Chapter 8 #2
My heart pounds in my chest. Somewhere in the very back of my mind, I'm aware that I'm doing a potentially very dumb thing.
Kissing Rhett when I know it won't go anywhere beyond tonight. Still, I can see why he leaves a path of crying girls behind him. He kisses like a champ. He’s sweet and tender and hard and demanding all at once, and my head is spinning.
He lifts me up and sets me on the vanity, then pushes between my legs. His fingers thread through my hair, and he tugs gently, exposing my neck. His nose grazes down the curve of my neck, and his mouth nips and kisses along the way.
My legs tremble as he moves those big hands of his to my legs. They inch up my bare skin and slide under the hem of my dress that’s now hitched up very high on my thighs. My core aches, and I will him to move his fingers just a little higher.
His chest presses against mine, and I remember that I have a half-naked man in front of me. A half-naked man with a body built to make good girls want bad things. I slide my palms over his pecs and down his sides. My exploration encourages him, and one long finger finally touches my soaked panties.
“It’s the beer,” I say. It isn’t, or at least not entirely.
We both groan as he circles my clit through the silky material.
I'm ready to let him fuck me here. Correction, I'm ready to beg him to fuck me here. And I’m not even the drunk one.
A knock at the door pulls us from the moment, reminding us there’s a line of people waiting to get in here.
“We should probably go,” I say, even as I spread my legs farther apart.
He pulls back, smug grin firmly in place, hand still rubbing me gently. “They can wait.”
Unfortunately, they don’t. The door opens, and the girl that asked if we needed company, walks in. She studies us for a beat before declaring, “Don’t mind me. I just need to pee.”
Rhett straightens, removes his hands from under my dress, and pulls the hem down to cover me.
“Ready, angel?” His voice is gruff with want, and no, I’m absolutely not ready.
He takes my hand and keeps me close as we exit the bathroom and head back outside. The cool night air hits me, and I take deep, steadying breaths.
Holy crap. I almost had sex with Rhett in the bathroom with a line of people outside. If I’m completely honest, I almost had sex with Rhett in the bathroom while a girl peed on the toilet. I’m not proud.
A group of hockey guys stands just outside of the doorway, girls intermixed with them. One of the guys, Jordan, I think, calls to Rhett, and we join the circle.
“Heard you were having a good time,” the guy says, his gaze bouncing between Rhett and me. “Now I know why.” He tips his head to me. “Jordan, we sorta met at the rink.”
“Sienna,” I say. “I remember you.”
“That’s Liam, Heath, Ginny, Dakota, Reagan, and you already met Adam,” Rhett calls them out, pointing as he goes. I look at each and smile, offer a small wave.
“Did you and Maverick lose your shirts at the same time?” Adam grins as he tips back the beer in his hand.
“I spilled my beer on her.”
I’d forgotten how drunk he is until he tries to wrap an arm around my waist and sways, which means we sway. I'm perfectly sober, but my legs are still shaking from what went down in the bathroom.
“Easy there,” Adam says. “Let’s not give her another black eye.”
Rhett flips him off.
“Speaking of catastrophes, I’m still soaked. I should find Josie and see if she’s ready to go.”
His gaze trails down my body, and I’m pretty sure he’s thinking about my panties. My body warms, cheeks flame.
“She’s on the dance floor with Maverick,” Adam says.
“Thanks.” I wave again. “It was nice to meet you guys.” Looking to Rhett, I say, “See ya later.”
“Wait, you’re really leaving?”
“Yeah, I’m wet and sticky, and I have to teach two fitness classes tomorrow morning anyway.”
“Yeah, okay.” His brows knit in confusion. “At least let me come with you to make sure you find Josie.”
I nod, and we start across the lawn.
“We have the semifinals Monday night, so we’re keeping it low-key the rest of the weekend, but can we hang again?”
“Uhh...” I decide to go with honesty since it’s unlikely he’ll remember asking me tomorrow anyway.
“I don't usually do that type of thing, and I'm not judging you, or even me, casual hookups can be fun. I mean, that was fun. Really fun.” I’m blathering on and talking in circles, and not really saying what I mean which is that I like him and hooking up will end with me getting hurt. “You’re really drunk.”
“Fair, but I wasn’t drunk when I asked you to come tonight.”
“This was a mistake. We both have a lot going on.” I’m bullshitting. We both know it. Elias would call me out on it, but Rhett doesn’t.
We reach the dance floor, and I spot Josie dancing with a group of girls, Maverick in the center of them. Josie sees us and waves.
The sight of Maverick without his shirt reminds me that I still have Rhett’s.
“Oh, here.” I start to take it off, but he stops me.
“Keep it. I’m going to head out soon too. Drinking makes me tired.”
“So I've heard.” I take a step toward Josie, half hoping he’ll stop me. He doesn’t. “Later, Rauthruss.”
The next day, I’m finishing up with my second barre class when Rhett appears in the hallway. He slips in as my students gather their things.
“Hey.” Hands in pockets, he approaches me at the front of the room.
“You found me.” I’m a little impressed he a) remembered I said I was teaching this morning and b) is awake this early.
“I looked at the group fitness schedule before I went to bed last night and set an alarm.”
“Impressive.”
He grins. “A first for everything. I didn’t ruin your dress last night, did I?”
“No, it’s fine. Your shirt is at my dorm. I’ll bring it to the rink.”
“Or you could bring it to my place later?”
I laugh. “Presumptuous much?”
“Not like that. To hang, watch TV, play Xbox or... whatever. I’d suggest something more exciting, but we have curfew at nine.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah, Coach is pulling out all the stops to keep us distraction-free.”
“And you thought inviting a girl over was the answer?”
“I’ll be distracted by you either way.”
My stomach flips. This freaking guy.
“What time?” I ask. I was prepared to say yes as soon as he asked—actually, as soon as I woke up this morning and wished I’d stayed at the party longer—but sober and charming Rhett is almost as impossible to resist as half-naked Rhett.
“Six.” He hands me a piece of paper with the address and backs away. “And for the record, I don’t usually do that type of thing either.”