DEREK
Holding Elizabeth in my arms feels like a prize hard won.
I can’t believe I’m here, dancing with her in a club, all of my friends surrounding us, and her eyes are completely on me. Not once has she pulled away, looked away, or taken her attention off of me.
I feel this weird warmth spread through my body as she moves under my hands, my body takes over to the beat—thank God—because my brain is having a hard time functioning properly right now.
She twists, her hair flying, and laughs when the music catches her up, moving her body for her as she lets go.
I’ve seen Elizabeth happy and relaxed, she’s like that nearly every time I’m with her, but I’ve never seen her look this free.
Music seems to make her throw all her cares out her proverbial window, and I owe Nora and Enzo a big-ass thank you for making this night happen.
I was on the verge so many times of asking her out, every time we got together, it felt like that missing something clicking into place.
Now, with my hands on her waist and her body moving fluidly beneath mine, I can make the move I’ve been dying to.
With her back to mine, our bodies slow with the music. Our heart rates rise as we move together, and I move her hair off of her bare shoulder, letting my mouth come down to rest there. Not a kiss, not quite, but something that has me desperate to spin her around and finally taste her lips.
Her hand comes up to the back of my head, and for a moment, we stay locked in the intimate position, our bodies still swaying in a natural rhythm, and everything around us ceases to exist.
She grabs onto one of my hands and turns, my head lifting up just enough to look into her eyes, and I see that same fire burning there that I feel deep in my gut.
For a moment, as our hands rearrange themselves around each other’s bodies, we watch each other closely.
Elizabeth swallows, licking her lips, and waits for me to take the next step. Tilting my head slightly, I start to lower my mouth to hers, my arms gripping her tighter and tighter around the waist until I have her flush against me. She can feel every part of me, and she lets out a soft gasp right before I’m going to press my lips to hers.
Then, I feel it. Vibrating.
Coming from her purse.
I pull back and grab it, ripping it open. For a moment she’s confused until she sees her mom’s name on the screen, and I watch as panic spreads over her face. I grab her hand, dragging her out of the loud areas of the club and to the front, where she can somewhat hear.
While she talks, her expression turns from that sexy, lustful look I was just staring at to the look of a worried mother.
I take a moment to breathe, to calm down, and to let myself come back to earth.
I had been so damn close to finally kissing her.
“Okay, okay, I’ll be right there, just don’t move her.” Elizabeth hangs up and looks at me, her expressionconcerned and sorry. “I have to go. Rora’s having a night terror.”
Immediately, all thoughts of lust on the dance floor leave me and I grab my phone, pulling up the car service app and getting a car. “Let’s go,” I state, grabbing her hand and pulling her out the front door with me.
“Derek,” she says, following me willingly. “You don’t have to leave your fun night. I can just go.”
Once outside, we’re able to breathe in the cool night air, and I see a shiver run over her. I wrap an arm around her shoulder, pulling her to me and trying to give her some of my warmth. “It’s not my fun night if you’re not there,” I state simply, watching a pleased smile spread across her lips. “Plus, I’d like to make sure Rora is okay and that you get there safely.”
“Are you sure? You’ll end up meeting my parents.”
I click my tongue. “See, that’s not a bad thing. I can get all the skinny on their eldest daughter and how I can officially woo her.”
Elizabeth looks at me with surprise. “Woo her, huh?”
I walk her forward when my phone pings with a notification that the car is here, and I find it, walking us to it and opening the door for her. We slide in and I greet thedriver, approving the address when Elizabeth gives it, and I lean back into the seat, sliding her close to me.
“And yes,” I continue from where we left off. “I very much would like to woo her.”
Her words are a whisper when she answers, “I think you already are.”
