Page 23 of Caged in Flames

Gunner’s hands glide back up my body, and it’s all I can do not to turn around and ask him if he wants to go hide in the trees for a bit. Even though the weather is cool, I can feel sweat on my neck from all the dancing. He bends his neck down, and his breath on the droplets makes me shiver. From his not so little friend downstairs starting to make an appearance, I can tell things are heating up. When his mouth ghosts over the sweet spot on my shoulder, I’m torn between wanting him to bite down, or run his tongue over the skin. Maybe both.

I would love to see where this boy could take me. When his nose traces by my ear, I lean my neck over a little more in submission. Given his inhale, and the squeeze on my hip, it seems to have the reaction he was hoping for.

“Phoenix, I’m not going to go full horny teenage boy with all these people around." What? I spin around and fuck it if I don't pout a little. He chuckles at the expression on my face. "Believe me when I say it’s really fucking hard, but I won’t. I am so far past interested that I want to walk you through the trees and get on my damn knees to show you how much I want you." He tucks my hair behind my ear. "Not tonight." That stupid sexy smirk of his shows back up. "When I work your body over, it won’t be in a crowd, and you'll be sober enough to remember every moment of pleasure.”

Nodding, I try not to let my disappointment be obvious.

“Nix, baby…”

Fuck, I like hearing him call me baby. He kisses my shoulder slowly, then leans over and kisses the side of my head.

“I’m going to cool down for a little bit, but I’ll be back soon. Stay with Jane.” I nod and throw what I hope is a seductive smile at him.

I bring my attention back to Jane, who discreetly pulls away from her dance partner while grabbing my hands. The music goes through some mainstream songs and we dance around some more. We go to the bar for one last shot, and I give her the sign for “I’m cutting myself off”. She drags me into the dance crowd once more, but deeper into the circle this time around. No one around us even notices, too caught up in their own fun. Couples are hooking up all around us, and I can see some intense, some disturbing, things happening in the trees. It looks like a fucking orgy.

Selena Gomez starts singing about a fetish for her love, and Jane pulls me close to her. She’s only a couple of inches taller than me in her boots, and she uses the small height difference to lift our arms and spin me around. She wraps her arm around my shoulder, like she's hugging me from behind, while we sway back and forth. The next song is more upbeat, so I turn back around to face Jane, thinking we should probably head out soon.

Except my friend has a look on her face that's pure determination. Her lips tilt up slowly before her body is leaning into mine.

Then Jane is kissing me.

What. The. Fuck.

I don’t pull away, but I don’t move against her either. Taking a breath, I let my curiosity take over.

For the briefest of moments, I lean into my bubbly friend. Her lips barely move against my own as if she can tell I’m too hesitant for this to turn into anything more.

While I wouldn’t say I feel awkward or uncomfortable, it's not stirring the same feelings in me that Gunner was just moments ago.

Damn. Life would be so much easier if you could just pick to like girls instead of asshole guys. I explore the kiss a little more before ending it and backing away.

Jane gives me a Cheshire smile, "Not your thing?"

"I don't think so. Don't get me wrong, you're a great kisser, but it didn't magically make me want to eat pussy." Maybe that’s crude, but it’s true. Besides, Jane doesn’t seem to mind my honesty.

She giggles. "Shame, I'd love to wear your legs around my ears. No hard feelings. Seemed like a fun way to piss off all the man candy watching you tonight."

Her statement throws me off and I tilt my head in confusion. That is until she nods over to the tree line where Jude and Charlie are staring right at us. The latter has his fists clenched tight at his sides, while Jude just looks from me to Jane, shaking his head. I roll my eyes at them, and in a moment of complete confidence, I flip them the bird.

"I'm not even sure why they'd be interested in the sight." Well, I guess I can. We pretty much gave them the exact opening to every porn video they've ever watched.

She pulls me back and we keep dancing. No awkward moments, no talk about feelings. It's clear that wasn't her attempting to push past the friendship barrier.

Gunner comes back over a bit later with a look of annoyance on his face. When I open my mouth to ask him about it, he pulls my back to his front again, settling us into a soft rhythm. We all sway to another few songs before calling it a night.

"Let’s get you ladies back to your rooms for the night." I lean into him, because I want to, but also because I am starting to feel the dizziness that accompanies drinking too much vodka. He smells so yummy.

"Do I?" Fuck, did I say that out loud? Best shut my mouth and die of embarrassment.

"Jane. Are you trying to move in on my girl?" I cover my mouth to make sure my thoughts don't turn into word vomit. His girl. Why does that sound so appealing?

"No way, you sexy dark knight. I honestly just wanted to see what would happen if I kissed her. She didn't give me any vibes, but I wanted to know if it would make any of the dicks chasing her actually do something."

What dicks are chasing me? And why haven’t they caught me yet? Did I want the dicks? I bet Gunner’s dick is huge. He’s huge. Not super huge. I wonder if his dick is super huge. It’s been so long since I’ve seen a dick. I mean who really wants to see a dick though? They’re sort of ugly but useful. Like one of those naked cats.

Hmm. I wiggle my fingers to make sure I can still feel them over my lips. Good.

Gunner’s voice breaks up my daydream. Wait, it's night. It can’t be a nightmare though. A nightdream? Oh, a dick-dream. That’s what it is.

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