Page 16 of Whatever You Want

“Come on, your friends are leaving. I’m going to get you home.”

He slid his hand from around my waist but kept his palm at the small of my back. It felt like a flock of butterflies stormed my stomach.

“What do you mean, ‘you’re getting me home’?” I stumbled to a stop causing my purse to fall off my arm. Logan picked it up and tossed it over his shoulder.

“Marco drove with me, so I have my truck. I’m your designated driver.”

Shit! Shit! Shit! This was not good.

He guided me across the room as we weaved our way alongside the tables filled with empty beer pitchers and half-drunken people. Marco and Amelia were already outside, waiting for Quinn to pick up Charlotte, and Kara was waiting for her Uber. I gave everyone a wave after we all said our goodbyes. When Logan reached for my hand, I tried not to read too much into it.

He didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry to get me home. I might not have been thinking clearly, but I knew when I leaned into his side and gazed up at him, I didn’t want this night to end. His touch felt nice, his smile was captivating, and the faint scent of his cologne floated in the breeze, sending a wave of goose bumps over my skin.

When we turned the corner, a street performer was playing an upbeat song. A small crowd gathered around. People were clapping and cheering and throwing money into his guitar case. I took a ten-dollar bill out of my wallet and tossed it in. Logan chuckled when I decided to join the crowd and move my hips to the live music.

“It’s so completely unfair.” I laughed, not caring if my dance moves were in sync with the beat or not. It was only a little past midnight, but there were still plenty of people out.

“What’s unfair?” His twinkling eyes stared down at me.

“That I feel like I’m floating on air.” I tried to spin in a circle to demonstrate my dance moves, but he caught me from completely being out of his reach.

A grin stretched across his face. “You’re drunk.”

“And you’re hot.” I stood on my tiptoes and folded my hands along his neck. His body tensed at the contact. There was something about the way he gazed at me that kept me standing there. A voice in my head reminded me that there were a million reasons why I shouldn’t do this. But there was a spark lingering between us I couldn’t ignore. Even if I could, I didn’t want to. I wanted to give in to the undeniable need that coursed through me. I was done putting up barriers to keep us apart. I didn’t want to fight this attraction or pretend it wasn’t happening.

His chest rose and fell as I inched closer. I was about to cross a line, but I was past caring about the consequences. Logan and I have been skirting around each other for far too long. I wanted him. It was as simple as that. Just being this close to him made my head dizzy, which was fine with me because I didn't want to think. I just wanted to feel.

His eyes held mine, waiting for me to make the first move. I wasn’t sure which part of him I wanted to touch first. All I knew was that I wanted to kiss him.

“Ava.” His breath hit my ear as I leaned into him. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“I know exactly what I’m doing,” I assured him, waiting to see how he would react. People were making noise while getting into their cars nearby, but he didn’t take his eyes off mine.

I pressed a kiss to his mouth, and he froze. My lips brushed against his, soft and slow. The feel of his faint stubble mixed with his warm, musky scent only heightened my desire.

His hand reached out and flexed on my hip. I sensed him holding back, which was ironic because all I wanted was to feel what those hands were capable of.

It’s been too long since I’ve felt a human touch, and it caused that spark I felt earlier to turn into a flame. And I just knew it was going to change everything.

My heart pounded in my chest at the feeling of our lips moving together. They were soft and sensitive, coaxing me on as I tried to make sense of what I was feeling. I splayed my hand against her back, bringing her closer to me. I needed to know if this was real. If she was feeling the same shift in the universe that I was. I wanted to take my time and get my fill, do whatever was necessary to keep it going. Block out all common sense and just appreciate that this was finally happening. I’ve imagined kissing her so many times in my head, and despite how amazing it felt, something wasn’t quite right with the way she kissed me.

Warning bells went off in my head. I wanted to shut off all the noise, but my heart was telling me this was a bad idea, especially under these circumstances. This kiss was nothing like I’d hoped it would be. There was no emotion in her kiss, no feeling in her touch. It felt like she was simply scratching an itch, and it sent a wave of disappointment rippling through my chest.

I pulled my mouth away from hers and took a step back, hoping it would clear my head. She was drunk, and the last thing I wanted was for her to wake up tomorrow morning and regret this.

“Logan, I’m so sorry.” She averted her gaze away from me. The embarrassment in her eyes was clear. “I shouldn’t have attacked you like that.”

Was she insane? There was nothing about the way I kissed her that screamed “uninterested.” Couldn’t she see how crazy I was about her? That I practically had to force myself to stand here when all I wanted to do was pull her back in my arms.

I looked her up and down; my breaths were heavy, and I could still taste her on my lips. She had no reason to be embarrassed. She had no idea how much I wanted her. But I would not allow her to use me just to forget him.

“Ava, you didn’t attack me. In case you didn’t notice, I kissed you back.”

She started to rub her hands up and down her arms. While temperatures had dropped slightly, this was more about nerves than the temperature.

“Where is your car?” she asked, looking around the parking lot. “I’m sure you want to get home.”

My gaze narrowed at the switch she just flipped. I didn’t like it. I considered calling her out and explaining that she had nothing to be ashamed of. But the tension was growing thicker by the second, and the last thing I wanted was for her to be more uncomfortable.

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