I was somewhat tipsy by the time we arrived at the club. It hadn’t looked like a massive venue from the outside, but there was a long line snaking around the block to get in. Thanks to Sawyer, we somehow managed to skip the line and were shown straight inside to the VIP section.
I’d never been to a nightclub before, but I was fairly certain they were supposed to check your ID at the front entrance. Apparently, Sawyer knew the owner, and it wasn’t an issue because not one of us was questioned about our age.
The club was loud with a pumping dance floor and dark lighting that flickered and flared around the room. Within minutes of arriving, I decided nightclubs weren’t for me. I could barely hear myself think, let alone actually hear what people were saying. We all had to shout at each other to be heard, and I was worried we’d all lose our voices by the end of the night.
I put aside my initial distaste for the place. I was on a mission tonight to have fun and forget Noah.
“This place is great,” Anna said, grinning as she looked out over the dance floor. We were sitting in a booth high up on a balcony overlooking the whole club. Our area was cordoned off with its own bar and a server who brought us drinks.
“I told you it would be good,” Sawyer said. “It only opened a few weeks ago, but it’s supposed to be the best place in town. Everyone comes here.” He and Wes must have shaken hands with half a dozen people on the way up to our booth. It was crazy to think they recognized one person here, let alone several, but I was guessing their New York friends all went to the same places.
“We should go dance.” Anna was almost dancing in her seat as she suggested it. It felt like we’d only just arrived. Our drinks had barely touched down on the table, but Anna had already knocked hers back. I had no idea how anyone ever kept up with her.
“I think I need to finish my drink first,” I said.
“Me too,” Wes agreed, sharing a smile with me. He hated dancing about as much as I did, so I knew he was eager to avoid it too.
“Fine, but you guys better come join us after a few songs, or I’ll come back and force you downstairs,” Anna warned. There was a glint of steel in her eyes, and I knew she was being deadly serious.
“Okay, okay, we’ll be down in a few songs,” I assured her.
“Good.” She grinned before dragging Cress and Sawyer down to the dance floor.
I slouched in my seat, somewhat relieved as they disappeared.
“Not in the mood for dancing?” Wes asked.
“It looks pretty crazy down there.”
“Yeah, these places aren’t really my scene either.” He took a sip of his whisky, and I tried not to focus on his lips. It was probably just the alcohol in me, but Wes looked damn hot tonight. He was wearing a dark button-down shirt and dress slacks. He was also sitting very close to me. He must have shifted when the others left because I could have sworn our knees weren’t brushing when we first sat down.
It was starting to feel really warm in the club, and I had a feeling Wes’s proximity was the cause of all that heat. I’d never really thought of Wes as more than a friend, but since Anna and Cress had put the idea in my mind, I couldn’t seem to look at him in the same way.
I was surprised by just how attracted to him I felt and how sitting so close made my skin tingle. A part of me wanted to get closer still, but another, saner, part of me wasn’t sure it was such a great idea.
I wanted to curse Anna and Cress for suggesting I get together with Wes earlier tonight. There was no way I’d be feeling this way if they hadn’t put these thoughts in my head. They’d continuously dropped hints about him liking me when we’d been getting ready, and they’d looked completely victorious when he’d arrived at the apartment tonight and told me I looked gorgeous.
Still, now that the thoughts were there, they were impossible to deny. I was attracted to Wes, but even just thinking that made me want to run away from him and the images that were popping into my head. I picked up my drink and finished it one go.
Wes chuckled as he watched me. “Thirsty?”
“I guess I was,” I agreed with an awkward smile. I could barely look Wes in the eyes. I was embarrassed by the thoughts about him filling my head, and I didn’t know how to deal with it. “We should probably go dance with the others.”
I hadn’t even lasted one song alone in the booth with Wes, but he didn’t complain as we started down to the dance floor. I wondered if he could sense how nervous I was? If he could tell my mind kept drifting back to his offer to kiss me in his room?
The girls jumped with excitement when we finally found them on the dance floor. “You actually came down!” Anna squealed while Cress grabbed my hand and started dancing with me. “I thought for sure we’d have to come up there and get you guys,” she shouted through the music.
I shrugged and gave her a smile. “I guess I finished my drink quicker than I thought I would.”
She didn’t seem totally convinced that was the only reason, and her gaze teetered between Wes and I. I refused to look at him. It felt like that would only feed her curiosity.
Song after song, we all danced together. The alcohol had loosened me up, so I was moving more than normal. I still had two left feet, so I probably looked like a total idiot, but I couldn’t deny it was fun jumping around the dance floor with my friends.
After a while, amid the throbbing crowd of people, I got separated from Sawyer and the girls, and I found myself standing in front of Wes. He gave me a timid smile and held out his hands toward me. I was wary of getting closer to Wes right now, especially given I’d been thinking about him in ways I probably shouldn’t. His smile was so genuine though, and there was a hint of hope in his eyes as I took his offered hand.
