She smiled shyly.
I would do anything to make you smile every day for the rest of your life. The thought came to me unbidden, sending a jolt through my body and straight to my cock.
Adelaide’s insistence that we were “just friends” was the only thing that had stopped me from asking her out. Butnow, with the end of the semester upon us, it was time to take my chance.
I squeezed her hand and pulled away, standing straight again, trying to keep my voice casual. “Listen, Vince and Chauncey are throwing a party Saturday evening as a last hurrah before commencement Sunday morning. Come with me. After all, I would probably be stuck trying to pass summer classes and not actually graduating yet if it weren’t for you.”
Adelaide eyed me with an expression somewhere between wary and curious.
“It’ll be fun, I promise. And if you don’t have a good time, I’ll take you right home.” I tried not to sound too pleading, even though I was desperate for her to say yes.
“Fine,” she said, the corners of her mouth turning upward slyly. “Tell you what. If you get at least a B on your final tomorrow, I’ll go with you.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “Ever the teacher.”
“An A minus. I still can’t believe it.” Adelaide shook her head from where she sat beside me in the backseat of the SUV. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m proud. But you did this just to get me to this party, didn’t you?”
I shot her a self-assured smile. “I don’t know what you mean. I simply followed the study guide put together by my very brilliant tutor and the rest took care of itself.” Lies. Ihadfollowed her notes, but I had also studied my ass off, determined to escort her to the party tonight.
Adelaide rolled her eyes and muttered, “Suck up.”
I chuckled and—to my own surprise—leaned over and kissed her gently on the cheek. “Truly, thank you. And I amglad you are here tonight,” I murmured before I pulled back, trying to ignore the fire now roaring inside of me from such a simple kiss.
Adelaide blushed, ducking her head slightly as she lifted her fingers to brush her face. “You’re welcome. And coming with you gave me an excuse to get dressed up.”
She did indeed look stunning. She had insisted on meeting me at my flat, and I lost track of my breath for several seconds when I opened the door and saw her in a devastatingly sexy body-hugging red dress that hit right above her knees, her blonde hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail. She had a neutral palette across her eyelids, and it offset the crimson lipstick that made my dick hard just looking at it. I had hardly taken my eyes off her on the ride to Vince and Chauncey’s place.
We pulled up to the apartment building in the heart of downtown Cadence, nestled among an array of businesses and chic flats. As Jackson opened the door for us to step out, you could hear the thrum of a bass line rolling through the street. Whether it was from a club down the street or the party above us, my heart matched the beat. I wasn’t sure what the night held, but my body hummed with excitement.
A doorman opened the glass door to the building’s lobby, and I led us to the private elevator that would take us up to the penthouse where Chauncey and Vince lived. Steffan, one of the security guards escorting us for the evening, swiped the keycard we had been given and hit the button once we stepped inside the mirror-lined elevator.
The door opened into the foyer of the guys’ residence, polished black marble floors shining and the faint hoppy aroma of beer washing over us. Faxon had arrived several minutes before us and waited just outside the elevator, onehand held to his earpiece. He held up his other hand, stopping us before we could step into the flat.
“We’re just waiting for the all clear, Your Highness. There are more people here than we anticipated, so it is taking a little longer to sweep the place. Do you mind waiting?”
“No problem.” I smiled and stepped back to where Adelaide stood patiently. “I’m so sorry,” I murmured, bending my head close to hers so she could hear me over the sound of the party raging farther into the flat.
“For what?” she asked, tilting her head.
I gestured toward Faxon. “The hold up.”
“Yes, I’m sure you planned this just so you could keep me in this elevator a little longer.” She let a sly grin cross her face.
I chuckled nervously and ran my hand over the back of my neck, wishing I had been smart enough to do such a thing.
I had never minded the bodyguards and security protocols. I knew they were there for my protection and—unlike my brother—didn’t try to evade them. Yet for the first time I was a little embarrassed and couldn’t articulate why. Maybe it was the longing that I sometimes felt to simply be normal…whatever that meant.
Faxon nodded and spoke briefly into his earpiece before turning back toward us. “Thank you for your patience, Your Highness. We’re good to go.”
“Of course. Thank you, Faxon.”
I interlaced my fingers with Adelaide’s and led her through the doors into the party.
Faxon wasn’t exaggerating when he said there were more people here than expected. The penthouse had a spacious open floor plan with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the balcony at the far end. Past the crowd of partiers, the cityand mountains played off each other, lit by starlight. Our country was breathtaking.
We wove our way around the clusters of people littering the open space. Against the wall to the right, an enormous flat-screen television played music videos, the sound carrying through the space via sleek speakers on either side. The living-room furniture had been moved to create a dance floor where bodies now swayed and gyrated. Those not dancing were perched on the furniture, making out against the walls, or playing a variety of drinking games.
A loud cheer rose from my left and I glanced over to see a group at the long glass table that divided the living space from the kitchen. Someone had just sent the tiny ball into the red cup, and the students were cheering on the girl as she chugged the beer.
