Now my curiosity is piqued. We step inside and the music is ten times louder. I feel it in my chest and it’s hard not to move with it.
“I’ll get you guys a drink,” Ashton says. “And then we’re dancing.” He points at me and I make a face.
“Water for me.”
He grins like I’m joking and I shake my head. He pouts and Luci and I stand against the wall awkwardly watching the few who have already started dancing. By the time Ashton gets back with water for me and a pink concoction for Luci, the room has filled even more.
Henry’s mom walks by and stops when she sees me. “I’ve never seen you at these parties. I’m Amina Young, Henry’s mom.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Gabriela Sinclair.”
I can tell she’s heard about me by the way her eyes shift, but to her credit, she doesn’t break her smile. “I hope you enjoy the party.”
I can almost hear her also saying, Stay away from my son. I’ll be watching you.
I wouldn’t want my son hanging out with a porn star’s daughter either, so I can’t blame her much. Good thing I’m not friends with Henry.
Ashton goes back to grab a drink for himself and once he’s chugged it, he points at me.
“Time to get freaky with it.”
“Does anyone say that…ever?” I let him grab my hand and drag me out in the middle of the couples. I stare at Luci longingly, but Charlie, a guy from her English class, is talking to her and she looks ecstatic about it.
“I think it’s time to bring it back.” Ashton pulls me tight against him and starts grinding against me when the music gets going. My eyes widen when he turns me around with my back against his chest and we move like we’ve always danced together.
I let the music take over and dance like I haven’t danced in so long. My eyes close and I lift my arms to the ceiling and let the rhythm cancel out every inhibition. One second, I feel a cool breeze against my back, and the next, a hot chest is against mine, hands on my waist.
I look back, knowing something changed and Raf glares down at me. His body says something else as it seductively sways in time with mine. I choose to keep dancing and let the music heal the damage that has been done to me this year. I lose myself in the beat.
His hands begin to wander, sliding up my waist and just below my breasts before dipping down dangerously low. I feel him harden underneath me and bite my lip, my eyes fluttering open as I stare back at him in a haze. His pupils dilate and his eyes are an indistinguishable color now. I see the lust clearer than ever before and I wonder why we can’t do this just once without it going haywire?
His lips move to the shell of my ear and his tongue slides along the edge. “Did it feel like this with Ashton?”
I don’t say anything. I keep dancing, not wanting him to ruin this with his words.
He pulls my hair back in his fist, forcing my eyes up to his. He turns me around and tightens his grip so there is no space between us. I clench my legs together. He feels so fucking good against me, I’m afraid I’ll dissolve in a puddle if I don’t get a grip. What happened to all that resolve I was going to have around him? One touch from him and it’s gone.
I blink and shake myself, stepping back in a stupor. I push his hands off of me and bump into the couple dancing behind me.
“I need to find Ashton,” I tell him and turn to run out of the room.
Chapter Fifteen
I’ve never been so happy to see a weekend. Last night with Raf was intense. I need the two days to recoup before seeing him again on Monday. Ashton comes over Sunday afternoon and before we start a movie, he fans himself.
“I thought you and Raf were going to have sex right there in Henry’s living room. Mrs. Young kept stopping herself from stepping in.” He snorts and I feel my cheeks heat.
“Does it bother you to see me with Raf like that?”
“Honestly? No. I like you more than I like him right now. He’s being such a jackass. I told him off last night.”
“What did he say?”
“That he’d told me from the beginning that you were his and to leave you alone.” He rolls his eyes. “I told him you belong to yourself, but the minute you told me you’re his, I’d bow out.” He laughs when my eyes widen. “He didn’t like that. He can’t believe I’m letting a girl come between us—which I’m finding hard to believe too, trust me. But I told him the second he starts treating you decently, maybe we’ll get back to normal too.” His smile fades and I scoot closer to him. “I can’t keep liking someone who is straighter than that windowpane. When I go to college, I’ll experiment the shit out of that school life…with someone who knows how hot I am.”
I lean my head on his shoulder and hold his hand. “I’m glad you told me. And thank you for defending me with Raf, but you don’t have to. I feel bad enough that you aren’t as close as you were.”
“I think it had to go that direction anyway,” he says.
“Maybe, but I don’t want to add to it. I’m embarrassed about the way I lose it when he’s around. I have to keep my head straight until next fall too. I’ll have a few months away from him and Columbia will be a whole new start.”
“The not drinking—is that a thing or do you just not want to get in trouble for underage drinking?”
“It’s a
