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“Not all,” I replied with a laugh, sipping on my Root Beer. Little did he know I wasn’t particularly good at school.

“Smart and sexy. You’ve got it all don’t you?” he asked with a wide smile.

I had to slap my chest with the back of my closed fist to stop myself from choking or spitting out my Root Beer.Was he flirting with me? Zach Walsh, who had literally never even acknowledged that I existed on the same planet as him, had called me smart and sexy.

“Do you want to dance?” he asked, nodding towards the packed dance floor. Before I had a moment to object or catch my breath, he grabbed my arm and pulled me onto the dance floor behind him. I felt my inner self starting to panic. The only time I had ever danced was with Tess in my bedroom. I had never danced with a boy before, let alone been to a club that played this type of music. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.

I followed Zach’s lead and moved back and forth to the beat. He moved one hand to my hip and followed my movements, leaning close to whisper in my ear, “You know, I’ve always wanted to dance with you.”

“You have?” I asked in surprise, I was sure he had never noticed me before. I thought Tess was more his type. I could feel him nod against me and move closer, our legs intertwining as we moved. His hand moved from my hip to my lower back, pulling me closer ever so slightly. Over his shoulder I caught a flash of pale hair at the bar next to Tess and felt a knot forming in my stomach. Were Nik and Puck here? We turned with the music and my back was now to Tess, but I could still feel eyes on me. Over my shoulder I could hear someone clear their throat and Zach immediately straightened.

“I suggest you remove your hand…” a deep voice purred at my ear.

Zach swallowed and dropped his hand from my lower back. “You have a boyfriend?” Zach asked, taking a step back from me. Before I could answer, Nik stepped up behind me and slid his arm around my waist, pulling be back against him. The movement sent a warm, tingling, feeling down to my toes as I felt his chest pressing into my back, his arm tight around me.

“Run along.” He nodded towards the bar where the rest of Zach’s friends were, a dark gleam in his eyes. Zach didn’t so much as meet my eyes again before he took off through the crowd of packed bodies. Was Nik jealous? He surelookedjealous.

Nik said nothing as he released me and took Zach’s spot, and we began moving to the music once more. I followed his lead, he had more practice than Zach at this, that much was evident. He brought both his hands to my hips, pulling me in closer. I could feel his breath at my ear and the smell of cloves and cinnamon as I closed my eyes. We swayed back and forth, Nik holding me close, and he slid a leg between mine as we rocked to the music.

“Who was that?” he asked.

“Just a guy from school…” I trailed off, losing myself in the music. I had never pictured Nik as a dancer at all, but he was damn good at it.

“Do you know him well?” he asked at my ear.

“No, actually. I had never spoken to him before tonight,” I replied honestly.

I could feel the smirk that spread across Nik’s mouth, even if I couldn’t see it with my head buried in the crook of his neck. My arm was draped over his shoulder, my other hand resting on his at my hip.

“You do look particularly captivating tonight…but I wanted to be the first one to point that out,” he breathed, wrapping one of those arms around my waist.

“Oh, really?” I whispered back, a little breathless being pressed this close to him. I could feel his thigh between mine as we rocked back and forth, and a shot of warmth pooled low in my stomach.

“Yes…really,” he answered, placing a light kiss against my shoulder. I shivered, the feeling of his lips against my skin sending a shock through me. They were softer than I’d imagined.

“This top…” he started, running the hand not currently wrapped around my waist against the shoulder straps of my top underneath my leather jacket.

“These jeans…” He pulled back slightly so I could see his eyes traveling down the length of me. I felt as if I was on fire under his gaze, his eyes still such a bright blue under the green lights of the club. Tess was so much smaller than me, and it was a struggle to fit myself into these jeans, even with them being so stretchy. They were practically painted on.

“These heels…” he finished with a smirk, bringing his eyes back up to meet mine. “Intoxicating.” He had said the same thing earlier at the meadow, when I thought he had been about to kiss me. I could sense the tension between us as if it were a tangible thing, taught and electric. It was as if his body was connected to mine by a thick rope of static energy, waiting to explode.

My magic responded to him from deep in my core, pressing on my skin from the inside, begging to come out. Our bodies were pressed together, his lips at my neck again, my arm wrapped around him when the strobe lights died down and the house lights came on.

“Welcome…to Battle of the Bands!” The emcee announced from the loudspeaker before introducing the first band, Oblivion. I blinked, the haze of tension clearing. Nik was still focused on me with a dangerous smirk, and I could feel Tess’ presence at our side now. Nik dropped his arm from my waist and turned towards the stage.

“Sorry to interrupt…” Tess said sheepishly, moving forwards to whisper in my ear, “again.”

“This time it wasn’t you,” I assured her with a whisper. She cleared her throat and gave my arm a squeeze, my other arm still brushing lightly against Nik’s side. Nik nodded towards the bar and waved Puck over. Puck made his way through the crowd as the first band began to play.

“Puck, Tess. Tess, Puck,” Nik yelled over the rock music, introducing the two. I could already see the stars in Tess’ eyes as she gave my arm a firmer squeeze and turned towards the band.

We listened to the first three sets, swaying along to the music and cheering on some of our classmates before we made our way back to the bar, thirsty and sweaty. I could feel my curls plastering to the back of my neck as I ditched my leather jacket on a barstool and ordered another drink. Tess downed her water in a few gulps and turned to me, her eyes wide. She and Puck had been dancing, and I was glad she was having a good time tonight. She wiggled her eyebrows at me conspiratorially before turning back to Puck.

“I think your boyfriend is mad at me,” Nik said, pulling out the barstool where I had thrown my jacket down and taking a seat.

“My boyfriend?” I asked, wiping the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand, careful not to ruin the foundation Tess had carefully applied.

Nik nodded towards the other end of the bar where I could see Zach and a few of his other swim buddies, huddled together and staring in our direction.