Page 23 of One More Weekend

I rested it against her shoulder, my lips just inches from the glistening skin that caught the color-changing lights of the dance floor.

When the song shifted again, Jenna flipped around to face me. A smile covered her face, her cheeks round with enjoyment. She nodded to me as she got closer. This time, she threw her arms over my neck and locked her fingers together behind my head.

She kept pace, swaying her hips and slipping her leg between mine.

Following her cue, I slipped mine right up under her center.

As she danced, she dropped her hips lower before lifting them. My mind raced, trying to hold off the image of her riding me like that. But the more she did it and the further her head rolled back, the less I could be sure she wasn't having the same thought.

I could’ve stayed like that all night. Despite the crowded floor, it felt like it was just us. All of the bodies around us just pushed closer to each other as the DJ effortlessly moved from song to song.

We only stopped to get drinks, shooting back shots every time we stepped off the floor. Hours passed like minutes as we stayed close to each other.

It wasn’t until the lights started to turn on that we realized how late it was and began our long stumble home.

Too late for any of the buses to be running, we took the one operating train downtown as far as it would take us.

That still left us with them fifteen-minute walk to our apartment.

We swayed as we walked, the drinks from the bar nowhere near wearing off. I hadn't meant to get so fucked-up. But the more Jenna danced, the more I needed to drink to get out of my head.

We hadn't gotten that close to breaking our promise since early college. Besides, I knew it was risky to start anything with Jenna leaving so soon.

That hadn't stopped me from wondering how it would feel to press my lips into hers.

Just as I stepped off the curb and onto the asphalt crosswalk, my new shoes began to wear blisters on my heel.

“You okay?” Jenna giggled as she looked over at me, genuine concern behind her alcohol-fueled laughs.

I nodded. “Yeah, I just didn't think we would be doing so much walking.”

This was supposed to be a short night. We’d go out, find some people to flirt with and maybe to leave with, then we’d regroup in the morning. But now we’d opened a whole new can of worms.

The tension in the air was palpable. But both of us knew better than to try and address it in our current states. Nothing we could say now would mean anything, likely muddled versions of whatever truth was to be found.

Instead, we walked the last few blocks in silence.

When we arrived at the front door, Jenna pulled her keys from her purse.

I shrugged with a laugh. “You should really give the freelancer life some thought. You could join me on all my outings, even on weeknights.”

As soon as the words left my lips I knew it wasn't the most enticing offer, especially after the strange night we had just had. But part of me knew I'd never be brave enough to say something like it sober.

It was vague, largely innocuous, and also far more vocal about my desire for Jenna to stay in New York with me than I had been. The last thing I wanted was for my best friend to feel like I was applying pressure in any way.

More likely than not, we’d wake up tomorrow wishing we hadn't gotten so close to the line. But neither of us would want to hurt the other's feelings.

So instead, we would pretend the tequila made us crazy and the memory hazy, and neither of us really knew what had happened.

All I could hope was that Jenna didn’t think I was a creep, that she didn’t think I’d pushed the line on purpose with some hidden motive over the years.

The doorslammedbehind me, sending a shiver down my spine as we began the long trek upstairs.

I had to pay close attention to my feet, intentionally lifting them high enough to vault the next step, still weary of the liquor in my body.

Maybe there was a comfort in knowing that Jenna wouldn't hold the indiscretion against me, but a part of me wished she would.

At the top of the stairs, Jenna already had the apartment key in her hand, quickly unlocking the front door and sweeping inside.

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