My lips pulled behind my teeth, gaze unable to resist glancing down to his pants before meeting his eyes again. I tugged his cuffs. “Just things I didn’t get to do,” I said.
His gaze blew with desire. I wondered if his heart was beating as erratically as mine.
Zayn began a chant of ‘Cupid’s Arrow’ back and forth with the crowd, making me lose my focus on Gavin as the room erupted in cheers. Avril clapped her hands twice and stepped up beside Zayn.
“Everyone, to your group tables! Let’s go, people!”
Gavin grinned at me. “See you on the other side.”
As he walked away, my stomach launched into my throat, and I turned to face the now mingling crowd.
Here goes nothing.
I couldn’t stop laughing.
It was apparent the patrons weren't taking this game seriously.
The room was loud.
The decor was tacky.
The pickup lines were cheesy.
It was so much fucking fun.
Trying out keys in everyone’s cuffs proved to be the most challenging, aside from all of us looking silly as we two-handed drink cups every time we needed more alcohol.
Occasionally, I looked for Gavin in the crowd, and I found him watching me nearly every time. Those quiet, shared smiles made my knees weak. He walked around the room when he wasn't gazing at me or playing. Observing the interactions, I knew. Calculating and making a note of every flaw that he saw needed adjusting.
Nudging a few couples together, if he was to be believed.
I still hadn’t matched with someone when Avril called Table Five to go to Table One for our last ten minutes. Some on my team had found their matches but were having too much fun to stop playing. Even with the handcuffs off, they continued to treat every speeding minute with jokes and eventually introduced themselves.
Upon seeing that Gavin hadn’t worked his handcuffs off yet, my brow raised. His chin lifted smugly, tongue darting out over his lips as he gazed down at me with the most sinful look in his eyes.
My thighs tightened at the mere sight of it.
“Ready to be set free?” he asked.
I almost laughed. “You planned this?” I asked.
He maneuvered his key between his fingers and smirked as he placed it inside the lock. It clicked, and he slowly pulled them off, the metal tip grazing my skin. “Couldn’t have anyone else taking these off of you,” he said.
“Or on me." I took my key out and put it in his handcuffs, releasing the lock and his wrists. He softly grasped my forearms when he was free, his thumbs massaging my pulse points, and my breaths went jagged at the touch.
“I wanted you to get through the entire game,” he admitted. “I knew you would be honest with me about any flaws that might have come up.”
“Will no one else?” I asked.
“They will, but most of them know each other. I needed someone completely new to play it. An outsider’s opinion.”
“I’m happy to oblige,” I said.
Pizza was waiting for everyone upstairs when the game was over.
We were asked to put our thoughts onto suggestion papers they’d had printed, then put them in a box for Avril and Gavin to go through the next day. We were encouraged to write anything we loved or might have wanted to change.
I grabbed a couple of slices of pizza and a beer, then sat by the window at one of the tables to look out while Gavin talked with everyone.