The music was still moving fast, but he held me close, and we slowly swayed together as though we were listening to a completely different tune. I suddenly couldn’t remember why I’d been so cautious. Dancing with him felt like the best decision I’d made all week.
I felt so safe being held by Wes, and his grasp on me was reassuring. I looked up and smiled at him when I realized neither of us had stepped on the other one’s feet so far.
“You’re not nearly as bad at dancing as I remember,” I said. I had to lift onto my toes and bring my mouth close to his ear so he could hear me over the music.
He lowered his head and leaned in close as he responded. “You too,” he said with a laugh. “It must be the alcohol.”
“Definitely. Although, I thought alcohol would make me a worse dancer.”
“Or perhaps it just gave you the confidence to unleash your inner ballerina.”
“Well, your inner ballerina is shining tonight too.”
“Thanks. I think…” His eyes were bright with amusement. I found it so hard to think straight when he looked at me that way. When he looked at me like I was the only person in the room.
“I never did ask; did you ever find a suitable rebound on Anna’s list?”
His question caught me off guard, and I swallowed. Why was he bringing up the list? And why now, when we were dancing so close to one another? When he had to bring his lips so close to my neck whenever he spoke? When I was already being tempted by so many dangerous thoughts about him?
Somehow, I managed to act unaffected, and I rolled my eyes. “I told you I wasn’t going to use the list. Besides, the options Anna suggested were terrible.”
“Who was on there?” Wes chuckled, but his serious eyes suggested he really wanted to know the answer.
“Practically half the senior class. She even annotated it to tell me which guys she’d kissed herself and how good they were. I think she thought she was doing me a favor.”
“She is committed. I’ll give her that.”
I tilted my head as I stared at him. “Why are you asking about the list?”
His eyes practically glittered as he looked over me, and his gaze tugged on something deep in my gut. “I just hope you know you deserve someone great. Not some random name off a list. Even though you could get any guy on that list without trying, especially looking like you do tonight.”
My heart stuttered. It wasn’t just the compliment that was making it hard to breathe. It was the way he was looking at me, like perhaps he’d been having dangerous thoughts tonight about me too.
“What about the guys that aren’t on the list?” The question was out of my mouth before I could consider it, and Wes’s hands tightened on my lower back in response.
He brought his lips in close to my ear. “The guys that aren’t on the list too.”
A thrill ran down my neck. I wasn’t sure what was happening between Wes and I, and I had no idea where it had come from. The only thing I knew was I liked it.
His eyes were heated as he pulled back to look at me. He definitely wasn’t looking at me like I was simply his friend, and this felt like more than a little harmless flirting. He started to speak, but then something behind me caught his attention, and his voice drifted off, his eyebrows pulling in a frown.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw he was watching a girl dancing behind me. The girl had waist-length black hair and was practically glued to the guy she was dancing with. When she started to kiss him, I felt Wes tense, and I spun back to face him.
“Who—” I cut myself off when I saw the total devastation in his eyes.
Wes started to back away before he turned and rushed off the dance floor. I quickly raced after him, having to push and shove past people as I tried to keep up. He didn’t return to the VIP section. Instead, he made his way to the front of the club. The cool night air hit me as I followed him outside. My ears were still ringing from the deep beat of the music, but the gentle sounds of traffic were a welcome relief.
Wes was already partway down the street, and I hurried after him, my heels echoing through the night air as they hit the concrete. “Wes?” I called out. “Wes, slow down.”
He didn’t seem to hear me. It wasn’t until I finally managed to grab hold of his arm that he stopped. He turned to me with agony thick in his eyes.
I sucked in a breath as I realized there was only one person who could have made him react that way. “That was Sarah back there, wasn’t it?”
He slowly nodded, his hands reaching up to grip his hair in frustration. “I thought she broke up with me because of the distance. I didn’t realize there was someone else…”
I hated seeing him this way. Wes was always so sweet and put together, but right now he was a total wreck. I didn’t blame him for feeling that way. I’d be the exact same if I were in his shoes.
“Are you sure it was her?” I asked. It had been dark in the club, and all I’d been able to see was the back of the girl’s head.
“It was her.”
I swallowed, trying to ignore the way his voice broke as he spoke. “Maybe it’s not as bad as you think,” I murmured. “Just because she kissed someone at a club doesn’t mean they’re serious. Maybe she’s like you and hurting too?”
He wiped a hand down his face as he groaned. “That doesn’t make it hurt any less.”
“I know.” I didn’t know what else to say to make him feel better.
I pulled him into a hug, and he grasped me back tightly like I was the only thing holding him together. I could hear his pain in his ragged breath. I could feel it in the way his muscles had seized up.
“I’m sorry, Wes. I’m so, so sorry,” I murmured as I held him.
