“Uhhh. . .hi, and what the fuck?” I said, nodding at the dart in his hand.
“Oh.” He laughed and pointed at the dart board behind him. “I’m practicing.”
“Is this new?” I looked at Prescott.
“Not really. You just haven’t been here in ages.”
“True.” I turned and walked over to Banks and the board.
“I heard you kick ass in beer pong,” he said.
“Wow, people actually talked about that?” I shook my head.
“Mason did, since he won,” he said. “People were talking about your heated exchange with Lachlan.”
“Oh, God.” I closed my eyes and shook my head.
“Who cares?” Banks shrugged. “Fuck them. You can do whatever the hell you want.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I laughed at the way he said it.
I didn’t bother to point out that I didn’t give a shit what people said about it. I just didn’t want word to spread too much. I watched Banks for a while, laughing each time he cursed when he hit the outermost part of the board.
“I think you need to tilt your elbow a bit,” I said, studying the board. “All of your darts go right.”
He lowered his arm and looked at me. “Don’t fucking tell me you’re good at this too.”
“Okay, I’m not.” I shrugged, but I was smiling a little.
“How the fuck are you good at everything?”
“Trust me, I’m not, but Iamgood with my aim.” I put out my hand so he could give me one of his darts. “Pay attention to my elbow. If you throw it like this.” I threw it to demonstrate. “You’re going to go that way.” I lowered my arms. “If you center your elbow, you can hit your target.”
“Show me.” He put the rest of the darts in my hand.
I started to throw them — I hit the inner circle, the inner circle again, the bullseye, and the bullseye again. Drew and Prescott clapped and cheered, inspiring the few random people who must have already been drunk to clap and cheer. Banks was too stunned to say anything, and I was too mortified by the attention to move. I did a little bow, a 180 to get out of there, and ran into Lachlan. He was wearing a gray V-neck t-shirt and jeans. So simple, but he looked so fucking hot, as usual. I looked at his face and studied it, committing it to memory. I wasn’t sure why I did that so often since I saw him every day and at all hours unless he was at hockey practice or a game. Our eyes locked, and I felt the breath go out of my lungs.
“Hey,” I said, my heart beating uncontrollably at his heated green eyes.
“You’re great at that.” He nodded behind me and lowered his mouth to my ear, nipping it quickly and sending a jolt through my body. “How the fuck am I supposed to keep my hands off you?”
When he pulled away, I tried to set enough distance between us — the way I did with Pres and Drew and Banks — but I felt that we could be on different planets, and the tension between us would still be palpable.
“Hey, Lach,” some girl said as she walked by.
She wasn’t flirting, just saying hello, but he ignored her and kept his eyes on mine. I smiled at him, which made his eyes darken even more. I loved knowing I was the only one who got this reaction from him. I loved the way he looked at me like nothing else in the world mattered. Maybe I should have been a little wary of his intensity and how he could easily take over my thoughts and emotions, but I knew the feeling was mutual. Going from someone who got used to not feeling anything to feeling everything when I was with him should have scared me, but for some inexplicable reason, it didn’t. Conversations were happening all around us.
People weren’t paying attention to the way we’d been locked in this all-consuming staring contest, and I really wanted to kiss him. I could lead him away from everyone and take him to the bathroom or Pres’ room, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to see what he’d do if I gave him the green light not to hide whatever this was. I knew his reputation. I’d heard it all already — the way he didn’t kiss anyone, the way every puck bunny was obsessed with him, the way he only slept with the same girl twice because he felt like a third time would make them get attached. He’d given me that morsel of information on our fifth night together. We’d spent every night together, either at his place or mine.
This was a new experience for both of us in so many ways, and it felt nice to be on the same playing field. I glanced away for a moment, taking in the room. There were more people here now, but they’d all been carefully picked by Pres. I thought about it. I looked at him again and licked my lips. His eyes caught the movement, and I watched as he shut them and took a breath. Okay, I was doing this. I tugged his shirt, bringing him close so I could speak in his ear.
“We’re almost out of here. This is a small party, so fuck it, who cares?” I said. “These people have been vetted by Pres anyway, so they have to be trust—”
He didn’t even give me a chance to finish my damn sentence before his lips were on mine. It was so unexpected that it took me a second to kiss him back. Without breaking the kiss, he crouched down and lifted me. My legs instinctively wrapped around his waist, and my arms around his neck as he cupped my ass to hold me steady. Our tongues danced along with the upbeat music playing. When I pulled away, I felt eyes on me. The kitchen was so quiet that you could probably actually hear a pin drop. We still hadn’t looked away from each other, so my eyes widened at his.
I buried my face in his neck. “It feels like we’re in a 90s rom-com.”
“Is this a nightmare for you?” he asked, his voice low and husky in my ear.
