“Drew’s not here.”
“But his friends are. Your teammates are.” I stepped back, putting necessary distance between us. “This is exactly what we can’t do, Liam.”
Something flickered across his face—frustration, maybe,or hurt. “So I’m just supposed to stand there and watch guys hit on you all night?”
“Yes,” I said, even though the word tasted bitter. “That’s exactly what you’re supposed to do. That’s what we agreed to.”
“I didn’t agree to this.” His voice dropped lower, rough with an emotion I couldn’t quite name. “I didn’t agree to watching you smile at other guys while I can’t even touch you.”
“You were doing plenty of smiling yourself,” I shot back. “Cady and her friend seemed very entertained.”
His eyes widened slightly, then a slow smile spread across his face. That infuriating, irresistible smile that made me want to kiss him and punch him in equal measure.
“You were jealous,” he said.
It wasn’t a question.
“I was not?—”
“You were.” He stepped closer again, his voice dropping so only I could hear. “Ava Dumontier was jealous.”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
“I’m not flattering myself. I’m stating a fact.” His thumb found my hip again, tracing a small circle that sent electricity shooting up my spine. “For the record, I wasn’t flirting with them. I was trying not to stare at you across the room like an idiot.”
My breath caught.
“You were staring at me?”
“Aves, I’m always staring at you.” His gaze dropped to my lips, then back up. “Every time I see some guy talking to you, I want to throw him through a wall. Tonight was just… I couldn’t take it anymore.”
I should have reminded him that we were supposed to be careful, that even with Drew at home, we couldn’t affordto act like this in public. Too many people knew both of us. Too many people could connect the dots.
Instead, I said, “There’s a bathroom upstairs. Last door on the left. Meet me there in five minutes.”
His eyes darkened. “Five minutes.”
I pulled away from him before I could do something stupid, like kiss him in front of everyone, and disappeared into the crowd without looking back.
We were playing with fire. I knew that. Drew might not be here tonight, but his shadow loomed over everything we did.
But right now, all I wanted was to burn.
SEVENTEEN
The upstairs hallway was quieter than the chaos below, but I could still feel the bass vibrating through the floorboards as I slipped into the bathroom at the end of the hall. I locked the door behind me and leaned against it, my heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat.
What was I doing?
The bathroom was nicer than I expected for a frat-adjacent party house—shiny white tile, a big mirror over the sink, and hand towels that actually looked clean. Someone’s mom had probably decorated this place.
I caught my reflection in the mirror and almost didn’t recognize myself. My cheeks were flushed and my eyes bright. This was the most reckless thing I’d ever done, and the exhilaration was written all over my face. This wasn’t the Ava who played it safe, who edited herself to fit into whatever box was most convenient for those around her. This was the Ava who’d written a bucket list and was diving in headfirst.
A soft knock made me jump.
“It’s me.” Liam’s voice came through the door, low and rough. I unlocked it and he slipped inside, clicking the lock back into place before I could even take a full breath.
For a moment, we just stared at each other.
