“Okay, Knox. I’m going to try to stand up.”
“Wait,” Knox said, grabbing for my arm and stopping me. “What do you want me to call you?”
“You know, I never really thought about that.” A laugh came from my lips as my favorite show popped into my head. “Crap-bag. Call me Crap-bag.”
“Crap-bag?”
“Yeah, just think of a bag full of crap,” I said, reciting the line through another spurt of laughter from the showFriends.
“Crap-bag. Crap-bag,” Jake repeated as the whole room lit up around me.
All the colors were more defined.Radiant. Ollie’s eyes burned into me from only a few feet away, but I swore it seemed like he was miles away from me. Standing to my feet, I used the wall behind me for leverage before walking toward him and swiping the iPhone from the mattress. “We need a change in music. I need to dance.” The screen was so bright, I had to pull the phone away for the words to make sense.
“Mia, you okay?” someone asked, and my eyes scanned the room to see where the haunting voice was coming from. “Mia?” Ollie looked up at me from the mattress. “You alright, love?”
“Never been better,” I think I said, and pressed play on “Feel So Close” by Calvin Harris. The phone dropped from my hand as the room spun around me. The mattress beneath me was like a cloud, and I jumped in circles as a smile grew on my face. My entire being had a mind of its own as the chemicals took me over. I was feeling it: the music, the mandy, myself. Spinning in circles, my body felt like a feather floating in the air.Drifting.
Adrenaline coursed through my bloodstream and my smile became a permanent stain as my hands traveled up my waist and through my hair. Another pair of hands found my hips, and I turned to see Isaac wearing the same smile. He felt the same electricity as me, and this madness wasn’t stopping anytime soon. The vibration influenced me, compelled me to let go and feel the music, and the music couldn’t have been loud, but each pound of the bass beat harder, each stroke of a key more distinct.
Isaac pulled my back against him, and I peered down at Bria who watched us from Ollie’s side. I had one of her men, and she couldn’t claim them both in one night. Which one was more important to her?
The increasing tension in Ollie’s green eyes was unmistakable as the music pounded in my ears and through my hips. My eyes closed, and Isaac spun me around from Ollie’s glare and my fingers threaded through his dark hair before he dipped his head down.
Our lips had barely connected when a force pulled me away. I was lifted off the mattress and taken away, but I couldn’t care about anything while floating on cloud nine. My head spun before Ollie’s green eyes came into focus. I cocked my head. “Why did you do that?”
Ollie braced me against the wall and leaned into my ear. “You’re fucked up right now. Isaac’s bad news and I’m saving you from regret.” I leaned over to look behind him and almost fell to the ground when Ollie caught me at the waist. “Mia. Look at me,” he said with two fingers in front of his eyes. Distracted by the beautiful black and white ink running up and down his arms, I traced my fingers over the lines.
He tilted my chin until my eyes met his. His green bore into my brown. “There you are.” He smiled and cupped my cheek, the touch of his thumb caressing my skin making me weak. “You’re back.”
I grabbed the back of his hand, keeping it on my face, afraid if I didn’t, his hands would leave me. “What do you mean?”
“I can see a change in you sometimes. It’s odd and hard to explain, but I know when you’re with me, and I know when you’re not. Not physically, but in here,” Ollie said, bringing his free finger to my temple. “And in here.” He moved his hand over my chest. His hand remained as each breath I took pressed against his palm. “Don’t leave me this time, alright?”
“I want you to kiss me, Ollie.”
What was I saying? Where was my filter?
Kiss me.
Ollie blinked a few times as he tried to push his smile away. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“I want to know.” I wasn’t making sense, and I grew frustrated with myself, and with him for not giving me what I wanted. “Kiss me, Ollie … please,” I begged.
No, I am not begging.God, please tell me I didn’t just fucking beg.
Ollie shook his head. “No, you’re not kissing anyone tonight.”
Rejection.
For some reason, it hurt—more than it should have.
“Fine. Offer expired. I’m sure Isaac won’t mind …” I ducked away from him and scanned the room. Isaac was dancing with Bria, and before I could take another step in any direction, Ollie grabbed my arm and pulled me back into his hold.
“Stop walking away from me, Mia.” Pain filled his eyes, and his tongue wet his lips. He cupped my face again, and his forehead pressed to mine—undecided and struggling. “I can’t handle it.”
Then his mouth grabbed mine in desperate need.
Pressed back against the cold cement, our lips molded flawlessly together. He ran his thumb down my chin, and my lips parted for him before our tongues collided. An explosion of feelings went off in my heart as the rest of my skin tingled against his warmth. The taste of Ollie was the perfect mixture of mint and summer.Ice and fire. His lips became softer, as did our momentum. A gentle and slow rhythm of his tongue, of his hands, and his lips over mine could destroy me and put me back together simultaneously.
