“You’re in trouble now,” I tease with a grin, accepting my drink back.
There’s a collective grumble of ‘sorry’s’ and ‘it won’t happen again,’ before Dennis calls Malakai’s phone letting him know he’s out front and ready to take some of us into the city.
Sebastian, Killian, Dean and I all ram ourselves into the Audi while Malakai drives Olivia behind us.
I’d fought with the guys about being in the front, since they’re all so huge but lost and ended up in the passenger seat but when I look back, seeing them all sardined in the back, I can’t help but laugh.
“Told you, you all would have been better off if I sat in the middle,” I point out.
Dennis chuckles beside me, the most noise we’ll get out of him tonight and I turn back to the front, clicking on the radio to fill the car with some music.
Chapter Three
The music pulses through my body as I weave through the thick crowd on the dance floor, my hair sticking to the nape of my neck after dancing for so long with Olivia. I clutch her hand as I force our way through, heading for the roped off VIP section where the guys are sitting.
They’re deep in conversation when we arrive but it halts the moment they spot us. Sebastian gets up, letting me slide into the booth next to Killian before he sits back down, his hand falling to my thigh.
He squeezes gently and I turn my attention to him after I pluck my water from the table. “Having fun?” He asks.
His hand squeezes again, making me fully aware ofwhere the tips of his fingers, roughened with callouses rest on my bare skin.
“It’s packed,” I shout over the music. The hand on my thigh is nothing new, but it doesn’t stop my body from homing in on the way his warmth brands me. I accepted we would never be more than friends, but every time he touches me like this, with affection, it makes me want more. And I want the type of love Malakai and Olivia have.
I glance at them across the table, envying the way he holds her, has eyes only for her. I want that. And the man next to me won’t ever give it to me, so I wiggle a little further away, dislodging his hand from my thigh.
No other man will come near me if I keep allowing him to touch me the way he does, as much as it saddens me. I like the way he feels, like it’s right and so very wrong all at once.
His brow pulls low into a frown as he stares at the space I just created.
“You okay?” He leans across but doesn’t try to touch me again.
“Fine,” I breathe, taking another sip of water, “Why?”
He looks back to that space and then shakes his head, “No, nothing.”
I give him an attempt at a smile and then focus on the conversation, barely listening to it while everyonetalks around me. I am conscious of every move Sebastian makes at my side, every shuffle closer, like he can’t stand that space between us and even though he closes it, leaving just an inch between my thigh and his, he doesn’t touch me again.
It shouldn’t make me as sad as it does.
He doesn’t feel the same way I do, it’s clear. We are just friends. And even if before, it was just sex, just meaningless, fun sex that I wanted, it’s not that anymore and I guess I should be thankful we never crossed that line. I don’t want to be that woman who pines after a man who doesn’t share her affections.
It’s just a stupid crush on my friend, those happen, and they’re easily forgotten. I just have to find someone else to take my mind off of him.
I stay at the table for a little longer, finishing my water before I drag Olivia back to the dance floor. She comes willingly and for a few minutes we lose ourselves to the music, the lights flashing between blue and red, the beat a thump I feel in my bones until hands grip my waist.
It’s funny how I instinctively know they’renothis. Olivia’s wide eyes bounce to my face, and she steps forward, ready to tell the guy to fuck off but I shake my head. I need this.
So, I move against him without ever turning around, feeling myself grind against the front of him. Smaller than Sebastian but muscular, and he moves well, matching my tempo, holding me tight.
“I’m going to go back,” Olivia leans in and says loudly over the music, “You coming?”
I shake my head. If I have any hope of getting over this crush, I have to start now. And this is a great way to begin. Olivia makes a face I can only guess shows her disapproval before she disappears into the crowd.
I turn in the arms that hold me, looking up into his face. Handsome, I think, with dark eyes and dark hair, Sebastian’s complete opposite.
“Hi,” He grins down at me, his arms moving around my waist to bring me closer. But I don’t say anything back, I just move to the music, pushing thoughts of Sebastian away. My eyes close and I simply feel.
“Get your fucking hands off her.”
