I hang back, but soon I’m pulled closer and sandwiched between two very enthusiastic chicks.
“I don’t dance,” I say.
One of the girls leans forward, and I think she asks me to repeat what I said, but I can’t hear anything over the music.
Huh. The one place I can’t put my foot in my mouth. Yeah, I can get down with this.
8
Sienna
My stomach is in knots as we push through the party with drinks in our hands. Josie walks in front of me, holding my hand and pulling me along behind her. My roommate is a lot more social than I am. It isn’t that I never go out, but most weekends, I prefer hanging with Josie or Olivia or, yes, watching true crime documentaries. I find it reassuring that terrible things happen to even really good people. Make out of that what you will.
My gaze darts around, looking for Rhett as we weave across the backyard of the basketball house. A huge pool takes up a large portion of it. People stand in groups in and around it. On one side of the yard, a DJ booth is set up, and there’s a mass of bodies moving to the music. The other side of the yard has the keg, according to Josie, and that’s the direction we head.
“Are you supposed to be meeting him somewhere?” she asks when we finally reach the line at the keg.
“Not exactly.” I twist my hands in front of me. “He doesn’t know I’m coming.”
She laughs, fills us each a cup of beer, and then starts back toward the middle of the yard. I was perfectly content hanging on the side and out of the chaos.
I continually scan the party, but I don’t see Rhett anywhere. I was so sure he’d be here. I didn’t even consider the possibility that he made other plans.
“We’re dancing,” Josie announces and pulls me again, sloshing half of my beer on the ground.
“We are?” I ask, the question gets lost in the noise as we step closer to the source of the booming music. She drags me behind her and I squeeze her hand to work out some of my nerves.
She stops a few yards away from the people dancing. “What’s up with you? You’re acting like you’re nervous, and you have no reason to be. Is it the dress? Are you uncomfortable? Because you look amazing.”
“No. It isn’t the dress. Looove the dress,” I assure her, smoothing a hand down the skintight pink dress from her closet that she insisted I wear tonight. “It’s Rhett. I think I like him.” Damn him. “I don’t even really know him, but I can’t stop thinking about him. I’m all out of sorts.”
“I hate it when that happens.” She smiles at me. “Forget about Rhett for an hour. Let’s just have a good time and then we’ll ask around and see if he’s here.”
As she speaks, I spot him. I grab her arm, so she doesn’t step any closer. There he is. The guy I stupidly can’t stop thinking about. He’s on the dance floor sandwiched between two girls. One plastered on his front with her hands on his chest and another at his back rubbing her boobs all over him.
A surge of annoyance and frustration blasts through me. Followed quickly with jealousy. The latter pisses me off the most. Of course, he came anyway and is dancing with other girls. I said no. Which is why the jealousy I feel is particularly annoying.
Josie follows my gawking stare. “Guess he came.”
“Yeah. Found him. Now can we go?”
“Sienna!” Maverick’s voice manages to boom over the music. I glance back to the dance floor to see him in a similar position as his teammate.
I wave, and he untangles himself from two girls, who move on to someone else in his absence. Mav moves toward Rhett, who speaking of, still hasn’t noticed me, but the two girls he’s dancing with are inching up his shirt, and four hands move over his back, stomach, and pecs. The one in front squats down and licks his abs. That’s as much as I see before I turn and walk away.
Josie jogs beside me to keep up. “Where are you going?”
“This was a mistake.”
Maverick, half naked, tattoos rippling under his muscles, catches us. “Hey, no way, you came! Rhett’s going to be so stoked.”
“Right. He looks pretty stoked.” I wave a hand of indifference toward him. He’s finally spotted me and is attempting to squeeze out from between his dance partners. They are not letting him go without a fight. I can hardly blame them.
He looks sinful in a plain white T-shirt and jeans, staring at me with apologetic eyes. The thing is, I’m not even pissed at him. I’m pissed at myself for assuming he was going to be hanging off to the side, waiting and hoping that I’d come. I told him no because this is who he is, and I didn’t want to get my feelings hurt, but then convinced myself otherwise because that’s what I wanted to believe.
