1 - Avery #2
Instead, at midnight, I’ll be safely tucked into a bathroom stall, locked away where no desperate man’s lips can find me.
“Who are you looking for?” Grayson asks, noticing me glancing around the bar for an excuse to escape.
“Probably trying to find the man she conned into buying her that drink. Maybe she’ll get a second one out of him.” Liam smirks.
I glare at them both. “Better him than the guy who tried to buy me the one before that.”
“Why’s that?” Grayson takes a pull from his beer.
“Because that guy opened with a magic trick.” I snort, remembering how awful it was.
“A magic trick?” Liam sits up, fully invested.
I nod. “With a coin.”
“What’d he do? Try to pull it out of your shirt?” The fact that Liam is one hundred percent serious with that guess says everything about how his mind works.
I slap his arm. “Fuck no, that would be too creepy for anyone.”
Liam smiles widely. “I bet it would work for me.”
For once, Grayson and I agree, both shaking our heads in disappointment.
“He made it disappear,” I finally say, shrugging, because after Liam’s guess, it sounds pretty boring.
“And?” Grayson asks.
“I told him it was impressive and suggested he try the same thing with himself.”
Liam howls with laughter, while Grayson watches me carefully.
His gaze feels a lot like judgment weighing on my skin. Good. Maybe if he thinks I’m awful, he’ll finally leave me alone.
A girl ducks under the rail, sliding in next to Liam and wrapping an arm around him as if they go way back and she’s not just a fan hoping for his tongue down her throat.
Liam, being Liam, smirks and lets her hang off of him.
Now. Now I need to go.
Just as I’m about to stand, the DJ pauses the music, announcing that it’s one minute to midnight. The crowd turns frantic, everyone trying to make it back to the person they want to ring in the New Year with.
Fuck.
There is no way I can make it to the bathroom. I look around, and everyone is paired off. Even Liam is giving the brunette next to him his full attention. Everyone has someone to celebrate with.
I look to my left.
No.
Absolutely not.
Grayson’s lips tilt up in a smirk, his eyes glinting with a curiosity that has my skin heating.
There is no way in hell that I’m kissing Grayson fucking Shaw at midnight.
I go to stand, but his hand lands on my arm. It’s gentle, but I shrug it off anyway.
“Wait,” he starts, but his words are drowned out by the yelling as everyone starts counting down from ten.
I try to watch his lips to see what he’s saying, but all I can think while I look at them is what they’d feel like against my own.
Am I about to find out?
No. No, I am not.
When the countdown hits five, I sit back down, knowing there is literally nowhere for me to run to.
My palms start sweating, and I rub them against my thighs, noticing for the first time how close Grayson is to me in his stupid fitted jeans, watching me with his stupid blue eyes.
When the countdown hits two, I’m in full panic mode. My hand shoots out, grabbing Liam’s arm and pulling him away from the girl whose name I’m confident he still doesn’t know.
“What are you—” Liam doesn’t get another word out.
As the clock hits twelve, I press my lips to his with all the confidence I can muster.
Luckily for me, Liam doesn’t seem to mind.
He opens his mouth and kisses me back. I close my eyes, leaning into it, trying to ignore the fact that Grayson is probably shooting daggers at me, the brunette is probably plotting my death, and Liam is probably getting all sorts of ideas that will never happen.
Don’t get me wrong. The kiss is great. It’s so great that I let it linger, even after the cheering stops. But there’s no heat to it. There’s no mind-numbing, skin-tingling, life-changing fireworks. It’s just a great kiss.
Finally, I pull away, breaking the contact.
Liam’s grin is as wide as possible. “Damn Aves, I might just get all the hype around you.”
“You’re not so bad either, lover boy,” I tease.
He laughs, but it’s all playful in his eyes. I exhale a sigh of relief, realizing he felt nothing, too. At least I won’t have to figure out how to refriend-zone him.
“Soul sisters,” he says, holding his empty cup out toward me.
I laugh. “Soul sisters.” I pick mine up too and tap it against his.
When I turn back, I find Grayson watching me, one eyebrow quirked as if I’m a puzzle he’s still trying to figure out.
I scan his face, trying to find an ounce of hurt or disappointment, finding only his controlled calm instead.
I’m still not buying it.
“You hate me that much, huh?” He asks.
It’s a loaded question. Acknowledging it means admitting I only kissed Liam to avoid kissing him. Which is true, but not something I plan to admit. Especially because using the words kissing and Grayson in the same sentence makes me want to kill off whatever brain cells are curious about it.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, standing up now that the crowd has started to disperse. I turn toward Liam. “Thanks for the kiss.”
He doesn’t hear me, already back in a very close conversation with the brunette at his other side.
I silently curse him for not being the buffer he always is between Grayson and me.
Finally, I turn back toward Grayson, giving him a quick wave. “Bye, Grayson.”
“See you around, Chaos.” Grayson waves right back.
I feel his eyes on me long after I’ve walked away.