“Let’s do the rounds and see who’s here. Then we can dance!” Alexis shouts excitedly over the music, full of energy and ready to let loose.
After receiving nods of agreement from the other girls, she turns on her heel and heads back towards the front of the house. We do a loop around the five - yes FIVE - sitting rooms, all of which are crammed full of people dancing, lounging on the chairs, chatting, and making out. I’m pretty sure I even see a few couples flat out having sex against the furniture and walls as we walk past. Some people have no self-respect, or common decency - who wants to see that shit?!
One of the sitting rooms is taken up by the one-percenters and their entourage. Preston and Barrett are sitting side by side on a sofa, each with a fancy looking bottle of bourbon. They are deep in conversation, ignoring everyone else in the room, even while Meaghan tries to get Preston’s attention by stroking her hand over the front of his shirt and down over his crotch.
Quickly looking away, I notice Kurt sitting on another sofa with his head tilted back, staring at the roof while a girl sucks his cock - classy stuff.
Cece and Lizzie are dancing drunkenly in the corner of the room with two guys who share a smirk, knowing they are getting lucky tonight.
Ducking my head, I hurry through the room, but not before Preston turns to look in my direction, as if he could feel my presence. He follows my path through the crowd, glaring at me the whole time, until I’m out of his line of sight and I finally feel like I can breathe again.
We soon circle back to the main living room that has the DJ and a makeshift dance floor set up. Alexis tells us to down our drinks and drags us onto the dance floor. I’m really not a dancer and I haven’t had nearly enough alcohol to lose myself in the music, but the girls don’t seem to notice or care, and soon we are all dancing and laughing along to the hip hop songs playing.
After a few dances, guys start to emerge out of the crowd and dance with the other girls, and soon it's just me dancing by myself. I decide, instead, to take a break and get some fresh air, but as I make my way towards the edge of the dance floor, hands go around my waist, pulling me back into the crowd. Turning around to tell whoever is manhandling me to get lost, I look up into a handsome face that I vaguely recognise from school.
Obviously seeing the pissed-off look on my face, the guy quickly retracts his hands and holds them up in surrender.
“Sorry. I was just coming over to see if you wanted to dance when you made a break for the exit. I wanted to catch you before I lost you in the crowd,” he explains sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Oh,” I respond stupidly not knowing what else to say.
“Uh, so do you wanna dance?” He asks awkwardly.
I’ve never been asked to dance before, and the guy is cute. He doesn’t make my heart race or make me clench my thighs like Barrett or Preston, but equally, he doesn’t seem like a douche, so that’s a win for him.
“Yeah, I’d love to,” I respond with a reassuring smile, figuring there’s no harm. Things haven’t been easy for me recently, I definitely deserve to relax and have a little fun.
He gives me a boy-next door smile showing his perfectly straight white teeth and takes hold of my hand, drawing me closer to him. He doesn’t let any other part of us touch as we start to dance together, but as one song bleeds into another he gets closer and closer until our bodies are sliding up against each other and his hands roam over my hips and side and along my back. His thigh slips between mine until I’m basically grinding on him. I still don’t feel that spark, but I can definitely feel the adrenaline and music flowing through me, egging me on.
He leans down to kiss the side of my neck and my head tilts back, giving him more room. My eyes are closed but I suddenly get the feeling that I’m being watched. Opening my eyes, they connect immediately with Barrett, across the room, who is leaning casually against the wall with a plastic cup in his hands and staring intently at me. No, not just at me, at what I’m doing with the stranger wrapped around me. His jaw is clenched tight and he looks pissed off, but I’m not sure what he’s annoyed about. His eyes are burning bright as they take me in, devouring me.
I suddenly feel claustrophobic and overwhelmed, with all the sweaty bodies around me and the pounding music thumping through me, and I just need to get out of here. Pushing the guy off me, I mutter an apology and some excuse about needing fresh air, making a dash for the closest exit. I keep my head down as I head back towards the kitchen and out the door, into the cool October night.
Thankfully, no one else seems to be out here, and I make my way around the side of the house, where there is a deck overlooking the manicured gardens. With no lights shining from this side of the house, I can see the millions of stars in the sky above me. It's truly beautiful out here.
Leaning against the railing on the deck, I take a few deep, steadying breaths and wonder if I could get away with sitting out here the rest of the night. It’s quiet and peaceful, no strangers to lose myself in. No Barrett staring at me with heat and fire and lust in his eyes. No Preston glaring at me like he wants the doorway to hell to open up and swallow me whole.
Unfortunately, I only get a few minutes of peace to myself before I hear the kitchen door open and close, footsteps heading my way. I’m not surprised when Barrett rounds the corner, his features lit up by the moon hanging overhead.
“What are you doing here?” He asks, but not as though he’s asking how I have the audacity to attend a one-percenter party. More like, he’s concerned for me. That can’t be right though, why would Barrett have any concern for me?
“It’s a party. I was invited.” I reply bluntly. I don’t owe him any explanation for my actions.
Stepping closer to me so we are toe to toe, our chests scraping against each other when we breathe in, his eyes are boring into me when he asks, “What were you doing with Neill?”
“Neill?” I query, assuming he must be talking about the guy I was dancing with.
“The guy you were just rubbing yourself all over like a dog in heat,” he snaps out, his control slipping, showing me how frustrated he is.
I just shrug. It's none of his business what I was doing with Neill or any other guy. If he didn’t want to see it then he shouldn’t have watched.
Moving in even closer, Barrett places his hands on the railing, on either side of my hips, and leans his head in so his lips graze over the base of my neck. I feel him take a deep breath as though he is breathing me in. My own breaths are shallow and I’m surrounded by his sea air scent.
“You looked hot as fuck out there, grinding on him,” he growls out, looking at me with fuck-me eyes. “I wanted to snap his scrawny little neck for touching you like that…For touching you how I want to touch you.”
“You can touch me now,” I breathe, feeling this desperate need building. It takes me a second to realise I spoke those words out loud.
His hands tighten on the railing and his breath stutters while he tries to control himself. I lean into him so our bodies are flush together, rocking my hips against his hard length. I know I shouldn’t be encouraging this but I just can’t deny this tension between us. I felt it that first day he helped me with my locker and it’s been growing ever since. What happened in my bedroom has only enhanced my craving for him. He’s like a drug and my body can’t get enough.