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Her quick intake of breath sets my pulse on fire, and I drag her closer.
But before it can get too heated between us, Addy saunters out onto the dock. Two cups fill her hands. “Take this drink and come dance with me,” she whines to Declan in a sing-song voice.
The latter shifts in my hold and glances up at me with a smirk. “Do you dance, Brooklyn?”
Lifting her up by the ribcage, I help her to her feet with a smile of my own. “I suppose you’re about to find out.”
______
“Okay, but where the hell have you been hiding these dance moves?” Declan’s words fall against my chest, and I can’t help but laugh. “And why am I just finding out about themnow?All these parties, all these nights out at bars, and clubs, and you could have been dancing like this thewhole time?”The incredulous look she gives me makes my laughter grow stronger.
I tip my head down to meet hers, mouth at the shell of her ear. “Would’ve gotten me into far too much trouble with you a lot sooner, I suspect.”
She breathes out a laugh and smacks me in the chest, but she uses the same hand to grip onto my shirt and pull me closer. “Yeah, okay, you’re notwrong.”
I shake my head, smiling, hand meeting hers and pulling it up around my neck. We move together to the low, pulsing beat flooding from the speakers, my grip meeting her hips as I guide her toward the center of the dance floor—Landon’s living room, where couches and a coffee table have been pushed aside to make room.
Addy’s high-pitched laughter rises above the music from where she sways with Boss. Throwing her arms in the air, she tilts her red cup toward Declan. They knock them together from across the short distance, something abouta summer of freedomshouted between them, and then they chug the contents straight down.
My lips tip into a grin, and I allow myself to let loose, enjoying the music, the party, the gorgeous girl not-so-subtly grinding herself against me. I tighten my grasp, slip my hands lower, and roll into the movement with her.
Time stretches. Slows. Defies the laws of logic.
Everything else disappears in our periphery, as if we’re the only two left in the room.
We move, dance, grind, and sway, beads of sweat forming on our necks, smiles pinned wide. The beat rolls higher, pressing tighter together, and our bodies follow suit.
My palm on her lower back, fingertips grazing the swell of her ass, I guide us in a rhythm together.
Her fingers press into the muscles of my neck before diving into my hair, pulling.
I stifle a groan, and her eyes flash with knowing.
A laugh rumbles out of me, matching her own.
But Declan stiffens in my hold, and I catch her gaze on the surrounding crowd. I only now realize we hold half the party’s attention. Something I’m certain she isn’t comfortable with.
Reaching down, she grabs my hand and gives it an intentional squeeze, and my words from weeks ago bleed in from the recesses of my mind.If you feel yourself start to panic, grab my hand, squeeze, and I’ll get us the fuck out of there.
A slow swallow tracks down her throat, the beats of her pulse ticking at the base, and I know I’ve read her correctly. I don’t think twice. I pull her hand in mine and lead her out of the party.
______
Slipping into the Barracuda, we take off into the night, and I can already note the tension melting from Declan’s body. Her shoulders relax, and her tense expression clears, too.
“Feeling better?” I question.
“Yeah,” she breathes, leaning her head back on the seat with her eyes closed. “Thank you.”
“It’s nothing,” I respond, because it isn’t.
She’s quiet for a long while, until I’ve pulled over a few miles down the road from the Masons’, parking in an abandoned lot. The stars shine even brighter out here above the empty fields,and when I turn back the key, we’re plunged into darkness. I shift the key back another notch, and the lights of the dash and radio create a soft glow against Declan’s face.
She unbuckles, turning in her seat to face me. “Can I ask you a question?”
I smile unwittingly. “We’ve been over this, Little D. You can just ask me the question.”
“You love football, don’t you?” she dives right in, taking an unexpected turn.