A hand darted out of the crowd and gripped Jameson’s shoulder. I glanced up to see Ben, copper hair disheveled and a dangerous look in his eyes. “Mind if I cut in?”
“Thank Christ,” Jameson mumbled. “Have at it, mate.” And with that, he vanished into the mass of bodies.
Ben offered me his hand with a wry smile. “That was hard to watch.”
“I was trying to teach him,” I said, frowning after my unwilling student.
“Did I hear you tell him that dancing was like sex?” he asked, trying to contain his grin.
I gave him a reluctant smile. “Well, it is.”
“His skin was redder than a tomato.”
I snorted. “Maybe I should have come up with a better metaphor.”
“Maybe. But you weren’t wrong.” His hand skated down my side to my hips, making my breath catch in my throat. “Should we show him how it’s done?”
“Sex?” I asked, my pulse taking off and my skin heating under his touch.
“Get your mind out of the gutter, princess.” He chuckled lightly. “I meant dancing.” He pressed his body flush against mine.
“Oh, right,” I muttered, my cheeks bursting into flames.
Dancing. Of course, that’s what he meant. Why had my mind gone immediately to sex? Sex was off the table.
We weren’t together. We weren’t friends. We were... I didn’t know what we were.
But sex? Not happening.
Definitely.
Not.
Happening.
“It’s been a while, but if I remember correctly, we had pretty good chemistry the last time we danced,” he whispered in my ear, his fingers brushing over my shoulder. Memories of us dancing at CHMG's Winter Wonderland Festival months ago and what happened in the coatroom flashed through my mind.
“Mhm.” I was speechless. The way he was touching me. Like the past 6 months hadn’t happened. Like he still wanted me, and we could pick up right where we left off.
My heart pounded in my chest. My guard was down, and I couldn’t think of a good reason to say no. To push him away. To make the safer choice of running off to find Brian or David. So instead, I melted into Ben and let myself get carried away by the music.
Ben moved with me, digging his fingers into the curve of my waist. I pressed against him as I swayed my hips back and forth. Not thinking. Just feeling. The beat thrumming. And Ben, solid against me.
His hand found mine and he spun me around to face him. He was smiling, his eyes lit with mischief.
Face to face like this, it was hard to ignore how quickly my walls were crumbling under his touch. With a simple look, a whisper of his breath on my skin, a brush of his flesh against mine, he was deconstructing me. And I kind of liked it.
I moved closer to him, my arms settling on his shoulders, his thigh now between my legs as I ground onto him. He pierced me with his green eyes, that impish grin of his back in place. His hands snaked around my back, and I arched into him, dipping backwards as he guided my upper body slowly in a circular motion. I straightened, smirking, feeling like Jennifer Grey inDirty Dancing.
I wrapped my arms around his neck as we moved together, his hands never staying in one spot. He grazed up and down ribs, brushed over my ass, gripped my hips. Like he couldn’t get enough of my skin on his. Couldn’t bear to feel only one part of me.
The music cut out suddenly and we froze, staring at each other, our heavy breaths intermingling. If I tilted my head just a bit and he leaned down another few inches, his lips would be on mine. I held Ben’s gaze, trying to decide what I wanted most in this moment. Did I want him to kiss me? He swallowed, his gaze dropping to my lips.
My mind raced. This was supposed to be off the table. I shouldn’t want him to kiss me. Thoughts swirled, remembering what our last kiss had felt like in that damn coatroom. His lips had been feverish and hungry against mine. He’d made my body feel alive.
My eyes fell closed, and I leaned forward as his head tipped down.
Amicrophone screeched, and I jerked away. He stared at my mouth as the DJ announced the fireworks were about to start.