“Ah, don’t be mad at him. I had to practically drag him out there. Let’s go save him.” Mav wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me back toward the dance floor. Rhett’s managed to get free and heads toward us.
“Hey,” he says tentatively. “I didn’t think you were coming.”
“Surprise!” Sarcasm drips from the word.
Josie and Maverick look between us. An awkward silence falls over our small group.
“Dance?” Maverick asks my friend, holding his hand out to her.
“Absolutely.” Josie slides her palm into his. She looks over her shoulder as they move into the center of the dancers.
Rhett shifts nervously in front of me. “You look nice. I’ve been wondering if your hair was short or long. I can never tell when it’s all up.”
“You have?”
“I like it.” He lifts a hand and brushes his fingers along the ends of my hair. He sways and inadvertently pulls my hair as he does. “Oh shit, sorry.”
He untangles his fingers with a sheepish grin.
Rhett is drunk and for some reason I find it a little charming.
“Do you want to dance?”
I shake my head. “No, I think I’m good.”
I don’t think I can live up to the threesome he had going earlier.
“Okay, uh, drink?”
I’m still carrying a mostly full cup of beer, but I nod.
We walk side by side. His arm brushes against mine, and neither of us pulls away. Now that I’ve found him, I have no idea what to say.
At the keg, he takes my cup, looks at how full it is, and laughs. “Do you actually want another beer?”
“I’m not much of a drinker.”
He tops it off and takes a sip of it.
“I’m gonna level with you.” He runs a hand through his messy hair. “I’m really drunk.”
I can’t help but laugh as he disarms me with a cocky grin.
“I didn’t think you were coming, and I decided to say fuck it.” He shakes his head. “Not fuck you, just it. You know girls, dating, life?”
“You realize I’m a girl, right?”
He closes one eye and pulls his bottom lip behind his teeth for a second. “I really suck at this. Like epic-levels of suckage.” He waves his arm around dramatically, and the beer in his cup sloshes onto me, soaking the front of my dress.
It’s cold. Really cold. I shriek and jump back. “Okay, well, this has been fun.”
“Fuck. I’m sorry. Come on.” Rhett takes over, gripping me by the arm and walking fast toward the house. He commands people out of the way, leading me inside and cutting to the front of the line for the bathroom. The door opens, and three girls stumble out.
“Excuse us.”
Drunk, bossy Rhett is hot. Almost hot enough to ignore the stench of beer now coating my dress.
The next girl in line smiles at him. Her hand goes to her hair, and she curls a finger around a long, brunette strand. “No problem. Need any company?”
“Wha—” He fumbles, clearly trying to piece together why he’d need company in the bathroom. Before he can, I charge ahead. The beer is dripping down the front of me. Even my panties are wet.
To my surprise, he follows me in and shuts the door.
I find a towel, hope it isn’t too used, and blot the front of my dress.
Or Josie’s dress.
“What can I do to help?”
I’m not making a lot of progress. With a sigh, I drop the towel to the vanity. “It’ll dry.”
A shiver wracks my body. The air conditioning vent in the bathroom has kept this small room cold, which probably feels nice if you aren’t soaked.
“Here. Take my shirt.” He pulls it over his head without a second thought and holds it out to me.
I stare. Not at the white ball of cotton in his hand, but at his chest. My mouth goes dry.
“Are you freaking kidding me?”
“Uhh…” His gaze drops from me to the shirt, back to me. “It’s clean. I promise.”
“You can’t walk around like that.” I fling a hand toward his abs. All eight of them.
The corners of his mouth tip up. “Like what?”
“Don’t play dumb with me.”
“Angel, around you, I don’t have to play. You make me stupid. I can’t get anything right.”
“Looking like that, who needs a brain?” I mutter.
