Page 26 of Forbidden Obsessions

Mia drags me deeper into the party. Scantily clad men and women, with flimsy pieces of lace, toned and erotic, swing from aerial ropes tethered to the ceiling.

“Holy fuck,” Lex whispers in my ear. I’m in disbelief, too.

“What do you want to drink?” Mia yells over the thumping bass.

“Surprise me,” Lex and I yell in unison. She takes off, greeting everyone in her path.

“Do you know anyone?” Lex asks as she studies the sea of people in front of us.

“Nope. You?”

She shakes her head. “Not a soul.”

There’s a girl hovering nearby us, but the more I study her, the more I’m pretty sure that I don’t know her. She’s standing alone, studying the crowd, occasionally looking between us. Maybe she came alone and she’s too shy to make new friends.

Mia returns with three shots of tequila. I gag a little at the thought. She stomps at my unspoken look. “The two of you told me to surprise you. Consider yourselves surprised,” she beams.

“Consider yourself warned that I will throw up all over something if you pump me full of tequila.” I make the mistake of taking a small sniff. Oh, the horrid memories of tequila-induced spins and hangovers.

“Drink up, bitches,” she says, tipping the shot back. We follow suit.

“Fuck, that burns,” Lex yells, giggling a bit.

“Well, we know Mia is undoubtedly a sadist,” I rasp, my throat burning from the alcohol. A flurry of red hair moves past us. “Hey, Mia, is that your friend Dagny who just walked by?”

Mia cranes her neck. “Dagny!” she yells, stopping her in her tracks. Dagny gives a slow smile, looking at the three of us.

“Well, look at this gorgeous trio,” she purrs, lifting her brows suggestively. She lowers her mask, giving us a look at those piercing green eyes and a seductive set of pink lips. “Who’s your new beauty?” she asks, not removing her eyes from Lex.

Lex, barely recovered from earlier, flushes again. “I’m Lex. Alexandria, if you want to get formal. I’m starting at Bennington in September, planning on rooming with Mia.”

Dagny drags her gaze up and down Lex’s form-fitting little black dress. “Lucky her,” she muses. Lex’s chest rises and falls in shallow breaths as she scrutinizes Dagny.

Another half-naked woman in towering stilettos walks over. “Another round?”

“Thank you.” Lex’s hand flies out to snatch the shots quickly, handing one over to me.

“Whoa there, easy tiger,” I urge. Lex has never been good at pacing herself.

Dagny waves me off. “When in Rome, no?” She holds Lex’s gaze, swallowing the shot in one fluid motion. “Your turn,” she prompts, guiding the shot to Lex’s waiting mouth. I can see the blotchy patches forming on her neck.

Dagny leans in closer, resting a palm on her lower back. I can’t tell what she whispers, but it’s something salacious based on Lex’s reaction. Mia’s already gone, caught up in hosting and sorority duties, I suppose.

And here I am as the third-wheel at an event I didn’t want to attend in the first place.

“Bathroom,” I yell to Lex. She looks over and nods for a moment before turning her attention back to her new fiery redhead.

With a sigh, I pace the floor, looking for any sign of where the bathroom is hiding. I expect to see the same lonely girl who had been camping out near us, but it seems even she’s moved on. I’m not annoyed or jealous about Lex flirting. It gives me hope to see her being outgoing and finding her way. Hell, maybe she’ll grow up to be a sorority girl like Mia.

Right now, though, I just want to crawl into bed and cry. Maybe I’ll have Tomas come pick me up. It’s been a long night for everyone. I should leave him alone so he gets a few hours by himself.

Where the fuck is the bathroom?My gaze flits to the top of the grandiose marble staircase. Mia and Lex have all but disappeared.Fuck it.I’ll just head upstairs and come back down. No big deal.

Once I reach the top of the stairs, my steps falter, unable to pretend I don’t hear the explicit noises filling the air. My knuckles grip the icy metal railing so tightly I fear I might break it.Find the bathroom and leave, Olivia.

Willing my legs to push forward, I continue through the dimly lit, narrow hallways cautiously. There’s at least a dozen rooms up here. Like downstairs, the red lights are more disorienting than helpful. My skin prickles with unease. It would be easy to blame my hesitance on the fact that I don’t want to watch all these people fuck.

Truthfully, it’s the opposite. All the moans and hushed whispers are starting to get to me, despite the orgasms from Tomas hours earlier. Maybe my real concern is about my values, how my friends and family would view me if they knew I liked towatch, that I suspect that I would like to be watched even more so.

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