Page 44 of Dev

“I wasn’t…I mean. Look, what happened earlier was?—”

“A huge, stupid fuck up.” I put it bluntly, grabbing myself a water from the refrigerator and joining him on the couch. “My hormones are wild right now. I’m a knot of confusion. Can we just move on and forget about it?” I plead with him.

“Sure.” He frowns, still looking freaked out by it all.

“I feel so stupid.” I bury my head in my hands and laugh at myself.

“Hey, don’t feel stupid. If it means anything to ya, it was the best kiss I’ve had in a real long time.” He tries to make me feel better, and as much as I want to do it all over again and make it the best he’severhad…I can’t risk scaring him away completely. Having him around is keeping me going right now.

“So, how did things go with Griller’s mom? Was she pleased to be having a granddaughter?

“Over the moon. She stuffed me full of tuna and gave me a doggy bag to bring home,” I explain, managing a tiny smirk at him. “I saw Greaser there too, he was…different.” I have to think for a while about how to describe our encounter.

“Different, how?” Vike suddenly looks curious.

“I don’t know, nicer, more approachable. Less Greaser.” I shrug, not really sure how to explain it.

“Wow.” I touch my hand to my belly when I feel her shifting around again. It felt as if she just did a complete somersault.

“She giving you trouble in there?” Vike smiles, placing his hand next to mine so he can feel it too.

“Hell, she’s really making some moves in there.” He shakes his head in pure amazement when he feels her beneath his palm, and I have to bite my lip to stop myself from kissing him again.

“So will I be seeing you tonight?” Beatrix asks once she’s finished taking the check from table twelve.

“Tonight?” I ask, having no idea what she’s talking about.

“Come on, I thought you’d have known all about it. The club is having a huge beach party. Sinner invited Fiona and said to bring some friends. Didn’t your big, scary friend tell you about it?” She teases me with a pout.

“Dev’s not my friend,” I tell her for the hundredth time, hating that just hearing his name makes me go all weepy. I decided to listen to the warning he gave me when I last saw him. I’ve stayed away, hoping that it would make all the feelings I have for him go away. But if anything, it’s made them worse. I keep reliving that kiss we had on the beach over and over in my head. I’ve never been kissed that way before, and I crave more of it every time I think about it.

Staying away hasn’t been easy, especially now that school is over. I have a whole summer to occupy myself before I start college, and hearing that there's a party at the club tonight is making me desperate to go.

Surely, there’ll be enough people there for him not to notice me. I could turn up for an hour, blend into the crowd, and if I gotcaught, I could blame Sinner. He was the one who told Fiona to bring some friends.

“What time are you getting there?” I ask, my stomach starting to fizzle with nerves and excitement.

“Around nine. I want to make a fashionably late entrance so Mr. Sinner notices me.”

“Sinner? Really?” I check. Sure, the guy’s handsome, but there’s something about him that scares me, and don’t even get me started on his manners.

“Girl, if you’ve heard the stories that I’ve heard, you’d understand.” She shrugs as she makes her way over to clear her table.

It’s nine thirty, so Beatrix and Fiona are bound to be here, and as I move through the club gates, I take full advantage of the fact that Rocco’s distracted by a group of girls. Heading through the smaller gate that leads from the parking lot down to the beach, I have a scout around for any sign of the girls from work. The fire pit is burning, the music is loud, and it’s way busier than any of the parties Corey brought me to before.

“Ya wanna a beer?” Some guy I don’t know presses himself up against my back and passes a bottle over my shoulder.

“Thanks.” I take it from him and spin around, holding it up to cheers as I take a sip, and try my best to blend in. I listen to him tell me his name and talk about himself, all the while glancing around and wondering where Dev might be. The smoke is thick, making it difficult to see anything on the other side of the beach, so I decide to head closer to the balcony, hoping to get a better view of the whole beach.

“Hey, you never told me your name.” The guy chases after me.

“Millie.” I smile politely, climbing backward a few steps to gain some height so I can see over the top of everyone.

“That's a cute name, are you a cute girl?” he asks, climbing after me so his face is level with my chest.

“I can be, until someone crosses the line,” I warn, having a feeling that he might be about to overstep it.

“I like that.” He glances down my body, making me evaluate my outfit choice. It’s been a month since I last saw Dev, and the bikini I was wearing seemed to get a reaction out of him. Maybe tonight I was subconsciously hoping for the same effect.

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