Page 127 of Kingmakers, Year One

As badly as I’ve missed Leo, I don’t know if I can be that for him anymore. Not with the way I feel. It would be torture.

“Hey!” Chay says, seeing the unhappy look on my face. “Come dance with me!”

She pulls me out onto the uneven wooden boards before I can answer, elbowing her way through the press of kids who are jumping around, singing along to the music without knowing the lyrics, grinding against each other, and doing everything else short of actual dancing.

Chay knows how to move. She has that effortless sensuality that draws every eye in the room toward her—not just the guys, but plenty of the girls too. She knows how to use her hips and her hands, how to bite her lip and toss her hair in a way that has four or five different dudes trying to cut in within five seconds.

“No, fuck off! I’m dancing with Anna!” she shouts, shoving them away unceremoniously.

But I can sense Chay’s eyes drifting over to Ares on the opposite side of the room. He’s leaned up against the wall, handsstuffed in his pockets. Plenty of people want to come up and congratulate him. He shrugs them off in the nicest way possible. I can practically hear him saying, “It was nothing. It was Leo’s idea.”

Ares is allergic to attention—probably because so much of the attention he gets from idiots like Bram is negative. Also I just don’t think he likes it. If he weren’t friends with Leo, he’d probably never come out of his room.

Chay views that as a challenge. Now she’s turned to face Ares directly, showing him some of her best moves. She winks at him and beckons for him to come on over and join us. Ares blushes and shakes his head, determinedly turning his eyes somewhere else.

“How could he turn this down?” Chay scowls, gesturing to her tight gymnast’s physique.

I laugh. “Must have hit his head in that challenge.”

“Who wouldn’t want to dance with the two prettiest girls in the school?” a deep voice says.

I spin around, seeing that Leo has snuck up behind us. It was a silly compliment, something that could mean nothing, but already my skin is burning just from how close we’re standing.

“Fuck, you’re a mess!” Chay laughs, looking up at Leo’s battered face.

“Don’t I know it.” He grins. “Worth it, though. You girls were fucking flawless. All that target practice paid off.”

“It was your idea.” Screwing up my courage, I add, “I’m proud of you. Trusting Ares like that. Trusting all of us, instead of just doing it yourself.”

Leo looks down at me, his brows drawn together in a way I can’t interpret.

He says, “Sometimes the harder thing is to let go.”

My stomach drops like a rock.

Does he mean that about us?

Did he let go of the idea of what could have been between us?

He could have given up on it months ago. He could be miles past it now.

The music switches from upbeat pop to the mournful opening bars ofWicked Game.

Chay says, “I need a drink!” and abandons us on the dance floor.

Leo and I look at each other awkwardly.

Then it’s not awkward as his hands encircle my waist and I reach up around his neck. We fit together like we always have, Leo just the right amount taller than me even when I’m wearing heels.

He holds me and it’s easy, so easy, to move as one to the music.

I look into his eyes. They’re golden and clear in his deeply tanned face. I see that hunger burning in them—that expression when Leo sees something he wants desperately. When there’s a prize he’ll give anything to win.

My heart is swollen and hot in my chest. My cheeks are burning. I’m battling the tears.

Leo swallows hard, making his throat contract. His lips part, and I’m both terrified to hear what he’s about to say, and wildly anticipating it. Everything in the world hangs on this moment.

“I missed you, Anna,” he says thickly. “I’ve missed you so bad.”

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