Chapter 35 #2
Kami’s lips press together into a flat line. “You stood up onstage for eight performances, singing and acting in front of over two hundred people every night, and now you’re telling me you can’t dance on a table in front of half of that number of strangers?” She lifts a brow.
Well, when she puts it like that.
“Screw it, why not?”
“Yes!” I hear Jenn yell. “Fucking finally.”
Jenn is so far gone and hasn’t yet noticed how much I’ve changed in the last couple of months.
She barely tried to convince me to dance with her earlier, probably assuming I could never be swayed.
She looks shocked and excited, making me laugh.
Jenn is getting to know new sides of me that only Levi and this group have been able to bring out.
Swiveling my head to Levi, who’s looking straight at me, I see him smirk. Good luck, he mouths.
Narrowing my eyes, I stick my tongue out before Kami helps me get on the table. Once I’m up there, I move my feet the tiniest bit and feel that it’s surprisingly steadier than I imagined. Then again, the table is nailed to the floor.
“How do I do this?” I motion to my body, begging for some help. Starting is always the most challenging part.
Thankfully, Kamila is wearing her high-heeled boots and almost matches my height.
She grabs my hips and presses our bodies close together.
“Loosen up and let my hands guide you.” I do as she says, and at first, it’s awkward.
I’m keenly aware of everyone staring at me.
“Close your eyes,” she yells over the music.
Nodding, I follow her instructions. “Now let the music take you. Think of it as playing the piano, only your body is the instrument.”
At her reference, I smile and let go. At one point, I feel myself throwing my head back, putting my fingers through my hair and my arms in the air.
I’m completely lost in the rhythm when a cheer knocks me out of my trance.
Fluttering my eyes open, Kamila and I are now facing away from each other.
Searching for the source of the former cheer, I find Jake rubbing the back of his head next to an angry-looking Levi.
The glare he’s giving him is kind of terrifying, yet a turn-on.
Stifling my laugh at poor Jake’s attempt at cheering me on, my gaze locks with Levi’s, and the shift in the air is immediate. “2 On” by Tinashe plays, and the smooth, soft beat causes the hips I’ve been training like I wanted to this semester to move in tune with the beat.
Levi remains standing where he is, a couple of feet away, leaning against the wall that’s next to the booth, his body stiff. His dark blue eyes roam my torso, which my hands have begun roaming down, then my hips, where Kami directs both of us to roll down and back up.
His breaths are heavy, jaw tight, and his hands are balled into fists. One hundred people in the place, and the tension still manages to be just as strong as when we’re alone.
All doubt about my dance moves has vanished. I’m not an expert, and I know I can’t move as well as Kami or Luna, but something about him makes me bolder, like a cold, stiff drink.
He’s my tequila shot. One taste, and I’m ready to do anything, anywhere.
As soon as the song ends, EDM begins to play, and all four girls groan—the spell broken.
Cameron carries Kamila off the table, and I look down, trying to do the same myself when hands wrap right under my ass, bringing me to the ground.
Those same muscular arms drag my body down to meet an equally muscular chest, until my breasts are pressed against his pecs.
Levi’s penetrating gaze is enough to make me melt into his touch and open my mouth the second his lips envelop mine. The kiss is intense. I can feel his erection against my stomach, and as much as I want him, it is neither the time nor the place.
He pulls my head back. “You’re putting on that same performance just for me tomorrow night.
” My eyes widen, and he tugs my hair a little harder, making me wince.
Our current position makes it look as if we’re in a passionate embrace, but the jealousy in his eyes says the opposite.
“You should’ve seen all the guys and girls looking at you. ”
“They could’ve been looking at any of us—”
He cuts me off with another tug. “No, they were looking at you. The moment you closed your eyes, you became someone else, and everyone finally saw what I see every day. Something beautiful and mesmerizing.” Even with his aggressive and angry tone, the words hit me straight in the dang heart.
“You’re mine,” he states, but it sounds like a statement and a question. He needs reassurance.
I caress his lips with mine. “I’m yours.” His body relaxes slightly, and he kisses me lightly this time. “Jealousy looks good on you,” I giggle.
Levi chuckles. “Careful, Bambi. That wasn’t even close to how possessive I am of you.”
Grinning, I turn when a hand lands on my shoulder. Em and Jenn stand there with bored expressions. “We’re getting a drink, and Kami has a new mocktail she keeps telling me you need to try. Wanna come?” Em drags out, looking mighty tipsy.
