Emily felt her throat start to close, and she swallowed down the lump that had suddenly formed. “Oh.”
Alex shook her head as she moved past Emily. “It’s not… We’re not…” She exhaled. “It doesn’t matter.” She hovered in the doorway. “Come to the club when you’re finished here.”
Emily held her gaze. Alex hadn’t asked. She’d said it like a statement. Almost as if she knew Emily wouldn’t be able to say no. “Okay,” she said, barely above a whisper.
And then Alex was gone, and Emily was left closing the door behind her, locking it before she slumped back against it, her heart pounding in her chest.
22
Alex had arrived at the club as soon as she could without being rude to Stacey. They’d parted ways with the mutual feeling that they had a good enough time to be friends, neither of them interested in anything more, but there were no hard feelings.
And Alex had spent the last hour, here at the club, with her eyes on the door, half afraid that Emily wasn’t going to show.
Alex hadn’t planned on talking to Emily after she’d seen her at the restaurant, but then when Emily had collided with her, she couldn’t walk away without at least trying to talk to her.
Not that Alex knew what she was going to say.
Well, she’d ask Emily to dance first, because she wanted to remind Emily of how much fun they’d had together out on the dance floor, and then she’d see if Emily was willing to talk.
Alex just wanted to put the idea out there that there wouldn’t be any problems with them dating once the summer arrived, and Alex had graduated. It was an obvious point, but at the same time, she felt like she should say it out loud, just in case Emily thought that Alex wasn’t interested anymore.
But as the minutes ticked by, Alex grew more doubtful. She turned to watch the dancers, the band on fire tonight, and even if nothing else came out of tonight, she’d really love to dance with Emily again.
And just as Alex looked back to the entrance, there was Emily coming in, her hair tossed over one shoulder, her eyes surveying, and then her gaze landed on Alex.
Alex met her halfway, the trumpets blaring as the percussion heightened, and the band seamlessly switched to the next song. She reached for Emily’s hand, leading her out onto the floor without saying a word.
Alex ignored the warmth that spread through her body just from holding Emily’s hand, and then they were standing across from one another, just inches between them on the packed dance floor.
Alex let her instincts take over, her hands guiding Emily into an easy turn, conscious of the fact that she probably hadn’t danced in a while, but they still managed to pick up right where they left off, moving so effortlessly together.
Alex lost herself in the music, in the moment, and because it was so crowded, it was easy to stay close to Emily, for her hand to always be on Emily’s hip or her back as they danced, and if she thought they had chemistry before, this was on a whole other level.
It was entirely tasteful, the way they were dancing, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t erotic, that Alex didn’t feel every look, every sway of Emily’s hips as she moved to the music.
And when the song came to an end, both of them out of breath, with Alex’s arm around Emily’s waist, Alex was once again leading Emily through the crowd, away from the floor this time and through a side door. She turned the handle on a storage room and flicked on the light, but it barely illuminated the long, narrow room, the shelves full of boxes of alcohol.
Emily’s hand was still in hers, and Alex brought them a little further into the room, both of them with their backs to the shelves as they stood across from one another.
“I know this location isn’t ideal,” Alex said, thinking out loud, not even sure what she was saying. She was running on adrenaline, on that almost euphoric feeling of getting to dance with Emily again. “And it’s not romantic, but I needed to kiss you.”
Emily’s eyebrows rose as Alex closed the tiny bit of space left between, her hands on Emily’s neck, sliding underneath her hair as she parted her lips against Emily’s, kissing her with everything she had, all of the pain of the last few weeks, and all of the memories from before all of this blew up in their faces.
Emily sighed into the kiss, her hands on Alex’s hips as she kissed her back, their tongues searching, and Alex couldn’t remember ever being this turned on this quickly.
Emily pushed her back against the boxes, her fingers digging into Alex’s jeans as she hungrily kissed her, matching Alex’s intensity.
Emily’s hands moved under her top, her hands like fire on her skin, and Alex moaned into the kiss, breaking it just seconds later as Emily palmed her breast, her thumb finding her nipple through the thin fabric of her bra.
A ragged moan left Alex’s lips. “Come back to mine,” she panted as she arched into Emily’s touch, her thumb more insistent now, her free hand clutching Alex’s ass through her jeans.
Emily’s hands were gone, and for a second, Alex thought she’d overstepped, but how could she have? They were all over each other. Why wouldn’t they go back to her studio apartment?
“What if I fucked you right here,” Emily said, her voice dripping with sexiness as she popped open the button of Alex’s jeans and lowered the zipper, sliding her hand inside her underwear, over her smooth mound, the tips of her fingers grazing Alex’s clit.
“Oh fuck,” Alex groaned, swaying into her. “Yes. Please,” she begged as she nipped at Emily’s neck, needing to be close to her, one hand wrapped around her back, the other on Emily’s cheek as she brought their lips together again in a heated kiss.
And then Emily’s fingers slid lower, moving slowly through her folds. “You’re so wet,” Emily whispered, her breath hot against Alex’s ear. “And I’ve missed you so much.”
