Chapter Twenty One #2
Instead of answering, Reid lets the moment stretch on, testing how long it’ll take before I break eye contact.
The kitchen is heaving with bodies, a mix of laughter and a heavy bassline colliding.
Yet, all that noise dulls as Reid peels away from the counter and takes the miniscule step to put himself directly in my space.
His jaw scrapes my temple, his cologne warping my senses.
I feel myself being drawn in like a magnet seeking its charge, my chest finding his for stability and when his mouth meets my ear, my pulse rockets.
The rhythm hammers at the base of my throat, but I refuse to let it show.
“You’ve lost your charge.”
Gasping, I whip my head around to see that the spot I left Laura in is empty.
“Dammit!” Turning away from whatever was happening between Reid and me, I start to leave when his hand slides beneath my jacket and lands on my hip.
I flinch, instinctively unnerved by the firm and unwelcomed press of his palm against the patch of skin my tank top doesn’t quite cover, then I freeze.
His touch isn’t aggressive, but it’s not soft either.
Just enough pressure to halt my momentum and hold me in place for his chest to meet my back.
“Relax,” he murmurs, his voice slipping beneath the music.
“I’ve got eyes on her.” An inked hand points beyond my head towards an open archway where a long table has been commandeered for beer pong.
Laura stands on one side, her cheeks flushed and blonde curls bouncing as she laughs wholeheartedly while attempting an exaggerated throw that misses the cup entirely.
The people around her cheer anyway. A tall redhead loops an arm around her shoulders, coaching her stance, and Laura beams like she’s known them for years instead of minutes.
My rigid panic loosens a fraction. She’s safe, and better yet, she’s enjoying herself.
That’s far better than the outcome I expected of this evening.
I started drinking early so I would be prepared for the tears and dramatics when she was chewed up and spat out alive.
A weight I didn’t realize I was harboring lifts from my shoulders.
“She’s fine,” Reid adds, his hand still resting at my hip, thumb absentmindedly brushing back and forth as if he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it.
I tense again for a whole different reason.
Reid Wilder, my asshole neighbor, is touching me.
The contact jolts through me like static.
I should step away, but for whatever reason that I’ll put down to curiosity, I don’t.
Instead, I release a shallow breath, the tension bleeding from my shoulders as I watch Laura sink a lucky shot and erupt into delighted disbelief.
Cheers roar through the lower half of the house, high-fives being offered freely.
No one’s crowding her more than necessary, no one’s hands are wandering.
It’s just simple, harmless fun, for now.
Reid reaches past me for two fresh drinks from the island in front of us, pressing one into my hand without asking.
His fingers graze mine briefly, and I realize the only one being crowded here is me.
Worst yet, I’m not mad about it. Lifting the cup, I take a sip, then another.
The burn is smoother now, dulled by whatever I already have coursing through my system.
“Huh,” Reid grunts in my ear. “You do know how to have fun.”
I glance over my shoulder at him, catching the faint curve of amusement at the corner of his mouth.
Nevertheless, I narrow my eyes and down the rest of the drink, accepting the challenge he barely had to offer.
The rumble of a chuckle rolls through my back as Reid also downs his drink, and reaches for another.
I do the same, pausing only to wriggle out of my jacket.
Amongst the motion, Reid’s hand nudges higher, gliding over my stomach to slip beneath the hem of the tank top. And so our new game begins.
I drink, his smile grows, his hand skates across my skin.
I don’t remember how the cup in my hand becomes a bottle, or at what point we started swaying to the music.
Each time Reid leans over me, his crotch grinds firmly against my ass and I start to push back harder.
Music bleeds through the walls, a remix of ‘Pink Pony Club’ forming in my ears.
“I love this song,” I murmur to myself, dropping my head back against a steady shoulder. The lyrics tumble from my mouth, my hips rolling in light circles. Fingers brush my bralette, the calming presence at my back keeping me upright. He is calming, like a sedative seeping into my system.