party.” He sips on his beer, eyes on my face. “Think I’ll stand here a sec and let the place clear out. You mind?”
“Sure. Great party!” I squeak. Crap. It sounds like I’ve been sucking helium. I clear my throat and try to ease the tension in my shoulders.
He’s right here in front of me and he looks…sexy as fuck. His hair is swept back, and my eyes graze over him, lingering on that spot of bare skin I see around his wrist, how the dark hair curls, how strong his fingers look as he holds the cup and takes a sip of his drink. All it takes is a wrist and fingers and I’m hot and bothered. SMN. Shoot me now.
“This your first party of the semester?” he asks me.
“Yeah, freshman here,” I say, smiling as I throw some Southern in my voice. At least it’s not squeaky.
His lips kick up. “Nice. Me too, go figure. You look familiar. Have we met?”
I shake my head no.
“Really? Huh. Guess not.” He glances around at the people milling past us, and I wait with bated breath to see if anyone recognizes him, but it seems we’re blending in for the moment.
Someone pushes against him from behind, and he’s jostled forward. He bumps into me, his chest pressing into mine before he steps back. I inhale his scent and it washes over me, making me shiver.
His hand takes my arm when I lose my footing. “Did I step on your toes? I’m sorry. These parties are ridiculous.”
We look down at my newly painted red toes. He did give me a good crunch, but I mumble a no.
“Let me see.” He bends down to take a look at my feet, and my breath hitches.
“I’m fine,” I say, still overdoing the accent, but he doesn’t seem to notice.
He comes back up slowly, his eyes tracing my curves, lingering on my breasts before rising to my face. He stays there a long time, looking at me over the rim of his Solo cup. “Hmmmm. Nice shoes, by the way.”
“Why did you come if you thought it would be ridiculous?” I ask, surprised at the question coming from me. I shouldn’t invite conversation. I should get my ass out of here, but it’s him, and my body has other ideas. I want to draw this moment out, talk to him and pretend we don’t have a past. I really do, so much.
He huffs out a laugh and leans in. The music has gotten louder, and the only way to talk is to stand close. “Thought it might be fun if no one recognized me. Plus, there’s this girl. Thought she might show up.”
“Did she?”
He lowers his gaze on me in the dark room, searching my face. His lips curve up. “I don’t see her yet.”
Ah. I swallow. “Maybe any girl would do. No need to wait for just one.”
“Hmmm, you think? I really want to get to know her better. Crazy, right?”
“What makes her special?”
“She’s hot. Like fucking amazing.”
“There’s a plethora of those around.” I wave my hand at the darkened room.
He laughs. “Who says words like ‘plethora’?”
“Smart girls.”
“This girl…she’s smart. Smarter than me. She’ll be somebody cool someday.”
“Good. You should lock that down.”
His eyes flicker with a penetrating look as he reaches out and touches the corner of my mask. I stand immobile, letting him trace the outline. “Thought about it. Wasn’t worth the pain.”
Wasn’t worth the pain.
He drops his hand when Penelope shows back up, looking harried. She comes to a halt in front of me, does a double take at Blaze, then leans over and whispers, “Came out of the restroom with Margo waving at me. She’s cornered. Theta inquisition time. You good if I dash over and help then come right back?” Her eyes sweep from me to him. “I can’t leave her. You know how she mouths off when it comes to them, and we don’t need a war with these girls.”
I send her a pleading look—to not leave me or leave me, I don’t know—then she pivots and quick-steps it away from us.
“She ran off fast. She seemed super familiar too,” he muses, smiling.
“She’s a freshman. I doubt you know her. She doesn’t get out much. Neither of us do.”
“Ah, I see. You gonna leave too?” he says.
“No.”
He mulls that over. “Thought you might.”
“Well, I’m not.”
It feels as if our words are layered with more meaning, but I brush them off.