Page 62 of Palm South University: Season 2
I swallow, nodding. “I know, and you know I want you, too. I love you,” I say the words before thinking better of them, but I don’t take them back. It’s true. I do love her.
She closes her mouth, her brows pulling inward as her hands squeeze mine. “You do?”
I nod. “I do, Bo. You pulled me out of a darkness I didn’t think I would ever survive. And now that I’m here, in a better place than I’ve been in months, with you — I want to celebrate by doing something wild. But only if it’s with you. I want this withyou.” She frowns, but I pull her closer. “Please.”
Bo studies me, chewing her slim bottom lip. “Have you ever done it before?”
I shake my head, and that seems to reassure her. “I just… I feel so alive right now, Bo. I feel spontaneous. It’s Spring Break, I’m here with you, I’m free from all the shit that’s been holding me back,” I trail off, not wanting to get into details since Bo isn’t aware of what I had to do to achieve said freedom. Tucking a strand of blonde hair behind my ear, I ask again. “Please. Let’s experience this together.”
For a moment longer, she keeps her bottom lip pinned between her teeth. But then, slowly, she nods, and when I smile, she does, too.
“Come with me.”
I wrap my arms around her waist and walk her with me, straight up to Mystery Man, whose eyes are just as fiercely attached to mine as mine are his.
“What are you?” I ask as soon as we reach him. Bo snaps her eyes to me, confused at my question, but the guy just tongues the inside of his cheek, grinning.
“I’m a lot of things.”
“What’s your ethnicity?” I clarify, taking in his strong jaw, long nose, and lean build. He’s so exotic, I can’t help but stare.
He chuckles. “Armenian.”
I cock a brow at Bo, but she only shrugs in response. “Is he the one you want?” I nod and she takes a deep breath, giving me a small smile that lets me know to make my next move. Excitement burns through me, its source at my core as I turn back to the guy.
“What’s your name?”
“Alex,” he answers smoothly.
“Alex…” I try it on, tasting it as my eyes skate over his muscular forearms. “Take us back to your place.”
BO’S HAND SHAKES IN MINEand I squeeze it gently, trying to soothe her nerves as the cab drops us at the large gate of a private home.
“I thought you said you were here with your fraternity brothers?” I ask, referencing Alex’s conversation in the car ride over. It turns out, he’s an Omega Chi. I have no fucking idea how I’ve never seen him before now.
He unlocks the large wooden door and gestures for us to walk in first. “I am.”
I shoulder off my Vera Bradley bag and toss it into a small chair near the front door as Alex shuts it behind us, my eyes on the lavish surroundings and my hand still latched onto Bo’s.
“A little high-end for a house full of fraternity brothers, don’t you think?” I ask, glancing back at him. He runs a hand through his dark hair and grins, his eyes heavy from the alcohol. “It’s my uncle’s place. He rents it out most of the year, so when I found out this is where we were going for Spring Break, he blocked it out so I could have it.”
“Wait, so you guys get to stay here for free?” Bo asks, now letting her own eyes wander the no-doubt expensive paintings lining the walls. Alex nods and I trail my fingers along the smooth, polished wood surface of the long dining room table before my eyes catch on something shiny in the next room.
“Oh my God, your uncle must be a bachelor.” Dropping Bo’s hand, I cross quickly into the other room, empty save for a few air mattresses blown up along the far wall and one, lone pole in the middle. One wall is made up completely of floor-to-ceiling mirrors and I note my wild blonde hair and dark, mascara smeared eyes.
Alex chuckles. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.” He slides up next to Bo and watches me carefully as my hands find the pole. When the cool metal hits my palms, I exhale long and slow, a rush of emotions hitting me — fear, excitement, longing. I’ve missed being on the pole, and I’m just drunk enough to not let the dark thoughts creep in as I grip it hard and swing my legs, hoisting myself up into an easy spin and high kick hold. I drop back down to the ground gently, balancing on the balls of my feet as I circle the pole, one hand still attached, my eyes finding Bo’s.
Suddenly, she doesn’t seem so nervous.
She seems mesmerized.
Alex’s eyes are on fire, one arm crossed over his chest while the opposite hand covers his mouth. They’re both watching me, enamored, and the power of their stares sinks deep in my center.
There’s no music in the room, but there’s always been music in my heart, and I let the passion I feel move me. Climbing my way back up the pole, I start with a few more beginner moves, spinning and holding flexes before dropping back down to the floor each time, circling, arching my back, sinking low to the floor only to climb back up the pole again. I’m not sure how long I dance before Bo crosses the room to me, her chest rising and falling with heavy breaths as I press my back to the pole and wait for her. She steps closer and closer, dark almond eyes hard on mine. When she reaches the space in front of me, she bites her bottom lip.
“You are so fucking sexy.”
I don’t smile, I don’t respond, I just slowly reach my hand out until I find her waist and then I pull her into me, pressing my lips to her neck and sucking her tender skin between my teeth, my back still flush against the cool surface of the pole. She hisses, letting her head fall back, and I kiss around the swell of her throat before finding her mouth. Her hands are in my hair, mine crawl her body as my tongue slides between her lips. When Alex steps into the space beside us, she stiffens, but I keep my touch calm and sure.