I shrug. “No use hiding how I feel. You ignite something in me, Kaden. Like fucking sunshine and sparks. And I don’t want to mess up something that could be really good.”
He pulls me close, licking his lips. “Say it again.”
“Say what?”
“My name. I usually hate it, but when you say it, it’s sexy as fuck.”
I giggle and wrap my arms around his neck, rising on my toes again. “Kaden,” I whisper.
He groans, kissing me softly. It sizzles over my lips like popping candy, and my stomach flips at the thought of spending the next four months exploring this.
He eases back, meeting my eyes. “Can I ask you something?”
I nod, my heart fluttering.
“What’s your name?”
I let out a laugh.
“Oh, come on, it can’t be that bad.”
“My mum named me after her grandmother. And she’snotsomeone I admire. So I kind of reject anything linked to her.”
“Hence the stage name?”
“Yeah. Effervescent may not be a real name, but it fits me.”
He smiles wide as I take a deep breath. “Vespa. Vespa Carrington. Nothing rock and roll about it.”
He kisses my forehead. “Well, Vespa Carrington, I like it. But yeah, Effa suits you so well.”
I melt into his embrace. “So, stay at the party, or…”
“As much as I’d love to go back to your room, and believe me, I do…” He exhales. “I respect that you want to take this slow.”
I grin.
He listened.
He respects me.
“You’re one in a million, you know?”
“Thanks. But you’re the catch.”
“Let’s agree to disagree. Come back to my room? Just talk. Get to know each other better?”
“Perfect.”
On my toes again, I take his hand, threading our fingers as I lead him inside. The bass thumps through my chest, matching my anxious heart. We pass the girls and Tank. They grin knowingly, but I ignore them, heading for Raoul and Cooper at the stairs.
Mercs wraps his arms around me from behind, his chin resting on my shoulder.
“Raoul, I need a favor.”
He sighs, looking from me to Mercs, then to Cooper, and back again. “You know how much shit I got into last time?”
“I know. I’m sorry. But I’ll tell the right people this time, promise.”
