Page 22 of Connected By Stars
I’m sure she does. Laughing, I wave them away. “Just don’t be too long. We’ll be starting the bonfire soon.”
“Oh, trust me, this won’t take long.” Noah looks at Emma, and a pang of envy hits me. What I wouldn’t give to have someone look at me like that and feel the same way. At least someone is getting what they want tonight. He takes her hand, and she giggles as they sneak away.
Noah throwsanother log on the fire. I dig my feet in the sand and relax back in my chair. I’ve had way too much wine, but I don’t care. It feels good to be this relaxed and not have a care in the world.
Sophia giggles and plops down next to me, almost falling over in her chair. It's a good thing we’re sharing a bed tonight in Noah’s spare room. We’ll crawl upstairs if we have to.
Laughing, I help Sophia fix her tilted chair in the sand, almost knocking me over, which causes us to laugh even harder.
“This night has been so much fun. I just talked to Skye. We’re in for a treat in a second,” she whispers.
“What do you mean? They didn’t get strippers, did they? Noah’s going to flip.”
“No, not strippers, but we do get to enjoy some half-naked men.”
“I don’t understand.” Just then, Maverick and Skye come out carrying leis and flower head wreaths for everyone. Skye bends down and puts a flower wreath on my head, giving me a sloppy drunk kiss on the cheek. Laughing, she moves on to the next person and does the same. I notice Maverick giving Emma a lei before kissing her cheek. Emma grins at him, obviously excited to see what is next.
Maverick puts a lei around Sophia, and she laughs when he blows a raspberry on her cheek. Bending down in front of me, he slowly puts the lei around my neck. His eyes never leave mine as he pulls my hair out from my lei so my curls are lying perfectly against it.
Leaning forward, my breath hitches as I feel his soft lips touch my cheek. I can feel his warm breath as he lingers before pulling away. His eyes are a little glossy from drinking, butthere’s no mistaking the desire in them. I see him swallow hard before he breaks eye contact and goes to the next person.
Trying not to pant in front of everyone, I touch the lei around my neck and smile. They’re real flowers. I take a deep inhale of their fragrant floral, hoping the scent will distract me from the coconut and ocean smell that just consumed me.
Hawaiian music starts to play through the speakers, and we all turn to see people coming down the steps to the beach. There are five beautiful Hawaiian girls wearing grass skirts and flower bikini tops. Behind them are five gorgeous guys wearing some type of sarong with small flower leis around their huge biceps. Each one is carrying a torch.
“Oh my God, they’re gorgeous. Look at the size of their arms. And the sarongs. Do you think they’re naked under there?” Sophia peers at them and tilts her head like she’s trying to see through the small fabric.
“I have no clue. But you’re right. They’re gorgeous. All of them. Look at the abs on those girls.”
“You look just like that. What are you talking about.” She laughs and gets excited when they get in position in front of everyone. Maverick and Skye get two chairs for Noah and Emma so they can be in front. Emma laughs as Noah pulls her on his lap, dismissing the other chair.
We watch in awe as the music changes, and they light the torches they are holding on either side. The girls hula dance while the guys throw and catch the lighted torches in the air. We clap our hands as one guy juggles three torches, the flames so close to his hands that I have no clue how he doesn’t get burnt. When the performance is over, we all cheer. The girls come over and pull us from our seats to teach us some basic hula dancing.
Laughing, I move my hips to the music and let the rhythmtake over. I close my eyes and feel my body sway and move as if it knows exactly what to do. Smiling, I open my eyes and see Maverick staring at me from across the fire. His eyes are dark and full of heat. I hold his eye contact and continue to move, loving the feel of his eyes on me.
My body gets hot and flushed as I feel him undress me with his eyes. I move my hand over my stomach before bringing it back up over my breasts. I watch his eyes get heavy-lidded as he peers at me from under his long lashes. I feel like the sexiest girl in the room dancing for him like this.
When the music ends, I slowly come back to my surroundings. I see Sophia talking to one of the fire dancers and giggling at something he says. The dancers say goodbye and leave, giving Emma and Noah their congratulations before they go. Emma runs and jumps in Maverick's arms as Noah hugs Skye.
“That was amazing! Thank you so much for everything tonight. I couldn’t imagine a better party for us.” Maverick laughs as she squeezes him tight.
“I’m glad you liked it. You still get your half-naked men at your bachelorette party, and Noah still got half-naked girls at his bachelor party. It’s just a much more classier way of doing it.”
“Way better than strippers,” she laughs. She walks over to hug Skye as Noah hugs Maverick.
“Thanks, brother. You guys made this night so memorable for us. It was just what we wanted.” Noah pulls back from the hug and beams at Maverick.
“Anything for you guys. I enjoyed the show just as much as you. Maybe more.” He briefly meets my eyes before looking away. “I’m glad you didn’t go the Vegas route. You were right. This was better.”
“Wow, turning down strippersandgambling. There may be hope for you yet.” Noah laughs.
“Yeah, I guess I’m just full of surprises lately.”
Sophia handsme a refill of wine as we settle around the fire. My blood is humming with alcohol, making me want to be brave when I know I shouldn’t. Everyone has left except the seven of us.
Emma and Noah are across the fire from me, snuggling on a chair together, and Skye is leaning back against Cole on a blanket. All of this pent-up sexual tension I’m feeling is putting me on edge. I’ve never felt this sexually aroused in my life. Maverick gets up and tells Noah he’s going to get more firewood. I glance at Sophia and see her making a s’more.
“I’ll be right back. I have to use the bathroom.” She nods and gets back to putting her marshmallow on the stick. I head for the stairs and turn around to see if anyone is watching before I bypass them and go under the deck, where the firewood is stacked in the back. I see Maverick setting logs aside to take back to the fire. He stills when he sees me.
