Page 53 of A Discovery: Love and Other Things

Angela had been kind enough to do my makeup, which she’d totally slayed. The smokey eye played up the almond shape of my eyes, while the mild contouring highlighted my high cheekbones. I’d opted for a nude-pink lip to keep the look on the subtler side. My hair was rather simple, too, with just a gold hair clip on one side of my head, allowing my curls to cascade over one shoulder.

I looked fierce. We all did, and we knew it, judging by how hard we worked the dance floor.

Angela and Sean were awfully cozy, with his leg sandwiched between Angela’s thighs as she ground into him. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and their faces were barely visible, but I was pretty sure they were making out by now. If anyone else had noticed, they didn’t let on; everyone was too distracted to care.

Ordinarily, public displays of horniness didn’t abide by the country’s social etiquette, but in the lounge, nobody seemed to care. It was a safe space to let loose and let down our guards.

Isabella donned the tiara of Birthday Girl well—she had climbed up onto the bar and was dancing for a group that cheered her on from below. This wouldn’t last long, because when the clock struck twelve, she’d turn back into a grouchy pumpkin and probably deny any of this had ever happened.

I might have gotten carried away with my liquor consumption, too, because I couldn’t remember what number shot I was currently about to shoot. Three, four...seven. It was all a damn blur, and I was losing my balance. I grabbed onto Felipe’s arm to save myself from face-planting.

He wrapped his arm around my waist, his body forming a wall to steady me. It was purely platonic, and I didn’t feel the least bit uncomfortable by his touch. Even though Felipe and I weren’t a couple, we had become great friends. And I knew he understood my position on wanting to remain friends, because I had watched him dance with a few girls and even exchanged numbers with them earlier.

“You okay?” he shouted into my ear from behind, just as Doja Cat’s “Woman” blared around us.

I swayed to the music, maybe a little more from the effects of the vodka, but I just couldn’t keep still.

I turned my head to look over my shoulder, my hands resting on the masculine forearm around my waist. “Yeah! Just a little dehydrated!”

“Want some water?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I want to keep dancing.” I was addicted to the vibe. I didn’t ever want this night to end.

We continued to move in unison, singing along to Doja Cat offering to be some guy’s woman.

My eyes roamed from the sweaty crowd to Isabella still on the bar, this time with a bottle in hand as she lip-synched along, too. I took in the upper level, where the VIP guests were having their own party, dancing and chatting over drinks.

Through my drunken haze, my eyes caught on something familiar staring down at me. Thick mussed hair over stone-like eyes glaring at me. The same face that I pictured every night under the covers, wishing Angela weren’t asleep in the same room so I could use my fingers to ease the ache his body spurred between my legs.

I shook my head and looked again. He was gone.

There was no way James could be here. Ever the workaholic, he was most likely holed up in his office, pouring over his notes.

“Bathroom!” I shouted to Felipe. He nodded before releasing me. I needed to splash some cold water on my neck because I had clearly drunk too much if I was hallucinating that my non-boyfriend teacher fuckbuddy was glaring down at me like Anubis, the guardian of the underworld, ready to weigh my heart and judge me.

I trod through the throngs of people, with the occasional shoulder or ass bumping into me.

The hallway to the women’s restroom had a long line, and my bladder couldn’t wait. My eyes bounced upstairs to the unmanned red ropes.VIP.They had to have a bathroom I could use. No one would even know if I slipped through, especially since the bouncer was MIA.

I slowly backed out of the line and made a beeline up the stairs to the ropes. I slid to the side of them and traveled down the dark hall until I found the door I was looking for.

I pressed the gold handle, and the door opened to a private bathroom with fancy red-and-black wallpaper and mood lighting. This was the VIP life...never having to share a bathroom.Must be nice to pee in luxury!

I locked the door and quickly emptied my bladder before it burst and then washed my hands. The squeaky-clean mirror in front me made no qualms about displaying my sweaty skin and smudged eyes. I pressed the cool water to my neck and chest to cure my hyperthermia. Relief washed over me, and some of my senses returned.

I needed to get a hold of myself because this obsession with James was unhealthy. It was one thing to think about him all the time, but now I was seeing him when he wasn’t there.

The handle suddenly clicked, and before I could register what was happening, the door flew open.

“James!”

He stood there with legs planted wide, fists clenched at his sides. Tendons bulged below his rolled-up sleeves. Already a tall man, he looked to have gained another foot just from how stiff his posture was.

“What are you doing in here?” I didn’t know whether to be horrified that he’d just picked a bathroom lock when I could have still been on the toilet or to be relieved that I hadn’t been losing my mind and hallucinating earlier.

His nostrils flared and the breath that escaped them came out in a deep grunt. “Why was he touching you?” His voice sounded tight, like he was seconds away from exploding.

Here we go again. I couldn’t keep having this same argument about Felipe, especially not when I was inebriated.

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