Page 48 of Clichés & Curses

I giggled at him. Putting my hand in his, I answered, ‘Of course, you may, milord.’

He gave me a playful grin, and got me out of my chair once again. This time, he led me to the front of the bar where all the couples had gathered.

When we finally found a vacant spot that was slightly closed off from the crowd still in their seats, Colton let go of my hand and placed both his hands gently on my waist. He pulled me closer, while I put both my hands behind his neck.

We started swaying to the soft beat of the song, letting the music enfold us.

‘Does your uncle sing every karaoke night?’ I asked him, breaking the silence.

‘Occasionally,’ he shrugged. ‘Whenever he feels like it.’

I just gave him a nod, settling back into silence as we continued slow dancing.

‘I was here by the way—last Saturday night,’ Colton said out of the blue.

I tried to remember what had happened last Saturday, and he must have noticed me blanking on it, when he added, ‘during the party.’

‘Oh, right. The party,’ I answered him, stopping myself before I could say something else—things that were beyond being the just-friends territory and things that I wouldn’t be able to take back once I had let them out.

Colton didn’t say anything, he just continued staring at me with a contemplative look. I knew what he was trying to tell me, what he was willing me to do. He wanted me to say the words I had been holding back on.

It might have been the alcohol, it might have been our proximity, or maybe because we were swaying to one of the most romantic songs ever written. But, at that moment, I went against all logical thoughts my brain was throwing at me, and admitted what my heart wanted to say.

‘I was looking for you at the party when I arrived. I was a bit sad when you weren’t there, and I didn’t know where you had been,’ I confessed, before quickly adding, ‘Not that you have to tell me where you were.’

That was definitely oversharing. I tried to cover up my embarrassment by turning my gaze down at my sandals.

But Colton stopped me when he lightly placed his fingers under my chin, bringing my eyes back to him.

‘You were the first person I looked for when I arrived at the party,’ he said. His tone was quiet, as if he was whispering a secret to me.

His eyes locked with mine before they darted down to my lips.

And at that moment, a sudden urge came upon me.

I wanted to kiss him.

So badly.

And I think he wanted to kiss me too.

Warning signs were going off in my brain, alerting me of how bad of an idea it was. But it seemed my cloud of judgment was fogged up by the thundering beat of my heart, which had been slowly winning the battle by the second.

And damn it, it was just one kiss.I could just blame it on the alcohol tomorrow, right?

Colton must have been waiting for my approval, so I gave him the tiniest bit of a nod.

I wasn’t even sure if he saw it, until I could feel he had started to lean in.

Closer.

And closer.

And closer.

Until we were sharing a breath.

Until our lips were almost touching one another.

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