Page 39 of A Little Bit Extra

My body melts into his as we sway to the pulse of the music. I do my best to keep my head from wandering into all the what ifs and I shouldn’ts and enjoy the night. It’s not every day that I let myself let loose and have fun.

The music continues, and Emmett and I keep dancing. When the song ends and transitions into a slower beat, he spins me around and pulls our chests together into a slow dance. His left hand moves to grab my hand, my other hand moving to stabilize myself on his chest. I rest my head in the nook of his neck and breathe him in. My nose fills with smells of cinnamon and sage. He smells like a forest in the fall.

The song ends and I pull away, letting go of his hand and moving it to my side. Standing up on my tiptoes, I lean my head close to his so my mouth is next to his ear.

“I should go find Lucy,” I say. My heels return to the ground and I look at him to see his reaction.

He opens his mouth to say something but hesitates.

“You should go mingle. We can chat later.” I smile.

He removes the hand from my waist and covers my hand that is resting on his chest. He gives it one squeeze. Our secret language. He raises his eyebrows. “This isn’t over.”

I don’t know what this is, but I nod anyway. This could mean a lot of things. Too many possibilities that I don’t want to think about at this moment. I don’t need to feel overwhelmed by my own thoughts right now. The club is already enough to overstimulate me with the sizable crowds of people and loud music.

By the time I make it across the dance floor, I find Lucy still with Tyler at the booth. I move in their direction and sit back in my same spot as before.

“Where’s Emmett?” Tyler asks.

Before I can respond, the booth sinks.

I look to my left to find Emmett sitting next to me. He must have followed me.

“I thought I told you to mingle.”

“I thought I said this isn’t over,” he counters.

I know Tyler and Lucy are both looking at us, but I don’t take my gaze away from Emmett. Instead, I turn my body toward him and continue to face him off. This is the hottest staring contest I’ve ever had.

Of course, I end up blinking first, and he winks at me before turning to the table. I sigh a little too loud, maybe on purpose, but find Emmett’s hand back on my thigh with a squeeze following. This time, I place my hand over his, interlace our fingers, and give him a squeeze back.

“I think I’m going to leave,” Emmett says to the table. “Cassie can drive me home. Right, Cass?” He turns to me and smirks.

“I suppose I did bring you here.” I dip my head and follow the action with an eye roll. My signature response.

“Great. It’s settled then. Let’s go!” he says with a grin.

“Don’t you have to say bye to everyone?”

“Sass, this is my party. I can do what I want and what I want to do is leave with you.”

Like before, he slides out of the booth and grabs my hand. I say goodbye to Lucy and Tyler and he leads me to the back door of the venue.

Before opening the door, he peeks out to ensure there aren’t any cameras waiting for us. I already forgot about that minor part of his life.

We head out of the venue, walking slowly to my car. I can't help but steal a few glances in his direction, and I'm glad I do, because I spot a faint smile during the entire walk. He drops my hand to open the door for me.

I get in and Emmett walks around the front of the car to get in the passenger seat. We pull out of the club, onto the road, and start making our way back to his apartment.

It’s silent for a few minutes until Emmett speaks. “I’m glad you came tonight, although I’m sorry we didn’t get to talk much.”

“We would have talked more if we didn’t spend most of the night dancing.” I glance at him for a quick moment before returning my gaze back to the road.

He laughs.

“Fair point. Maybe you can stop by my apartment Monday after your shift?” Emmett says, looking out the window. The passing streetlights cast a soft glow on his face.

“Mhm, maybe,” I tease.