He stalks toward me, a cocky glint shining in his eyes. “Are you trying to say that you like what you see?”
“I mean, it’s whatever.” My gaze dips over his chest, though, and my nipples tighten. “Gah.” I can’t even pretend. “Your body is ridiculous.”
“I’m glad you think so. I might never wear a shirt again if you keep looking at me like that.” He gently places the T-shirt over my head and pulls it down. The heat of the fabric and the nearness of our bodies does funny things to my insides. My heart rate climbs, and my chest feels tight. I slow my breathing out of habit.
“Like what?” I reach out and slide my fingers over the ridges of muscle.
He inhales, and those blue eyes darken. He ignores my question. Not that it requires much of an answer. “Your hands are cold.”
“Someone tossed a beer on me.”
“I’m really sorry about that.”
“You say that a lot.”
“I’ve fucked up a lot. And I’m sorry for that too.”
“The list keeps getting longer.” My laugh dies when he places a calloused thumb at the corner of my mouth.
Staring at my lips, he traces along the bottom one with the pad of his thumb. “Add this to the list.”
I’m in an alternate reality as he leans forward, still distracted by his body and the way mine feels when he’s this close. It’s only when his mouth slants over mine that my brain processes he’s kissing me.
His hand on my face slides down to my neck in a possessive hold that contradicts the softness of his lips. My back is to the vanity, legs hitting against it, and Rhett crowds into my space as his tongue slides into my mouth.
My heart pounds in my chest. Somewhere in the very back of my mind, I'm aware that I'm doing a potentially very dumb thing. Kissing Rhett when I know it won't go anywhere beyond tonight. Still, I can see why he leaves a path of crying girls behind him. He kisses like a champ. He’s sweet and tender and hard and demanding all at once, and my head is spinning.
He lifts me up and sets me on the vanity, then pushes between my legs. His fingers thread through my hair, and he tugs gently, exposing my neck. His nose grazes down the curve of my neck, and his mouth nips and kisses along the way.
My legs tremble as he moves those big hands of his to my legs. They inch up my bare skin and slide under the hem of my dress that’s now hitched up very high on my thighs. My core aches, and I will him to move his fingers just a little higher.
His chest presses against mine, and I remember that I have a half-naked man in front of me. A half-naked man with a body built to make good girls want bad things. I slide my palms over his pecs and down his sides. My exploration encourages him, and one long finger finally touches my soaked panties.
“It’s the beer,” I say. It isn’t, or at least not entirely.
We both groan as he circles my clit through the silky material.
I'm ready to let him fuck me here. Correction, I'm ready to beg him to fuck me here. And I’m not even the drunk one.
A knock at the door pulls us from the moment, reminding us there’s a line of people waiting to get in here.
“We should probably go,” I say, even as I spread my legs farther apart.
He pulls back, smug grin firmly in place, hand still rubbing me gently. “They can wait.”
Unfortunately, they don’t. The door opens, and the girl that asked if we needed company, walks in. She studies us for a beat before declaring, “Don’t mind me. I just need to pee.”
Rhett straightens, removes his hands from under my dress, and pulls the hem down to cover me.
“Ready, angel?” His voice is gruff with want, and no, I’m absolutely not ready.
He takes my hand and keeps me close as we exit the bathroom and head back outside. The cool night air hits me, and I take deep, steadying breaths.
Holy crap. I almost had sex with Rhett in the bathroom with a line of people outside. If I’m completely honest, I almost had sex with Rhett in the bathroom while a girl peed on the toilet. I’m not proud.
A group of hockey guys stands just outside of the doorway, girls intermixed with them. One of the guys, Jordan, I think, calls to Rhett, and we join the circle.
“Heard you were having a good time,” the guy says, his gaze bouncing between Rhett and me. “Now I know why.” He tips his head to me. “Jordan, we sorta met at the rink.”
“Sienna,” I say. “I remember you.”
