by Melanie Dawn
Just then an announcer came over the loudspeakers. “Welcome to the eighteenth annual dance-a-thon charity fundraiser. Thank you all for being here.”
The announcer’s interruption seemed to douse the heat of the moment with a cold bucket of ice water. Ryder’s eyes ripped away from mine and fixed themselves on the tall Theta Psi Chi who was the emcee for the event.
“We are about to get started…” the Theta’s voice continued, but I drowned out the yammering when Gia bounded toward me.
“Oh my god, Lexi,” she whispered harshly. “What’s he here for?”
I glared at her, pressing my lips together. “Me.” It was all I could think to say because it was the truth.
She just stared at me, wide-eyed with an incredulous gaze. But as the shock sunk in, a slow smile crept across her face.
“What?” I asked, suddenly aware of the spinning wheels in her head.
“I knew it,” she hissed, pointing her bony finger into my shoulder and shoving me toward him. “I just knew it!”
I rolled my eyes and grinned. “Shut up.”
Sashaying her hips and wiggling her shoulders as she backed away from me, she pointed an accusing finger at me. “Ryder and Lexi sittin’ in a tree…” she sang softly with that same damn I-told-you-so look on her face.
I ignored her childish singing and turned toward Ryder, who was still looking at the emcee. I took a moment to really look at him. His choppy haircut had been groomed and styled. He looked sharp in his red and navy plaid shirt that draped over his tight, gray T-shirt. Glancing down, I noticed that he’d ditched his usual Vans and had worn brown boots with his rolled up, dark-wash, skinny jeans that accentuated the one place I dared not even look.
I glanced back up at his face. The five o’clock shadow was evident on his sharp jawline. His eyes shone beneath his jutting brow. He was completely focused on the emcee… until he wasn’t anymore.
Suddenly, he was looking at me. My mind lost focus. I lost myself in the bright blue hue as he pinned me down with his stare. A shiver worked its way up my body, starting with my toes, and I caught myself trying to remember how to breathe.
The emcee once again interrupted the moment. “Are you ready to get this party started?” he bellowed.
A resounding “Yes!” from the crowd filled the air.
“Let’s do this!” the emcee shouted into the microphone just as the first few beats of the music pounded through the speakers.
Bodies around us began moving and shaking to the music, but Ryder stood perfectly still.
I leaned toward him, shouting over the loud music, “Are you sure you want to do this?”
Of course, he didn’t answer. I’m not even sure what I was expecting from him, but in one fell swoop, he reached out and pulled me toward him. An immediate flush of adrenaline tingled through my body. Locking his hips with mine, we began dipping and thrusting to the beat while I tried earnestly to ignore my hypersensitivity to every touch and texture of his body against mine.
I’D HAD NO intentions of coming to this damn dance-a-thon. That same afternoon, I’d brushed off her offer for me to join her. I’d walked back to my dorm, worked on a paper that was due in my sociology class, and headed out to grab some dinner. So, I don’t know how in the hell I’d found myself walking into the banquet hall of the dance-a-thon that night. Before I knew it, I was scanning the room, looking for that familiar brown, wavy hair and those beautiful blue eyes that haunted my thoughts. When I saw her bent over the registration table, talking to the debutante with the ultraviolet smile, I couldn’t will my feet to stop. The next thing I knew, I had a wristband on my arm and a beautiful girl thanking me for being here.
I don’t know what came over me. I didn’t need to be here. I didn’t need to be body to body with this girl who’d become the object of my desire as I took care of my needs in the shower. I just couldn’t help myself, and feeling her body rock against mine to the beat of the music had caused a war in my pants.
Stay down, I cursed myself. My dick pulsed in response. I pulled away slightly, but she leaned into me even more, grinding and dipping against me with every beat of the music. She seemed to be oblivious to my protruding bulge. Or maybe she was politely ignoring it, for my sake. The wild, jubilant smile on her face was evidence of the fun she was having, so I tried to pay no attention to my body’s natural response to her. And despite the curious eyes staring at us from around the room, I continued to dance with her.
