Page 4 of No One Else

“Hey, Nat,” he smiles easily, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his dark jeans.

“H-hey,” I stutter, sure that he can see through my head to all the lascivious thoughts suddenly running through there. Things I’ve never thought about before.

“Samantha said you need some friends right now. To take your mind off the Carter thing. I’m sorry about that, by the way.”

He makes no move to comfort me, and I push aside the pang of disappointment at his lack of touch. What the hell is wrong with me?

I tuck a strand of hair back behind my ear and swallow heavily. “It’s for the best.”

He takes a step closer, bending down to whisper, “He never deserved you.”

I glance up at his serious expression, so close I could reach up and stroke his jaw if I wanted. Not that I would. That’d be crazy. “That’s what Samantha said.”

“I think she’s more of a friend than any of those sorority girls you hang out with.”

He’s right, but I don’t say anything. They’re part of Carter’s set. Girlfriends of his friends that I always ended up hanging out with, even though I never really clicked with any of them.

“Do you want to dance?” I blurt out, not wanting to think anymore about how much of my life I’ve wasted on Carter. Given up potential friendships for, spent countless hours doing activities I didn’t care about, sacrificed time I should have been studying - just to make him happy. I need to get lost in the music, put my brain on autopilot. Focus on something else.

Someone else.

The touch of his hand on the small of my back as he guides me through the horde of club-goers releases a swarm of butterflies in my stomach. Is this the first time he’s touched me? I can’t remember. Can’t seem to recall any previous instances where I was so aware of him. It’s like some switch inside me has flipped.

It has to be purely physical. It’s only because I have the opportunity now. If it wasn’t Evan, it would probably be some other random guy here. Someone to lose myself in temporarily. We’ll dance tonight and that’ll be it. Tomorrow we’ll be friends again. This madness will have ceased.

When we reach a spot that provides us some space to move, I turn around to face him, my body moving on autopilot to the deep bass of the music.

He moves in closer, bending down to speak into my ear, “How are you holding up?”

I shrug. “I’m angry,” I admit. “But not upset about it. It’s kind of weird.”

He nods, his gaze never leaving mine. “This won’t be one of those things where I trash talk him and then you get back together with him next week, will it?”

“No. We’re through.” Relief pours through me saying the words aloud. Like the more I say it, the truer it’ll be. Carter and I are finished.

I smile up at Evan, the heaviness from the last day lifting.

“What’s that look for?” he grins, that crooked smile of his suddenly endearing instead of the objective feature I’ve always noticed it to be.

“I don’t know. All of a sudden I feel... free. Like I can do anything.”

“Yeah?”

Someone behind me knocks me forward, and Evan’s hands wrap around my shoulders to steady me, the heat of his palms once again sending butterflies through me. What is going on with me? This is Evan. My friend. I’ve known him a year and a half and have never had any kind of romantic feelings for him before.

Then again, I’ve never been single around him before.

“And what do you feel like doing?” he asks, his deep voice rumbling even closer now.

“Samantha said I should hook up with someone,” I blurt out.

His grip tightens on me briefly, the butterflies turning into a rush of lust. “Is that something you want?”

“I- I don’t know.”

His hold on me relaxes, his hands sliding down my arms, leaving shivers in their wake.

He shakes his head, bringing his mouth directly next to my ear. “You’re not made for casual sex. You need someone who would appreciate you. Cherish you. Worship you.”

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