He slowly pulled back to look me in the eyes. “I just want to forget,” he said. “I want to forget her, the pain, hell, I’d forget my own name right now if I could. I—”
I didn’t wait for him to continue. His every word was a bleeding wound, a deep gash in his chest that I needed to heal. There was only one way I thought I could help him in this moment, and I didn’t hesitate as I lifted myself against him and pressed my lips to his.
His breath caught in his throat, and he froze against me. I’d truly taken him by surprise, and his hesitation had me worried I’d made a terrible mistake. It only lasted a moment because suddenly he was pulling me closer. His arms wrapped around me, and his lips moved hungrily against mine.
We might have been standing on a New York sidewalk in the middle of the night, but I lost all sense of the outside world as Wes started kissing me like I was the very oxygen he needed to breathe.
He was the air for me too, and it felt like he was saving me just as much as I was saving him. For the first time in weeks, I felt something other than pain and uncertainty. I felt the blissful ecstasy of a mind clear from churning thoughts.
I was probably going to regret this come morning. But that didn’t matter right now. Wes was a really good kisser, and all I could wonder was why I hadn’t done this before. Kissing him was like taking a painkiller for a headache, and I was an idiot for enduring the constant dull ache inside of me when there was such a simple and easy fix.
When we finally broke apart, I was nervous to look at him. I wasn’t sure how he was going to react, but when I glanced up at him, I was relieved to find he was no longer staring back at me with the same hurt-filled eyes. Instead, he was looking at me in wonder, like he was seeing something amazing for the very first time.
“You kissed me.” He finally broke the silence.
“You kissed me back.”
He slowly smiled. “Yeah, I did.”
He seemed happy, but I wasn’t exactly sure what he was thinking. I was still clutching his shirt, and I dropped my hands to my sides. Wes didn’t let my hands get far before he caught them up in his own.
“I’m glad you kissed me.”
“You are?”
“I’ve been thinking about it all night,” he admitted. “I know I was upset about Sarah, but just so you know, I wanted to kiss you before you jumped on me.”
“I didn’t jump on you.” I blushed
“I didn’t say it was a bad thing. In fact, I think I needed it to snap out of my meltdown.”
“There were probably other ways.”
“Probably,” he smiled. “But none I would have liked as much as that. It worked like a charm. Your kisses are kind of magical…” His gaze dipped to my lips, and my heart leaped as I wondered if he was about to kiss me again. I didn’t get a chance to find out because his phone started ringing.
I deflated a little as he glanced away, but it was probably for the best. Wes’s lips had been kind of magical too, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to fall under his spell.
“Sawyer, this better be good,” Wes said as he answered the phone. He waited a beat as his brother responded before he spoke again. “Yeah, I saw her too. I’m outside the entrance to the club with Isobel. I don’t know if we’re going to go back in.”
I really hoped we weren’t. I didn’t think it would do Wes any good to see his ex again, and one night of club dancing was enough to last me a lifetime.
Wes hung up the phone and focused on me once more. “The others are going to come meet us outside. Sawyer said Anna’s had a few too many drinks and we should probably get her home anyway.”
“Yeah, it feels like time to call it a night,” I agreed.
Wes’s eyes flicked down to my lips, and my stomach clenched as I pictured kissing him one more time. The last thing I needed right now was for our friends to walk out and find us making out, so I took a step back to remove the temptation. It was the right decision because the others soon joined us.
“You okay, man?” Sawyer asked, clasping Wes on the arm as he came up behind us with Cress and Anna.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Wes said, still smirking at me.
Sawyer frowned in my direction and then looked back at his brother. “I thought you’d be a mess after seeing Sarah.”
Wes shrugged. “It was a shock when I first saw her, but I’m feeling better about it now.”
“Good, because you deserve so much better than her,” Anna said, shaking her head. She didn’t seem as drunk as Wes had suggested. “Have you guys been out here long?”
“Long enough that it’s starting to get cold,” I responded. It wasn’t that bad, but I was eager to leave. I didn’t want the others beginning to wonder why Wes was miraculously doing so well after seeing his ex kissing someone. And he kept looking at me with that amused look on his face, which wasn’t helping.
“I’ve ordered an Uber,” Cress said. “It should be here any minute.”
“I’ll order one for us too,” Sawyer said to his brother.
The girls and Sawyer chattered away as we waited, but Wes and I were both silent. I wondered if he was thinking about our kiss just as much as I was. Given the smiles he kept sending me, he must have been. And he wasn’t even being slightly subtle about it.
When our car arrived, Cress and Anna moved quickly toward it. I glanced over my shoulder as I slid into the car after them. Wes was still smiling at me, and I mouthed at him to stop, but that only made his grin wider. It wasn’t until I got home and checked my phone that I saw he’d sent me a text message too.
Wes: Thanks for a magical evening.
I shook my head and stuffed my phone under my pillow. Our kiss was a spontaneous, one-time thing, and nothing more.
Still, I couldn’t seem to wipe the smile off my lips as I drifted off to sleep.
