Chapter Eighteen
Shae
THE GROUP SPILLED OUT of Marlow’s in a cloud of laughter and lingering buzz.
Shae’s cheeks ached from smiling, and her ears still rang from the shrill whine of microphone feedback, tangled with the off-key voices that blared through the speakers.
The city pulsed around them, streets alive with exhilaration and full of possibility.
A new bar, one with a dance floor, beckoned from down the street.
Natalie knew the bartender, which apparently equaled cheap, if not free, drinks.
Lennon had declared earlier that she needed to dance or she might combust, and no one questioned it because if Lennon said it, she meant it. Tonight, it was clear to everyone that Lennon would get what Lennon wanted.
“I’m a woman on a mission for fun.” She yelled into the night. Already dancing as they strolled down the street, making Brodie spin her and reinventing popular dance moves, making them classic Lennon-style.
“Let’s move! I need music in my bloodstream,” Seth shouted, marching toward the bass-heavy music that leaked out of the club doors—a steady vibration, felt more than heard.
Natalie pulled the door open, pausing long enough to snag Claire’s wrist as she passed.
“Your first dance is with me,” she murmured, voice full of sin and swagger.
Her fingers slid around Claire’s waist as though they belonged there, and Claire didn’t even pretend to resist. She leaned in, smiling like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Shae caught the moment, the expression on Claire’s face.
Her emotions teetered between relief and regret.
Claire deserved someone who looked at her like she was the whole damn constellation, not just a passing star.
Em was up ahead, her arm looped through Lennon’s, both of them unsteady on their feet like the ground had turned to sea beneath them.
Brodie sidled cautiously behind them, looking ready to spring to action should one of them stumble and hit the pavement.
“Careful, ladies,” he warned. “I don’t need any casualties on my watch. ”
Kira and Seth bounded through the door in a blur of limbs and noise.
Kira reached out and caught Shae’s hand as they passed, tugging her into the press of bodies on the dance floor.
Em and Lennon disappeared into the swirl with them, squeals of joy barely rising above the music.
Brodie stood like a bouncer, arms crossed, scanning the crowd.
Fully prepared to dive beneath any falling bodies.
Which, to be fair, did seem inevitable. Lennon danced up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, nuzzling her face into his chest, before fisting his shirt and dragging him forward onto the dance floor.
Em sidestepped, barely dodging Lennon’s leg as she kicked out a little too far, wrapping it around Brodie, flinging herself into a very handsy, full-bodied kiss.
“Well,” Em said. “That escalated quickly.”
Shae smiled. “It always does with them.”
Lennon gave Brodie a few pointers before she stepped back, took a running start, and jumped into his arms as he attempted to lift her over his head—like the final scene from Dirty Dancing.
“How many drinks did you guys have?” Shae asked, amused.
“I only had two… and a shot. No clue how many she’s had. Enough to put on a show, apparently.” Em giggled, watching Lennon make a fool of herself.
Shae searched the crowd, skimming over bobbing heads and dancing bodies until her eyes landed on Claire and Natalie tucked into a corner at the bar.
Claire was perched on a stool, leaning into Natalie’s orbit like gravity had shifted.
Natalie’s hand drifted along her thigh, and Claire appeared blissfully lost in the moment—like the rest of the room had faded away.
The way they locked eyes as if no one else existed… it settled deep in her core.
Her gaze shifted, unbidden. Drifting across Em’s face, sliding over her features.
Em’s lashes were so long, they curved into the top of her lids.
There was a tiny crinkle on her nose that showed when she smiled; it melted Shae.
And those dimples, ugh, those fucking dimples.
She wanted to grab Em, pull her close, and bring her perfect lips to hers.
Em’s eyes shifted to her, her voice hitching when she spoke. “You’re staring.”
“I’m aware,” Shae replied, refusing to look away. “I can’t help it.”
Em flushed, her laugh disappearing under the music.
“Stop.” She nudged Shae with her shoulder.
Shae couldn’t stop; there was precisely nothing left to hold her back.
She’d gotten in her own way long enough.
So long that it kept her from seeing what was always there.
Shae reached down and brushed her fingertips against the back of Em’s hand before bringing their hands together.
Em sucked in an uneven breath, her eyes dropping down to their interlocked fingers, then glanced back up at Shae beneath her lashes.
Before they could get any closer, Shae was jerked away.
Kira looped her arm under hers, guiding her back onto the dance floor.
Shae swiveled her head around, trying to look for Em, but she was no longer standing in the same spot.
Then she spotted her with Seth, who was twirling her on the dance floor just feet away.
“Ok, girl… I think it’s time, " Kira said, from behind Shae. She drew up her arms to use like she was a marionette. She danced her up to Em. Seth was behind Em, mirroring the same motions.
“May I have this dance?” Kira said, in her best Shae impression. She attempted to fold Shae into a bow while extending her arm out toward Em and Seth, offering her hand.
“Why yes, I would love that,” Seth said in his best falsetto, marching Em into Shae, extending her arms out wide open for her.
Em threw her head back laughing as the two danced the girls together, arms flailing about playfully.
“Ok, ok,” Shae said, pulling herself free and settling her hands carefully at Em’s waist.
“Well, that was interesting.” Shae chuckled.
“Quite,” Em’s smile softened. “Improvisational dancing seems to be the theme tonight.” Shae shifted her arm behind Em, drawing her closer, her hand gliding up the small of her back.
A soft burst of air escaped Em. “I’m not sure this is the proper style of dance for this song.”
Shae surveyed the crowd, everyone keeping up with the beat of the music while they fell behind, swaying slowly.
“I feel like we’re playing out a scene in a cheesy rom com,” Em continued, her teeth sinking gently into her bottom lip.
“That’s ok with me.” Shae’s eyes dipped to Em’s lips; never had she wanted to taste them so badly. “How about you?”
“Mmm hmm,” Em nodded, tucking her hand up behind Shae’s neck, her chin tipping upwards. Shae leaned in, closing the last fragile gap between them.
When her lips met Em’s, every unfinished moment between them ignited, every occasion before this one, kindling that fed their flame.
It was slow at first, careful. The faintest press of warmth lingering where their lips met.
Em’s lips were softer than Shae expected, and the contact sent a spark racing down Shae’s spine.
Then Em exhaled against her mouth, and Shae unraveled.
The kiss deepened, stealing the air between them.
The dizzying realization that this—this was what all those years of almosts had been leading to.
Her hand slid to Em’s jaw, keeping her close while her tongue grazed across hers. Em’s fingers curled around Shae’s shirt with a gentle, imploring pull that begged her closer.
The music slipped into the background, more like a song stuck in your head than one filling the room.
Her mouth continued to move against Ems, drawing in her breath, tasting the sharp burn of whiskey and orange that still lingered on her tongue.
Their kiss—wrapped in everything unsaid from all the nights that came before.
Shae drew back, searching Em’s eyes, and in the back of her mind, Shae thought, finally.
Em’s answering smile said the same without sound.