Kissing the Shy Guy - Stephanie Street Page 0,45

couldn’t remember ever seeing Jordan at a party before. Her friends, Natalie and Kelly, were there, too, talking to Jarom and Bash. Where was Adam? As soon as the question crossed my mind, a pair of familiar arms wrapped around me from behind.

“Adam,” I breathed, turning to face him.

Without saying a word, he pulled me into his arms. With the band taking a break, dance music blared from the speakers. Adam swayed to the beat, bringing me with him. It was the first time I’d seen him outside of school or rehearsal since we’d become partners. He made me breathless.

“I’m sorry.” His voice was hoarse and incredibly sexy in my ear. “I’ve been watching you dance for the last ten minutes. I couldn’t help myself.”

I put my arms around his neck, as much to keep myself from falling over as the need to touch him. One dance. What could it hurt? We touched each other all the time during our rehearsals.

“So, I’m just gonna go find Bella,” Lydia said, breaking the Adam-trance I’d fallen into.

“Oh! Lydia!” I’d completely forgotten about my best friend. “You know Adam, right?” I wouldn’t even drop my arms to introduce them.

Lydia grinned. “Sure, I do. How’s it going? You guys sound amazing.”

Adam faced her, maintaining his hold on my waist. “Hey, Lydia. Thanks. We’re trying out some new songs.”

“They’re so good,” she told him before widening her eyes at me. “Okay, well, I’ll just go now.”

Adam and I watched her disappear into the crowd, still holding onto each other. I felt awkward and anxious and completely unsure of what to do next.

I bit my lip and lifted my eyes to meet his. He was taller than me, but not so much that I had to crane my neck back to see into his face. I’d noticed it before—we fit together perfectly.

“I looked for you earlier, but didn’t see you.” His warm eyes searched mine.

“I just got here a few minutes ago.” He made me feel like we were the only two people at the party.

“I need a drink. Come with me?”

I nodded. As if I could refuse. We’d agreed to keep our relationship friendly, but there was no denying the chemistry between us.

Adam took my hand and led the way through the crush of people to the door Lydia and I had exited earlier. He took a water bottle from the cooler and chugged it in one go, crushing the bottle and tossing it into an open trash can once he’d finished.

“I’m so thirsty,” he said and reached for another bottle. He held onto this one and took my hand again, leading me back outside.

“Where are we going?” I asked as he edged around the yard toward the stage again. “Do you have to go back on so soon?”

His eyes narrowed. “In a bit. We have some chairs set up behind the stage. I need a break from all these people.”

18

Adam

I was attracted to Jenna, no question. I hadn’t asked her if she’d be at the party tonight, but I couldn’t stop searching for her from the moment we stepped on stage, feeling anxious and unsettled. I wanted her to be there. And once I saw her, everything seemed to fall into place.

When she and her friend, Lydia, started dancing, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. When Asher finally stopped for a much-needed break, instead of reaching for my water bottle, I reached for Jenna. Had she bewitched me? Or was I cursed? I hadn’t decided yet. I just knew I needed her like I needed air.

After all the hours we’d spent together over the last two weeks, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to take her in my arms. I should never have agreed to this whole just friends thing. I understood her motives for holding me at arm’s length, but I wasn’t Josh. If I could get her to trust me, could I get her to fall for me, too?

Up on that stage, I’d decided I was desperate enough to try. That was how I ended up with her fingers laced through mine, winding our way through more people than I’d ever seen at a high school party before. Although, the guy who’d hired us was in college.

He’d invited his own friends and then told his younger brother, a guy named Jason Allen, who went to our school to invite whoever he wanted. The result was hundreds of people ranging in ages from fifteen to twenty-five. I wondered what