After a while, my eager dick had long since given up and I was starting to relax. She was laughing, spinning, twisting and turning, enjoying herself immensely. I couldn’t help but smile at her as her blue eyes lit up with joy.
“Why, Ryder Hawkley, was that a real-life, genuine smile?” she said, exaggerating her sweet southern drawl on the word ‘genuine.’
I couldn’t help it. I smiled wider.
She clapped her hands. “Yes! Yes, I believe it is!”
Prior to that moment, memories of my sister had briefly fled my mind, but something about the way Alexis grinned and bounced on the balls of her feet brought me right back to the day Chloe dropped Peanut by my door and bounded down the hallway in search of her hiding spot.
My smile instantly faded. I felt myself shutting down, pulling away.
Alexis grasped my shoulders. “Hey now,” she said softly, as if she could read my mind. “None of that, okay? We’re here to raise money for charity. We’ve gotta get through this.” Her eyes were wide, begging me to stay.
And so I did.
I didn’t understand it, but I stayed.
For her.
FOR A SECOND, I thought I might lose my dance partner the instant his gaze clouded. His eyes darkened as he furrowed his eyebrows. He tried to pull away, but I clung to him, begging him to stay.
He frowned, turning away as if to gather his thoughts. Would he bolt? Would he leave me standing here all alone?
Swallowing hard, he scratched his temple and looked around as if he were looking for answers in the crowd. Then, glancing back at me he grimaced.
I took a step closer to him. “Please stay,” I urged him one last time, my eyes pleading with him.
He stared down at me. I felt small under the weight of his gaze. I lost myself in his eyes, waiting for him to make his decision.
He slowly reached out to me. It almost seemed as if he were going to shake my hand goodbye. Instead, he weaved his arm around my back. Cupping the small of my back in his strong hand, he gently pulled me toward him. Without another word, I allowed myself to be pulled into his space. Breathing him in, I curled my arms around him in response. He wrapped his arms around me, clutching me against him. I gently laid my head on his chest, feeling the rhythm of his heartbeat on my cheek. Sighing, I felt myself relax against him. Something felt so right about the warmth of his body and his hand clasping the back of my head against him.
“Thank you,” I whispered, although I’m sure he didn’t hear me, as he slowly rocked me back and forth to the slow song that had begun playing through the speakers.
I remained in his arms like that through four more songs, even though the tempo had sped up significantly. Bodies were bouncing and writhing around us while he held me close, swaying gently, despite the harsh thumping beat of the music.
It wasn’t until the thrashing music ended that I realized I was trembling against his chest. Pent up emotion filled my eyes in the form of tears. I sternly willed them away, blinking against his shirt. He must have felt me quivering against his body because he pulled away with a concerned expression on his face.
I swiped my eyes. “I’m sorry,” I said, flashing my best smile.
That didn’t convince him. He reached up to cup my cheeks in his hands, staring at me as if he could read me through my tears.
“Don’t get mad, okay?” I said.
He cocked his head a little, silently urging me to continue.
I worried he’d get angry and storm off, leaving me alone in the middle of the dance
floor, but I could tell he was insistent on an explanation. “It’s just… well, I know what happened to you. What you’ve been through. And I can’t help it. It breaks my heart.”
His eyes immediately fell, and he dropped his hands down by his sides. Taking a step back, he shook his head.
I stepped toward him, desperate for him to hear me out. “Ryder, please. Listen. It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong. Accidents happen.”
He looked toward the door as if he might high tail it out of there. He clenched his jaw, his temple twitching. His nostrils flared. He was breathing erratically and couldn’t even look at me.
“Look. I’m sure those are all things you’ve heard a thousand times before. None of it brings her back, right?”
The moment the words were out of my mouth, he snapped his gaze back toward me, a mixture of rage and disbelief on his face.
I cautiously reached up to him. Grasping the back of his neck, I pulled him toward me again. Despite his fury, he let himself get tugged into my space. His angry breath was hot on my face. His narrowed eyes bore holes into mine. And yet, there was something else—something indefinable.
