroundings. “Yeah.”
“You don’t like big crowds, huh?” She cut through a sea of bodies and ushered us onto the dance floor. Tendrils of drugs and alcohol ribboned the atmosphere like luring lovers enticing you to partake in salacious pursuits reserved for darker hours.
“How do you know that?” I asked when we reached the middle of the dance floor.
The music was louder than ever and the thumping bass mirrored my heart’s drumming beat. I had to lean down to hear Gabriela speak and she had to rise on her tippytoes to be heard. “Whenever I see you,” she enunciated loudly, “you’re always standing in the corner of a room. You never party with any of your friends. I’m guessing you’re more introverted?”
I blinked, stunned. The only thing I registered was that she noticed me. Multiple times. It made me think that maybethis—me and her—wasn’t so far-fetched. Maybe there was hope formore.
When I didn’t reply to her in a timely manner, she prompted, “Hunter?”
I cleared my throat. “You’re right. I don’t really like crowded spaces. Sometimes I get anxious. I’m more of a homebody, if I’m being honest.”
Which was ironic since I was crushing on a girl who was basically a social butterfly and the complete opposite of me.
Gabriela’s face gentled. “Do you want to abort this mission?”
“No,” I said a little too hastily, causing Gabriela to jolt, before I softened my tone and added, “I mean, I’m fine. Let’s do this.”
She was here and I wasn’t alone. Therefore, my nerves were more at ease.
Gabriela smiled. “You’ll tell me if this gets too much for you?”
I liked that she cared about me, even if it was in this small capacity. “As long as you do the same.”
“Deal.” Gabriela tilted her head back as she slowly dragged her hands over my torso, over my shoulders, and over my neck until they braided at my nape. I shivered, starved for her touch. “Now dance with me, Hunter.”
There weren’t enough words to encompass the feelings running haywire through me. Wonderment. Shock. Exhilaration. Everything in between. My insides sparked like the First of July.
Gabriela soaked in my silence, taking it for something else. “Getting cold feet, pretty boy?”
The compliment had my heart nearly bursting out of its cage like a bird in a cuckoo clock. “You think I’m pretty?”
“Please, you know you’re good-looking.” She rolled her eyes playfully. “How does it feel to be one of God’s favourites?”
The fact that my dream girl was calling me good-looking? I was a goner. “Great, actually. Thanks for asking.”
She threw her head back on a girlish chuckle. I beamed at the sweet sound. Gabriela was like a ray of sunshine. Bright and vibrant. Like a shot of espresso. Warm and awakening. And like the most beautiful flower in the Garden of Eden. Magnificent and timeless.
“You’re cheeky,” she said. “And kind of adorable.”
I couldn’t remember the last time I smiled this much. “Right back at you.”
She started swaying her hips to the music and my hands found her waist as we rocked to the provocative beat. Her fingers delved into my hair slowly, tipping my face down, and I nearly groaned at the sensation of her nails grazing my scalp in a way that could only be described as divine. I pulled her closer into me until barely an inch separated our bodies.
“What have you been drinking tonight?” she asked.
The world around us blurred. All I could see and feel was her. “Why?”
“I don’t kiss boys who drink beer. Don’t like the taste of it.”
“One whiskey and Coke. That’s all I drank.” My palms skidded up her sides and my thumbs rubbed against the skin of her ribs, visible from the little cutouts in her dress. It was Gabriela’s turn to shiver and I loved that I elicited that reaction from her. “Though I’ll never touch a drop of beer again if it ups my chances of getting kissed by you, sweetheart.”
A look of half disbelief, half pleasure flashed over her face, like my boldness charmed her. I meant every word. I’d do anything to have her mouth against mine.
“Hm.” She licked her bottom lip. “Didn’t realize you were so eager to kiss me.”
Baby, you have no idea.“Can’t help it. You’re beautiful.”
