Page 70 of For One Night Only

My stomach twists, and I reach for a fry. Maybe I’m just hungry, but talking about my day job and the Glitter Bats colliding makes the end of the summer feel all too real. With only a few weeks left before the concert, it’s hard to accept I’m leaving this world behind again. But what would it look like if I didn’t—would I quit teaching for good? I don’t see how I can have both. Something tightens in the back of my throat, and suddenly this booth feels too hot.

“Wanna dance?” Valerie whispers in my ear, shaking me out of my head. I nod, and she grabs my hand and tugs me out of the booth.

“We’re still going to talk about your stunt later!” Keeley calls, gesturing after us.

“Your objection is noted!” Valerie shoots back. I follow her lead,but she doesn’t take me to the dance floor. She pulls me through a maze of velvet curtains and partitions, slipping us past a door into a completely private staging room. Other than a few empty containers on the ground and a stack of unused tablecloths, there’s nothing in here but party debris. We can still hear the sounds from the after-party, but they’re distant. Muffled.

I feel my pulse start to steady.

“You okay?” Valerie asks, as soon as we’re alone.

Even as I’m coming down from the adrenaline, my heart warms. She noticed I was starting to spiral, and she wanted to check on me. It seems we really are as in sync as we ever were.

“Yeah, I just got a little too much in my head tonight. Things will be clearer tomorrow.”

“That’s good,” she says, leaning against the wall to steady herself in her shoes. She really does look incredible tonight. That gown is killing me.

Once I catch my breath, I smirk, noticing just how alone we are back here. “So all of that just to check on me? You didn’t have any ulterior motives for pulling me away from the party?”

She grins and crowds me, putting one hand on each of my shoulders. In these heels, she towers over me just a bit, and I don’t mind at all. “ShouldI have an ulterior motive?”

“I mean…” I trail off, punctuating the silence. “If you did, I wouldn’t be upset about it.”

Even in the low light, I can see a red flush bloom across her chest. “We’re in public, Caleb!”

“It’s less public than earlier,” I say, reaching behind me to lock the door. “And I never suggested you get naked. There’s a lot we can do with you remaining safely clothed.”

“I don’t know if I understand what you mean. You’ll have to show me,” Valerie says, a little breathless.

“Is that ayes?” I ask.

She bites her lip. “I’ll consent to whatever you can pull off in this dress, becausedamn, I want you.”

“I’ll take that as a challenge.” I sink down to my knees in front of her, smirking. “This okay?”

Her breath catches. “Absolutely.”

“Good, because this dress has been giving me ideas all night,” I say, pressing a soft kiss to her exposed thigh. Her skin pebbles under my lips, and she lets out the tiniest gasp. “But you’re going to have to be quiet. Can you do that for me?”

She swallows thickly, her pretty throat bobbing in the dim light, and presses a hand over her mouth. My heart races, both becausefuck, that’s hot, but also because we don’t have time to make this last.

“Good girl,” I say.

If we were really alone, I’d take my time, tease her until she was begging for release, ensure it was really good for her—but we’ve already stolen too many minutes. I have no idea how long it’ll be before someone tries to get in here, and I want to make the time count.

I’m a man of my word.

So I duck my head under the slit of her gown, tug her panties aside, and lick her sweet folds. She shudders, sinking back against the wall.

I swallow down my own moan becausegod, I can’t believe we’re doing this. It’s not even the thrill of potentially being caught. She’s thrilling enough.

“That’s it,” I say. “Just enjoy it.”

She lets out a shaky breath. “That’s not a problem.”

I draw back, careful to cover her as I do. “I thought I said you need to be quiet?”

Valerie’s eyes spark with heat. “Fine. But how will you know you’re doing it right?”

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