“That’s Liam, Heath, Ginny, Dakota, Reagan, and you already met Adam,” Rhett calls them out, pointing as he goes. I look at each and smile, offer a small wave.
“Did you and Maverick lose your shirts at the same time?” Adam grins as he tips back the beer in his hand.
“I spilled my beer on her.”
I’d forgotten how drunk he is until he tries to wrap an arm around my waist and sways, which means we sway. I'm perfectly sober, but my legs are still shaking from what went down in the bathroom.
“Easy there,” Adam says. “Let’s not give her another black eye.”
Rhett flips him off.
“Speaking of catastrophes, I’m still soaked. I should find Josie and see if she’s ready to go.”
His gaze trails down my body, and I’m pretty sure he’s thinking about my panties. My body warms, cheeks flame.
“She’s on the dance floor with Maverick,” Adam says.
“Thanks.” I wave again. “It was nice to meet you guys.” Looking to Rhett, I say, “See ya later.”
“Wait, you’re really leaving?”
“Yeah, I’m wet and sticky, and I have to teach two fitness classes tomorrow morning anyway.”
“Yeah, okay.” His brows knit in confusion. “At least let me come with you to make sure you find Josie.”
I nod, and we start across the lawn.
“We have the semifinals Monday night, so we’re keeping it low-key the rest of the weekend, but can we hang again?”
“Uhh...” I decide to go with honesty since it’s unlikely he’ll remember asking me tomorrow anyway. “I don't usually do that type of thing, and I'm not judging you, or even me, casual hookups can be fun. I mean, that was fun. Really fun.” I’m blathering on and talking in circles, and not really saying what I mean which is that I like him and hooking up will end with me getting hurt. “You’re really drunk.”
“Fair, but I wasn’t drunk when I asked you to come tonight.”
“This was a mistake. We both have a lot going on.” I’m bullshitting. We both know it. Elias would call me out on it, but Rhett doesn’t.
We reach the dance floor, and I spot Josie dancing with a group of girls, Maverick in the center of them. Josie sees us and waves.
The sight of Maverick without his shirt reminds me that I still have Rhett’s.
“Oh, here.” I start to take it off, but he stops me.
“Keep it. I’m going to head out soon too. Drinking makes me tired.”
“So I've heard.” I
take a step toward Josie, half hoping he’ll stop me. He doesn’t. “Later, Rauthruss.”
* * *
The next day, I’m finishing up with my second barre class when Rhett appears in the hallway. He slips in as my students gather their things.
“Hey.” Hands in pockets, he approaches me at the front of the room.
“You found me.” I’m a little impressed he a) remembered I said I was teaching this morning and b) is awake this early.
“I looked at the group fitness schedule before I went to bed last night and set an alarm.”
“Impressive.”
He grins. “A first for everything. I didn’t ruin your dress last night, did I?”
“No, it’s fine. Your shirt is at my dorm. I’ll bring it to the rink.”
“Or you could bring it to my place later?”
I laugh. “Presumptuous much?”
“Not like that. To hang, watch TV, play Xbox or... whatever. I’d suggest something more exciting, but we have curfew at nine.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah, Coach is pulling out all the stops to keep us distraction-free.”
“And you thought inviting a girl over was the answer?”
“I’ll be distracted by you either way.”
My stomach flips. This freaking guy.
“What time?” I ask. I was prepared to say yes as soon as he asked—actually, as soon as I woke up this morning and wished I’d stayed at the party longer—but sober and charming Rhett is almost as impossible to resist as half-naked Rhett.
“Six.” He hands me a piece of paper with the address and backs away. “And for the record, I don’t usually do that type of thing either.”
9
Rhett
I give Sienna a quick tour of the apartment, grab a beer, and offer her one. “I promise I won’t spill it on you.”
She smiles, but shakes her head. “No thanks.”
“Right. You said you weren’t much of a drinker. We also have water, orange juice, and a variety of energy drinks.”
Broken Hearts Page 6
