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My body leaned toward her and she did the same, creating a little cocoon for both of us in the chaos of the bar.

Honey put her elbow on the bar and leaned her face into her hand.

“I’m pretty damn great, Bren. Pretty damn great.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Honey

A little whisperin my brain said that maybe Bren would be at Sapph. That wasn’t why I’d gone, but then she’d been here.

She washere.

I hadn’t known if she would yell at me or ignore me or ask me to leave, but then I’d pleaded with her to have a night off from everything else and she’d agreed.

Now I got to sit next to her at this crowded, noisy bar and pretend that she was the only person in the world.

I loved the way her hair glowed under the neon lights. Her eyeliner was sharp and her lipstick dark. Her mouth looked like poison and I desperately wanted a taste.

We talked a little about the marketplace and about the people around us and our favorite drinks.

The alcohol flowed through my veins, warming me and making me a little braver.

“Come dance with me, Bren.” I couldn’t stop saying her name. It melted like chocolate on my tongue.

Hopping off the stool less than gracefully, I held my hand out to her. I’d had fantasies of this. Of moving our bodies together. Granted, most of my fantasies involved less clothing, but this was a start.

“Please, Bren?” I wasn’t above begging. Not at all.

Her mouth pressed into a line and then she rolled her eyes before throwing back the rest of her drink and setting the glass down on the bar with authority.

“Fine,” she said through clenched teeth, as if I was leading her to the guillotine instead of to the dance floor.

The space was packed, without much room to move without bumping into multiple other sweaty bodies. The music thumped through my chest, at odds with the pounding of my heart.

Bren faced me and for a moment, she didn’t seem to know what to do.

Taking the lead, I moved closer and started swinging my hips to the beat. I didn’t think I was the best dancer, but I could find a beat and roll with it.

For a moment, Bren was frozen. And then her eyes changed, and I felt a rush of two things: fear and desire.

Bren reached out and gripped my hips with both hands, pulling me until we were pressed together. Now I was the one freezing.

Bren’s breath was loud as her fingers flexed, as if wanting to hold me tighter.

I’d stopped dancing, but her hips moved, picking up the beat and carrying me along with her.

I’d never expected this when I’d come to Sapph tonight.

I’d never expected Bren to touch me like this, period. Only this morning she’d been ignoring me and then acting like we could never speak again.

Now she held onto me as if she never wanted to let go, moving with me as if we’d done this before.

If you asked me what song was playing, I couldn’t tell. The only thing I could see and hear and smell and feel was Bren.

Bren, Bren,Bren.

Taking a chance, I lifted my arms and rested them on her shoulders. Her hands squeezed me in response.