As we navigate the building, I end up behind Tyler. His broad back serves as a shield through the chaos of people. The hoodiestill hangs around his head and clings to his muscles in all the best ways. I tack it on to the ever-growing list of favorite looks on him.
The urge to place a finger and trace all the lines that build him takes over. As if I’ve lost control over my own body, that ache and need persists. My heart hammers in my chest, making it all seem in slow motion as my body reaches for his while we stalk through the crowd.
Somehow, a voice filters through the music and people, catching his attention. Just as he turns his head to whoever calls for him, Sam grabs my arm, pulling me into the dancing crowd. Soon enough, he disappears, relieving me from a lapse in judgement and a mistake that could’ve been made.
“Hey!” Sam squeals to someone nearby.
Standing before us is a tall man with jet black hair and ice blue eyes.
Damn.
“Connor, I want you to meet my new bestie, Sunny.” Sam motions with her arms out, presenting me like a prize.
She wasted no time.
“I’m Sunny.” I reach my hand out.
Smiling, he takes it in his. “Connor. I get the gist that you’reactuallya nurse.”
“What gave it away? The mess of the hair or the bags under my eyes?”
He chuckles. “All I see is a beautiful girl.”
Before I’m able to respond, Sam links her arm in mine and drags me to another spot on the dance floor.
“Hey!”
“I think we found you a fuck buddy. Gotta make him work for it! Connor is hot and already seems intrigued by you,” Sam says. “Plus he’s rich.”
Maybe I am not ready.It’s only been barely two and a half months since Ryan. How can the time feel so long yet so short?
After some time on the dance floor, Connor is summoned to my side with a hand reached out. “Mind if I cut in?”
“Not one bit.” Sam winks and flips her hair while she drags Macey away.
I look up at Connor with a smile. In the corner of my eye, Tyler stands up straighter, adjusting himself so that we are in his direct line of sight.
“I have to warn you, I am not a very good dancer,” I admit.
“By the looks of it, I’d have to say otherwise.” He grabs my hand, bringing me closer to him.
“So observant.”
“It’s hard not to be with you in the room.”
When I look up, Tyler is in the background, settling himself against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Despite the girl talking to him, his eyes are on me. I swallow back the guilt knotting in my throat.
He already knows where I stand anyways. Heknowsthat I’m leaving. I just want a fling if I even want anything at all.
Tyler can’t be just a fling.
He tilts his head, so animalistic as he watches me. I rip my eyes from his, though I still feel them on me. I always do.
The strobe lights hit Connor's face as he smiles down at me. For a brief moment, it feels good to just have fun, act young and stupid for a few moments. I never went through the phase most do in their twenties with random late-night hookups and flings. Ideservethis part of my life.
As I dance with Connor, it’s impossible to fight the instinct of my eyes moving where Tyler still stands. His eyes are no longer on me, but the girl standing in front of him. My eyes fall where her hand rests too comfortably on his chest.
Why does it bother me?