I ran my fingers through the soft hair around his hairline. His breathing began to slow, and the muscles in his neck began losing tension. When his lips parted, I thought he might say something. Instead, he glanced down at my lips then back up again.
My mouth suddenly felt very dry, so I licked my lips. “To be here like this with you…” I moved closer to him, closing the gap between us. “To see the steps you’re taking for me… I just… I’m sorry… I just can’t help what I’m feeling. About you. For you. With you.” I held my breath for a second, partly thinking he’d fling me off of him and bolt for the door. But he didn’t.
Instead, he reached up and curled a strand of my hair around his index finger, gently tucking it behind my ear. I watched out of the corner of my eye, anticipating the moment his fingers would graze my skin. When his forefinger brushed against the edge of my ear lobe, I shivered beneath his touch. A flash of heat pulsed through my body, lighting my insides on fire. The hair on the back of my neck stood at attention. Every nerve ending on my skin ached to be touched by his gentle fingers. He must have noticed me quivering because his stormy, brooding eyes flicked toward the delicate skin of my neck, where I could feel my heartbeat pounding in the hollow crevice between my collarbones.
The way he looked at me, craving something and yet denying himself the pleasure, made me feel light-headed. Kiss me already, my mind demanded. He looked at me like he could do much more than kiss me. The quickening I felt down below was proof that I’d let him.
But he didn’t kiss me.
Instead, he threw a wet blanket on the fire of desire by pulling away. He shut me down with one last hard, angry gaze. Whirling around, he left me standing in the middle of the dance floor as he headed toward the concession stand. I watched him walk away, trying to tamp down my disappointment.
FRUSTRATED BEYOND BELIEF, I stuffed my hand in my pocket, trying to adjust the raging hard-on in my pants. It throbbed against my hand in retaliation. I casually walked toward the bathroom, trying to forget the way she looked at me with a hunger that reminded me of my own, the hunger I’d tried earnestly to beat down. But it was the kind of simmering need that boiled up from somewhere deep down. The kind of insatiable want that radiated through her clear, blue irises. The lust of desire that, with high hopes, caused me to feed coins into the machine that dropped a condom into the trough below. Tucking the packet into my back pocket, just in case, I headed out of the bathroom toward the concession stand.
I immediately reprimanded myself. What the hell are you thinking, Hawkley? This can’t happen. I had to put a lid on that simmering need and pull the shade on that insatiable want. I considered tossing the condom into the nearest garbage can just to prove myself a point. Instead, I gulped down a full glass of Coke, hoping the ice cold beverage would simmer me down a little. No such luck.
I glanced back toward Alexis, whom I’d left standing in the middle of the dance floor. By then, Gia had made her way to her. Dane stood behind Gia, arms wrapped firmly around her waist, swaying back and forth while Gia talked to Alexis, motioning wildly with her hands.
Alexis was nodding, then glanced toward me with red eyes. Gia turned to glare at me, and before I knew it, she was in my face with Dane hot on her trail.
Crossing her arms and cocking her hip, she barked, “What did you do to her?”
I frowned, hoping that what Alexis did to me wasn’t too obvious down below.
Gia shoved a bony finger into my chest, poking harder with every sentence. “She likes you, you know. And you’re messing with her head. And anyone who messes with my roommate messes with me. And I don’t like anyone who messes with me. You feel me?”
I stumbled back a step or two as the last jab to my chest felt like a razor penetrating my sternum.
She continued, pointing her long finger in my face, “Now, I don’t know what your issue is, but I do know this… If you leave my roommate out there on the dance floor crying like she is, you will have to answer to me.” Cocking her head to the side, she said smugly, “Capisce?”
I glanced over her shoulder toward Alexis, whose back was turned to me. I could barely tell, but her shoulders were shaking slightly. I threw an apologetic smile toward Gia, who seemed just as shocked to see it as Alexis had been the first time I smiled at her. Dane clapped a heavy hand on my back, nudging me toward Alexis.
