Istare at my best friend and her boyfriend in a kind of slow-motion daze. I’m still clutching a handful of Garrick’s shirt as we turn and watch our friends stumble their way around the kitchen, frantically tearing at their clothes as they kiss passionately against the counter, the island unit, and up against the wall. It’s hot and a fleeting pang of jealousy stabs me in the chest. Will grabs her leg as he plasters the full length of his body against hers, hooking her leg up and around his waist while grinding his hips against hers. Ellen lets out a gravelly moan, yanking clumps of his hair as he buries his face in her chest and his hand slips under her skirt.
That snaps me out of my shock, and I let go of Garrick, briefly sharing a look with him before I loudly clear my throat. “Ahem, guys. You have an audience. As much as I love porn, I’m not down for a live performance in the kitchen.”
“Oh, shit,” Ellen mumbles, slurring her words. Her head pivots in the direction of my voice. She squints through blurry eyes. “Um, sorry. We might be a teeny bit drunk.” She giggles, looking deliriously happy and more than a little tipsy. Will chuckles as he lifts his head from her chest. “And horny,” she adds, sending him a scorching hot look we all feel. “So fucking horny.”
Will molds his lips to hers, thrusting his pelvis against her as he dry fucks her into the wall, and I squirm on the couch, uncomfortably turned on and about ten shades of awkward. Garrick is staring at them with a mix of amusement, horror, and something akin to…envy? “Get a room,” he drawls a few beats later in a decadently deep voice that sends shivers all over my body. “For the love of god, please get a room.”
Will removes his lips from Ellen’s mouth and his hand from under her skirt, lifting her effortlessly, and her legs automatically circle his waist. “Oops. Our bad,” he says with a grin, looking in no way apologetic. Ellen’s arms go around his neck, and she digs her fingers in his hair while whispering something in his ear. From the way his pupils dilate and his hands squeeze her ass I’d say, it was something dirty.
Good for Ellen.
At least one of us is getting some.
You could be too, the devil on my shoulder taunts, and I know it’s the truth. I was literally seconds away from throwing caution to the wind and mauling Garrick.
I should probably thank my bestie for the timely interruption.
Will sprints down the hallway toward the bedrooms, and I breathe a sigh of relief when the door to Ellen’s room slams shut.
However, it’s only temporary relief.
The banging starts almost immediately.
A rhythmicthump, thump, thumpas the headboard slaps repeatedly against the wall.
It does nothing to quell the awkwardness or the simmering tension in this room. It’s like throwing gasoline on a small flame. Heat blooms in my cheeks, and the throbbing between my legs is now a crescendo of potent need.
I sense Garrick looking at me, and I know if I look at him this inferno will explode. I’m confused, horny, and scared, and it feels like I’m coming out of my skin. I hop up, avoiding eye contact with him, as I force a laugh out of my lips. At any other time, we’d probably both be cracking up at the scene we just witnessed, but we’re too highly strung. Too amped up on the fiery desire crackling and burning in the space between us. “I don’t know about you, but I need a drink. Or some noise-canceling headphones,” I mutter under my breath as I stalk toward the refrigerator.
More alcohol is not the solution, but I desperately need something to occupy my hands and my mouth before I pounce on the gorgeous guy sitting on my couch, no doubt staring at me like I’m crazy.
The thumping of the headboard continues, accompanied by a chorus of moans and groans, and I could happily murder my bestie right now. How come I never realized the walls were paper-thin before?
“Hey.” Garrick wraps his fingers around my wrist just as I reach the refrigerator, and I jump about ten feet in the air, not noticing he’d walked up behind me. His low chuckle washes over me like an aphrodisiac, and I’m seconds away from throwing my self-imposed rules out the window. “I have a better idea.”
“What could be better than alcohol?” The giggle that bursts from my mouth is borderline hysterical, and inside, I’m cringing.
Garrick’s hands land lightly on my hips, and he turns me around, tipping my chin up with one long finger until our eyes meet. “Let’s dance.”
I stare at him in utter confusion, sure I must have heard him wrong.
His fingers thread through mine as he smiles. “You need a distraction, and drink isn’t it. I know you have plans to study tomorrow, so more alcohol probably isn’t a good idea.” Heat flares behind his eyes, and I know what else he isn’t saying. I know if I drink more my inhibitions will fly out the window and we’ll be making out before I’ve drawn a breath.
My heart swells with the realization he’s saving me from myself.
Garrick is putting aside his own needs to prioritize mine, and that only makes me like him more. It’s time I accept this thing between us is inevitable. I am on this train, whether I wanted to be there or not, and there’s no getting off.
I don’t want to.
Deep down, I know I want this.
Garrick is right.
I’m afraid.
Afraid of losing my heart and getting it broken.
Terrified he’ll become my entire world and nothing else will matter.
