said a word to him until he approached me just now. Dancing with him had definitely been out of the question.
And yet...here I was, following him to the crowded floor like a woman being led to her ultimate demise. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Grey. He seemed nice enough. It was just, I couldn’t deny my attraction to him, and that was a problem.
It wasn’t even just that he had a girlfriend, which was a huge no, no for me. It was everything about him. He screamed trouble. And as someone who grew up in the rougher part of Bloomfield, I’d made it my life’s mission to avoid trouble.
So why was I allowing this? For exactly the same reason I’d been keeping my distance from him. I couldn’t help how I reacted to Grey. That kiss, the attraction that sizzled between us, it was too much.
We reached the crowd of dancers, and he pushed his way through until we were lost in the sea of people. Turning to me, his hands landed on my hips pulling me closer. I could feel the sweat drip down my spine as our eyes met. Despite the heavy beat around us, we stood still, secluded in our tiny bubble.
That same voice inside my head was now shouting at me to get out before I drowned in the blue depths of the gaze peering back at me.
Grey was too good looking for his own good. I both hated it and loved it.
We remained frozen as his eyes dropped to my mouth. I swallowed, knowing exactly what he was probably thinking. I’d dreamt about our kiss enough times, remembered the look of desire on his face. It was there now.
This was worse than bad. This was catastrophic.
I needed an exit plan stat. Cat could find her way home with someone else.
Instinctively I took a step away from him, fighting the invisible string that wanted to pull me closer instead. His gaze lifted to meet mine as his hands dropped to his side, and I could see the same resolve I had come to mirrored there.
“We can’t do this,” he said.
I wasn’t sure if it was a question or a statement. Instead of replying, I simply shook my head slowly.
He took a deep breath, looking away from me.
“I should head home,” I said, thinking it was too soft for him to hear, but he did. Nodding his head, he reached up to rub a hand over his mouth before looking back at me, as if reluctant to do so.
We stared at each other again, a wordless exchange passing between us. Whatever was between us, neither seemed to want to accept or acknowledge it.
Straightening myself, I gave Grey a tight smile.
“Thanks for the offer,” I said. He nodded again, his jaw ticking.
Turning, I headed back through the crowd. A hand clasped onto my arm as I reached the edge.
Cat’s flushed face appeared beside me as she pulled me to a stop.
“Where are you sneaking off to?” She asked.
“I’m super beat,” I told her. “I’m just going to head home.”
“Then I’ll go with you,” she said.
“You don’t have to.”
She waved me off. “I’m tired too anyway. Come on, let’s blow this joint.”
A sense of relief washed over me. We headed out and thankfully grabbed a cab that was already sitting out there. There was a comfortable silence between us as we maneuvered through the streets, the college nightlife at its peak outside my window. I wished I could be more like the boys and girls I watched pass by, but I couldn’t be.
My mom had always called me an old soul. She said I was too serious for someone my age – and that was at five. It wasn’t that I didn’t like to have fun. I just knew that the fun times were only short, passing blips in the otherwise long, complicated avenues of life. And if I wanted to get out, and stay out, of the social housing I’d grown up in, then I was going to do everything in my power to do just that. Which meant keeping my head on my shoulders, and my brain clear and focused.
“So,” Cat said into the silence. I looked over at her as she lay her head against the cool glass of the window.
“So,” I repeated when she didn’t
And yet...here I was, following him to the crowded floor like a woman being led to her ultimate demise. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Grey. He seemed nice enough. It was just, I couldn’t deny my attraction to him, and that was a problem.
It wasn’t even just that he had a girlfriend, which was a huge no, no for me. It was everything about him. He screamed trouble. And as someone who grew up in the rougher part of Bloomfield, I’d made it my life’s mission to avoid trouble.
So why was I allowing this? For exactly the same reason I’d been keeping my distance from him. I couldn’t help how I reacted to Grey. That kiss, the attraction that sizzled between us, it was too much.
We reached the crowd of dancers, and he pushed his way through until we were lost in the sea of people. Turning to me, his hands landed on my hips pulling me closer. I could feel the sweat drip down my spine as our eyes met. Despite the heavy beat around us, we stood still, secluded in our tiny bubble.
That same voice inside my head was now shouting at me to get out before I drowned in the blue depths of the gaze peering back at me.
Grey was too good looking for his own good. I both hated it and loved it.
We remained frozen as his eyes dropped to my mouth. I swallowed, knowing exactly what he was probably thinking. I’d dreamt about our kiss enough times, remembered the look of desire on his face. It was there now.
This was worse than bad. This was catastrophic.
I needed an exit plan stat. Cat could find her way home with someone else.
Instinctively I took a step away from him, fighting the invisible string that wanted to pull me closer instead. His gaze lifted to meet mine as his hands dropped to his side, and I could see the same resolve I had come to mirrored there.
“We can’t do this,” he said.
I wasn’t sure if it was a question or a statement. Instead of replying, I simply shook my head slowly.
He took a deep breath, looking away from me.
“I should head home,” I said, thinking it was too soft for him to hear, but he did. Nodding his head, he reached up to rub a hand over his mouth before looking back at me, as if reluctant to do so.
We stared at each other again, a wordless exchange passing between us. Whatever was between us, neither seemed to want to accept or acknowledge it.
Straightening myself, I gave Grey a tight smile.
“Thanks for the offer,” I said. He nodded again, his jaw ticking.
Turning, I headed back through the crowd. A hand clasped onto my arm as I reached the edge.
Cat’s flushed face appeared beside me as she pulled me to a stop.
“Where are you sneaking off to?” She asked.
“I’m super beat,” I told her. “I’m just going to head home.”
“Then I’ll go with you,” she said.
“You don’t have to.”
She waved me off. “I’m tired too anyway. Come on, let’s blow this joint.”
A sense of relief washed over me. We headed out and thankfully grabbed a cab that was already sitting out there. There was a comfortable silence between us as we maneuvered through the streets, the college nightlife at its peak outside my window. I wished I could be more like the boys and girls I watched pass by, but I couldn’t be.
My mom had always called me an old soul. She said I was too serious for someone my age – and that was at five. It wasn’t that I didn’t like to have fun. I just knew that the fun times were only short, passing blips in the otherwise long, complicated avenues of life. And if I wanted to get out, and stay out, of the social housing I’d grown up in, then I was going to do everything in my power to do just that. Which meant keeping my head on my shoulders, and my brain clear and focused.
“So,” Cat said into the silence. I looked over at her as she lay her head against the cool glass of the window.
“So,” I repeated when she didn’t
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