“Go on, man. She’s waiting for you,” he said, nodding his head in her direction.
As I took that first step toward Alexis, the deejay announced through the microphone, “Let’s turn it back a few years. Taking it back to the eighties.”
The first few chords of an REO Speedwagon song blared through the speakers, and I knew right then that I couldn’t fight my feelings for her any longer. I listened to the words, willing my feet to move until I reached her. Her back was still to me, her hands over her face. I watched her as she rocked side to side to the slow tempo. As soon as the chorus began, I took that last step forward, slipping my arms around her waist from behind. Startled, she tensed as I pressed myself against her, resting my chin on her shoulder. But once she turned her head, realizing it was me, I felt her relax against me. I breathed in the scent of her freshly washed hair, swaying her back and forth in my arms. Through the second verse, we stayed lost in our own thoughts. But the moment the chorus began again, she spun around in my arms, wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing her cheek against my shoulder.
I held her in my arms, silently imploring her to hear the words of the song… to know that’s exactly what I was trying to tell her. I couldn’t fight it any longer. My life had been a whirlwind since she’d breezed into that party at the SigUp house. I just wished I could fight my anxiety enough to tell her that myself. Instead, I just cradled her head against me, cupping the back of her head in my hand, and hoped she felt the same way.
AN HOUR PASSED while I stayed wrapped up in Ryder’s arms. He never loosened his grip. Couples around us were starting to lose steam. But somehow I felt energized curled against his chest.
I decided to take a quick break and grab a snack. As long as you remained on your feet, with the exception of restroom breaks, you were still considered part of the dance-a-thon. You only forfeited if you sat down. We both took a quick bathroom break and grabbed a slice of pizza from the concession stand.
By then, it was almost midnight. We’d only been at this for four hours. Only twenty more to go. I smiled knowing that Ryder would be holding me in his arms another twenty hours.
Before long we were back on the dance floor, swaying to the music alongside of Gia, Dane, Brynlee, and Lance.
“Are you guys having fun?” Brynlee shouted over the music.
I glanced at Ryder, who smiled down at me. Nodding, I said, “A blast.”
Gia caught Ryder’s gaze. I wasn’t sure if it was a look of death or a look of
admiration, but he pursed his lips in response and pulled me closer. I nuzzled against him, listening to the rhythmic thump of his heart beating in his chest.
We spent hours dancing and taking breaks. By four in the morning, my legs felt like Jell-O. I just needed to sit down, but I knew I couldn’t or Glenbrook wouldn’t get my donation. We had to push through.
A couple of times throughout the night I felt myself dozing against his chest. He kept his arms firmly around me, holding me up while I leaned against him for support. I awoke several times to him lightly running his fingers through my hair. I sighed softly, relishing the gentle feel of him tickling his way down my back as his fingers glided through my hair. Once, I could have sworn I felt him press his lips to the top of my head, but I could have been dreaming. Somewhere around six a.m., I felt his body start to go limp. I’d been running my hands up and down the muscular contours of his back. He seemed so relaxed against me. Well, everything except one thing. That one thing was pressing hard into my stomach, awakening every nerve ending on my body. Despite him being wide awake below, his cheek fell limp on the top of my head. I continued to rub circles on his back and up and over his shoulder. I ran my hand down his chest, gliding my hand across his sculpted pecs. The instant my hand hit the curvature of his rippled abs, his cock throbbed insistently against me. I pressed into him, pleasantly surprised by the reaction I’d caused him. I took pleasure in knowing the effect I had on him even in his slumber, but guilt consumed me. I was taking advantage of him while he slept, and it wasn’t right. So, I wrapped my arm firmly around him, and tried to squelch my desire. I squeezed my thighs together, trying to temporarily satiate the feeling welling up inside of me.
He awoke after only a few minutes, pulling his hips away from me the moment he realized his massive bulge was jammed up against me. I didn’t miss his reddening cheeks, and smiled knowingly. He bolted for the bathroom.
