I nibbled my lip before shrugging and tapping out a reply to Rowan.
MAX: Downstairs. I’ll meet you at the bottom of the stairs. Sorry, signal is shit here.
Becca handed me two drinks before grabbing her own. She took a sip and smiled. “Go find Rowan, I’ll be with Louise.”
“You’re the best.” I beamed, leaning in to press a kiss to Becca’s cheek.
She flapped her hand dismissively. “Don’t be stupid, now go – I’ll see you in five?”
I nodded and we parted ways, and I hurriedly weaved through hordes of people towards the stairs. I loitered there for a moment, sucking in a deep, steadying breath. I looked around the room, glad I had a drink in each hand, so I didn’t have to worry about fidgeting.
It was only when I felt someone gently ease one from my grip that I turned to see Rowan stood before me. He raised his glass to his mouth and took a sip before leaning in.
“Honestly, you expect me to be able to turn an invitation like that down?” Rowan muttered; his breath hot against my skin. It took all my energy to stop from shivering. He raked his eyes down my body, “I was right though.”
“About what?” I asked.
“Youdolook good.” Rowan grinned. I laughed and looked at my feet, suddenly bashful.
“Is it alright for you to be here?” I asked, my eyes flickering to Rowan’s chest. He was wearing a t-shirt too I noticed, one so tight that you’d swear it had been painted on. I made a small noise of approval in the back of my throat, grateful that no one could have heard it over the loud music.
“Well, the reason I suddenly became free is because Christina decided to take Teegan to her mother’s in Newcastle for the weekend without telling me,” he replied, his face falling into a scowl. “So, to be quite frank, I don’t care what is ‘alright’ for me to do or not.” Rowan took a large sip of his drink.
I was desperate not to start judging Rowan’s wife without knowing her side of the story, but I was already building a less than rosy picture of her. The marriage may be failing but to take his daughter away without so much of a discussion was harsh in anyone’s book.
“So, you’ve had a pretty shitty weekend so far then?” I smiled awkwardly.
“It’s getting better though.” He smiled at me, making my stomach flip. I looked away quickly.
“Have you ever been here before?” I asked.
Rowan shook his head and grinned. “I don’t get out much. This place is...” He trailed off, catching sight of two men in drag kissing passionately.
“Different?” I offered with a sheepish smile. Rowan laughed, rubbing the back of his neck clearly feeling a little awkward. “To be honest I don’t really like this place that much. It was Becca’s idea to come.” I told him, taking a quick sip of my drink.
“Weird girl.” Rowan shook his head, a fond smile on his face.
“That’s what I said.” I grinned. “So, I guess you didn’t drive here?” I nodded at the glass in Rowan’s hand. He looked down at it before replying.
“No. We’re both getting a taxi home tonight I’m afraid.” He smiled apologetically.
“Sorry if what I said in that last text was a bit…” I trailed off with a sigh. “I hope it wasn’t too much.”
The expression on Rowan’s face made me laugh softly to myself and he leaned in close to my ear, closer than he really needed to.
“It was probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me,” he murmured, pressing a soft kiss against my cheek before pulling away. With a quick glance around to make sure no one was looking at us, I hooked my fingers into the band of Rowan’s jeans and pulled him close to me.
It wasn’t a hug, but we stood chest to chest. I let my head fall forward to rest on his shoulder and I felt Rowan’s breath against me as he sighed. Before either of us got a chance to really enjoy being so close to one another, the embrace broke, and we both took half a step backwards.
“Y’want to sit down?” I asked, gesturing towards a nearby booth as its previous occupants got up and danced off towards the dance floor.
“Sure. Where is Becca?” Rowan asked. He sat and dragged me down next to him by the wrist. I shuffled in close to him.
“I’m not sure. I think she and Louise are dancing.” I shrugged and took a sip from my glass. Somehow, I found my eyes drawn to the two guys that had been watching me all night. They were still looking at me and I scowled, glancing to Rowan at my side.
“Hey, can I kiss you?” I grated in Rowan’s ear. He didn’t reply, but turned his head, brushing his lips against mine. I fumbled to put my glass down on the table without looking away and crushed our mouths together. I groaned, certain that even if Rowan couldn’t hear it over the loud music, he’d have felt the vibration from my throat. He pressed forward, giving into my request and slipping his tongue deep into my mouth.
As the kiss progressed, I became painfully aware of how aroused I was getting. I attempted to subtly survey if getting a hard-on would be glaringly obvious or if I was positioned safely to get away with it. I was relieved to find the quickly hardening flesh was lying against my thigh, in the crease between my leg and my groin. It was still pretty obvious from where I was sitting, but at least it wasn’t tenting embarrassingly. From the vigour of his kisses, I was positive Rowan must have been pretty turned on as well.