It would be nice to drink something besides water, and my parents gave me some extra cash for tonight.
I shrug. “Sure, why not?” Meeting Levi’s dark blue eyes again, I press my lips on his, opening my mouth for a second.
A tiny moan slips out, only loud enough for him to hear.
His hands bunch on my shirt when he swallows the sound with his hungry lips.
I stop kissing him, and say, “I’ll be right back. ”
He lets out a frustrated groan. “Hurry.” He turns me around and squeezes my ass as I move with the girls.
“You guys are hornier than Kami and Cam, and I didn’t think that was possible.” Em pulls her hair up into a high pony with a hair tie she’s been wearing on her wrist.
Jenn scoffs. “I never thought of you as a sex fiend, S.”
I shove her shoulder playfully and do not bother arguing since Levi has turned me into somewhat of a fiend.
Then we push through the massive crowd of people in front of the bar and order our drinks.
Mine is something fizzy and yellow, according to the girl next to Jenn in a hoodie who ordered the same one a minute after I did.
Who comes to the club in a hoodie?
Out of nowhere, some guy bumps into me, spilling half a cup of beer onto my arm. He apologizes, his eyelids half open.
“It’s fine.” It sucks to smell like booze, but we are at a bar full of college students getting ready for their last night of partying before finals.
I reach over to my left and grab a napkin to dab some of the beer from my skin, when someone’s voice booms from my right.
“Stevie, you’ve gotta help me.”
Pivoting to the direction of the voice, I find that Brad has pushed Jenn and Em down the bar to be next to me. He looks absolutely miserable and incredibly sweaty. I bite my cheek, holding in my laugh. “What is it now?”
He points in the direction of the group.
“She’s making this impossible. We’ve been close to kissing each other three times tonight, and she pulls away every time.
I can’t fucking take it.” I try, I do, but I can’t help the snort that slips out.
“Stevie, you set me up with her. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be in this mess. ”
Clutching my stomach, I hold on to the bar and practically howl.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” I wipe the small tears that have collected under my eyes and take a deep breath.
“Tell her the truth, Brad.” I grab his shoulder.
“Take her outside and talk to her. Luna is more of a no-bullshit kind of person. Tell her everything you’re feeling, even if it sounds crazy.
Which it does.” I emphasize the last three words.
He nods. “Okay, no more bullshit. I’m going to take her outside and demand that she be with me.”
“No, no, that’s not…” And he’s gone. Blowing out a breath and sending a prayer to my friend who is most definitely going to get slapped tonight, I grab the yellow fizzy drink that’s in front of Em and Jenn.
We walk back to our seats, and I’ve downed a quarter of the drink by the time we get to the table.
It’s the best mocktail I’ve had since I’ve gotten here.
“Like it?” Kami asks, taking a break from dancing with Cameron.
Bringing the drink to my lips, I nod while sipping. “It tastes incredible. What’s in it?”
She waves a hand around. “The older bartender who works here in the day, Abe, makes all of his syrups for the bar. That one has passionfruit and something else he won’t tell me about.”
Feeling an odd taste in my mouth after the next sip, I examine the drink. “It’s a bit bitter.”
Kami’s eyebrows draw together. “Really? It shouldn’t be.”
Jenn halts her conversation with Em. “You okay, S?”
The bitter taste lingers, and I turn my panicked eyes to Jenn. “Did they put any alcohol in this?”
Emma sobers up completely. “No, none.”
“I made your condition crystal clear,” Jenn adds.
Nodding, I feel the bitter taste subside and let out a breath, feeling relieved. “Sorry, I worried for no—” A wave of nausea hits me, and the room spins. Hands steady me, and my heart rate picks up.
No. No, no, no. Not again. Not after so long.
My legs turn into jelly, and I land in someone’s arms. They treat me so gently, but it doesn’t matter if they’re gentle or not, what’s about to happen isn’t gentle at all. And then the tingling sensation starts.
There’s yelling around me. Some voices are deep, while others are light. I hear the mention of 911.
It’ll take the ambulance minutes to arrive, and I know I only have a couple of seconds.
My eyes are still open, my voice as paralyzed as it was last time.
My legs begin to shake, the movement making its way up, and Levi’s panicked face looms over me.
He hurries to turn me onto my side. The static in my body, the one that I’ve only ever felt once before, makes its way up to my hand and arm, before reaching my neck.
“I’m right here, Stevie,” I hear Levi say into my hair. The feeling reaches my head, and everything fades to black.