there’s a point in here somewhere.”
“He’s hot, and he wants you.” She spoke quietly, as if to make sure that I listened. “So stop running, and do something about it.”
***
I fidgeted as I stood outside the hall where the fundraiser was taking place. Well dressed people passed me in pairs and in groups, and they all seemed to know one another.
I was the only one alone, and in my borrowed dress and shoes I felt incredibly self-conscious.
I had given in to Kaylee’s nagging about the thong, too, and that just added to my discomfort.
I resisted the urge to pull my phone from my bag and check the time. It had been my own stubbornness that had me insisting on meeting Alex here rather than letting him pick me up.
I had acquiesced to the date, but I wasn’t going to make it easy on myself.
“Serena.” By this point I would have recognized that husky voice anywhere. I whirled, a breeze catching the edges of my skirt. There he was, looking like something straight out of a movie.
My pulse stalled, then began to beat double time. My pink painted mouth fell open.
He was dressed up, like I was, and... wow. Just wow.
He was wearing the hell out of that black suit.
“Wow.” He said the word I was thinking as he climbed the last of the stairs and took my hand. Lifting it above my head, he whistled as he twirled me around. The sound cut off abruptly when he got a glimpse of my naked back.
Mouth dry, I licked my lips and looked back over my shoulder shyly. When his eyes met mine they told me that he wanted nothing more than to get me the hell out of this dress and back into his bed.
“Are you trying to drive me crazy?” He pressed a finger to the base of my neck, then trailed it down my back, tracing my spine. I moved restlessly beneath the touch, my skin heating in a path that followed his hand.
“It’s Kaylee’s dress. My roommate.” My voice didn’t even sound like my own, it was so tight with longing. “Believe it or not, it was the most conservative thing she owns.”
Alex’s finger paused at the very base of my spine, the silky skin where my back ended. His touch lingered there for a long moment before he wrapped an arm around me, squeezing once.
“Thank heavens for Kaylee.” His voice was worshipful, and I couldn’t help but laugh, the anxiety of the last few hours easing.
As always, he made all of the bad things go away.
“Would you like a drink?” Alex gave our tickets to the woman who sat at a table just inside the main entryway. Though she looked to be in at least her early thirties, her eyes looked him up and down slowly, then flicked to me with just the barest hint of derision.
I ignored it. His arm was around me , after all.
“Um. Sure.” He nipped a flute of sparkling wine off of a tray that was held by a waiter circling the room and presented it to me with a flourish.
“None for you?” My mouth was still dry from his touch, and I sipped at the wine to ease the discomfort.
He shook his head, his gaze fixed on my lips as I sipped.
“If I drink, my liver gets preoccupied with getting the booze out of my system, instead of regulating my blood sugar.” He shrugged, as if it was no big deal to him, and I was surprised all over again that he took his diabetes in stride so well. “I can get really low blood sugar that way, can pass out from it. Since people who drink pass out too, it’s really easy to confuse the two and not get the right treatment. That’s always scared me, so I just don’t.”
“There’s something that scares you?” I tried to make my tone teasing, but I was in awe of the way he just... I didn’t even know the word to use. He just handled all of the shit that life threw at him, bulldozing his way through it as if there was no other option.
It blew me away.
“On the other hand...” Alex splayed a hand flat on my back and pulled me in close to him, twining his fingers with mine around the glass flute. “I wouldn’t mind just a taste.”
My
“He’s hot, and he wants you.” She spoke quietly, as if to make sure that I listened. “So stop running, and do something about it.”
***
I fidgeted as I stood outside the hall where the fundraiser was taking place. Well dressed people passed me in pairs and in groups, and they all seemed to know one another.
I was the only one alone, and in my borrowed dress and shoes I felt incredibly self-conscious.
I had given in to Kaylee’s nagging about the thong, too, and that just added to my discomfort.
I resisted the urge to pull my phone from my bag and check the time. It had been my own stubbornness that had me insisting on meeting Alex here rather than letting him pick me up.
I had acquiesced to the date, but I wasn’t going to make it easy on myself.
“Serena.” By this point I would have recognized that husky voice anywhere. I whirled, a breeze catching the edges of my skirt. There he was, looking like something straight out of a movie.
My pulse stalled, then began to beat double time. My pink painted mouth fell open.
He was dressed up, like I was, and... wow. Just wow.
He was wearing the hell out of that black suit.
“Wow.” He said the word I was thinking as he climbed the last of the stairs and took my hand. Lifting it above my head, he whistled as he twirled me around. The sound cut off abruptly when he got a glimpse of my naked back.
Mouth dry, I licked my lips and looked back over my shoulder shyly. When his eyes met mine they told me that he wanted nothing more than to get me the hell out of this dress and back into his bed.
“Are you trying to drive me crazy?” He pressed a finger to the base of my neck, then trailed it down my back, tracing my spine. I moved restlessly beneath the touch, my skin heating in a path that followed his hand.
“It’s Kaylee’s dress. My roommate.” My voice didn’t even sound like my own, it was so tight with longing. “Believe it or not, it was the most conservative thing she owns.”
Alex’s finger paused at the very base of my spine, the silky skin where my back ended. His touch lingered there for a long moment before he wrapped an arm around me, squeezing once.
“Thank heavens for Kaylee.” His voice was worshipful, and I couldn’t help but laugh, the anxiety of the last few hours easing.
As always, he made all of the bad things go away.
“Would you like a drink?” Alex gave our tickets to the woman who sat at a table just inside the main entryway. Though she looked to be in at least her early thirties, her eyes looked him up and down slowly, then flicked to me with just the barest hint of derision.
I ignored it. His arm was around me , after all.
“Um. Sure.” He nipped a flute of sparkling wine off of a tray that was held by a waiter circling the room and presented it to me with a flourish.
“None for you?” My mouth was still dry from his touch, and I sipped at the wine to ease the discomfort.
He shook his head, his gaze fixed on my lips as I sipped.
“If I drink, my liver gets preoccupied with getting the booze out of my system, instead of regulating my blood sugar.” He shrugged, as if it was no big deal to him, and I was surprised all over again that he took his diabetes in stride so well. “I can get really low blood sugar that way, can pass out from it. Since people who drink pass out too, it’s really easy to confuse the two and not get the right treatment. That’s always scared me, so I just don’t.”
“There’s something that scares you?” I tried to make my tone teasing, but I was in awe of the way he just... I didn’t even know the word to use. He just handled all of the shit that life threw at him, bulldozing his way through it as if there was no other option.
It blew me away.
“On the other hand...” Alex splayed a hand flat on my back and pulled me in close to him, twining his fingers with mine around the glass flute. “I wouldn’t mind just a taste.”
My
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