The place is packed. Loud music penetrates the air as bodies adorned in black and white move and sway in every direction. We’re swallowed into the monochromatic color scheme where it’s difficult to see where one ends and the next begins. Bright colored lights flashing highlight people’s faces and hands. I scan the crowds, tightly gripping Kendall’s hand so I don’t lose her.
A few stray hands grope at me as we make it further into the house; it’s difficult to know whether any of them are actually intending to do so. With everyone so tightly crammed in here, it’s very possible I’m simply a casualty.
Practically all of the furniture has been removed so it’s hard to tell what room we’re in. Eventually Kendall squeezes my hand and I look up from the web of arms and hands I’m working to avoid and see Max striding toward me, a heart gripping smile on his lips.
I release her hand as he grabs me in his arms, hugging me tightly to his chest, as his warm, familiar scent engulfs me before his mouth meets mine in a consuming kiss. His breath lingers against my mouth with the faint taste of beer.
He takes a step back, holding my hands as his eyes shine with a smile. “You look fucking incredible!”
“Kendall made me over.”
His eyes travel over my body several times before his head shakes. “It’s not the makeup or the hair. It’s just you.” My heart hammers painfully in my chest at his words.
“You look pretty amazing yourself!” And he does, dressed in a black dress shirt and black tie that make his eyes look a more intense blue.
“Come here, I want you to meet Wes,” Max yells over the noise. Tightening his grip on my hand and wrapping the other around my waist, he guides me forward.
I see Landon first, looking relaxed. His head tilted back as he laughs. Max’s hands tighten and I turn, catching his smile spread across his clean-shaven face. I glance back to Landon and see the owner of the neon green and black track shoes; his brown eyes alight with alcohol and laughter until he notices me. I watch his stance straighten as the same smile I’d seen this morning suddenly falters.
“Ace, this is my good friend Wes. Wes, this is my girlfriend, Ace,” Max says, gesturing between us. “I told you she’s the most beautiful girl you’ve ever seen.”
“Actually—” I begin in an attempt to explain that we’d briefly met this morning, sans the breakfast invite.
“Get this, babe, he’s been stalking a chick at the track and this morning he finally got the balls to talk to her, and she blew off his playboy ass because she has a boyfriend. He thinks he’s going to sweep her off her feet and steal her from the poor sap.” Max laughs, obviously amused by this, and my heart staggers with nerves.
I look over to Kendall and can see that she’s connected the two of us as she gives a slight shake of her head, telling me to not say anything.
I lean further into Max and clear my throat. “Sounds like a losing battle.”
Max leans down, kissing me right below my ear. “Let’s dance,” he whispers, his lips still close enough they tickle my skin. I nod happy to have an excuse to step away while I process this situation.
Max leads us into the sea of people before stopping and pulling me close. I place both of my hands on his chest, where they travel around to his back as I kiss him playfully, pushing my body along his. Max’s hands run down my sides, resting on my hips as I turn around and begin moving with the music and Max. We dance for several songs, lost in our own world.
“Miller!” I look up to see a couple of guys approach us with bright smiles. Max’s face lights up, and they greet one another in a half hug. Max introduces me to David and Eli, more baseball friends. I smile politely as they catch up, but eventually stop listening when I hear them discussing different women they’re looking to sleep with.
Thankfully, I catch sight of some friends and motion to Max where I’m going. He scans the crowd and then gives me a lingering kiss before I turn and make my way through the bodies to hug my friend Amanda. I look over my shoulder when she releases me and see Max engaged in conversation with his friends, his eyes focused on me.
I continue to feel his eyes until dancing bodies seem to push more space between us. After a while I head back to find Max and discover a small swarm of girls surrounding them. Some are dancing, others pawing, all fighting for their attention. I battle my initial impulse to escape and take a deep breath, carefully sliding between two girls. I’m thankful to notice the bored expression on Max’s face as his friends flirt back with the girls.
Max’s lips turn up in a relieved smile, and I watch him place his hand to a girl’s shoulder and mutter “Excuse me,” as he carefully moves to stand beside me. He greets me by pressing his lips to mine and a hand to my lower back. I thread my arms around his neck, pulling myself closer as his tongue slides against mine. My body bows, arching to press further against his chest. The kiss ends as we’re jostled by a group of people being too rowdy. Max releases a soft growl against my ear in protest and presses a trail of kisses along my jaw to my ear before he pulls back when one of his friends asks a question.
I turn my attention to the crowd still dancing around us. It’s a few hours into the party and a good number of people are already inebriated, while several more hang on the cusp of being so. Most people are having a good time, laughing and talking loudly, flirting as they dance and drink, but as alcohol creates fun for some, it’s also starting to cause drama as I notice a few girls trying to wipe makeup and tears from their faces and couples fighting publicly, not sober enough to care about their surroundings.
Max must realize I’m not paying attention to their conversation because he says a quick goodbye and grabs my hand, pulling me back in the direction we’d been dancing.
We begin dancing again. The music and Max invade my senses, intoxicating me as his hands slide up and down the curves of my body, making my nerves ultra-sensitive with the anticipation of feeling the warmth and pressure of his fingers. His pelvis presses against me, and his lips glide up and down my neck in hot lingering trails.
It all becomes too much. I snake my hand under Max’s shirt and watch his eyes darken and his mouth go a little slack as he reaches his breaking point as well.
“Let’s go.” His voice comes out deep and husky, and I close my eyes and nod. Max grips my sides, allowing me to navigate through the still packed house, continuing to gently squeeze my sides while lightly tracing along the line of my hips.
When we reach the front door I come to a stop and palm my forehead. “My keys. Jameson has my keys.”
Max shakes his head. “They can take your car. I drove him.” Before I can reply, he sweeps an arm under my legs, catching me slightly off guard. I wrap my arms around his neck and he carries me across the yard without another word.
When we reach his Jeep, Max unlocks the doors and sets me down slowly, as though he’s not certain he wants to release me. His hands linger on my lower back as we stare silently at each other. The intense look that we share conveys our need and desire.
Max opens the passenger door and I slide in, making sure that I don’t touch him, knowing that if I start now, there’s no way I’ll be able to stop. I take deep breaths of Max as he closes my door and crosses to the other side.
The only sounds are our slightly labored breaths and the quiet stream of the radio as we steal glances of one another. Our eyes lock and something passes between us as we both realize the line we’re about to cross. Nerves and excitement course through me since we’re going at least twenty over the speed limit. The practical side of me wants to tell him to slow down as the needle edges higher, but my lips refuse to utter the words.
Max pulls into the driveway. I quickly undo my seat belt and open my door, sliding out in one fluid motion. Max is beside me in the blink of an eye with the most smoldering look in his eyes. After reading so many books, I’ve often wondered if it was possible to communicate a desire with just a look, and I know in this moment it is.