“I still can’t believe you did this,” Sylvie said over the sound of Rihanna calling for the DJ to blast the music.
Lauren laughed, giving Sylvie a twirl before dancing to the irresistible beat. “You’ll be surprised at all the things I can do.” She wiggled her eyebrows and swayed her hips.
Sylvie sighed with all the drama she could pack into a single expelled breath. “Once a delinquent, always a delinquent. What am I supposed to do with you?”
“Supposed to do? I’m not sure. I’m more curious about what you want to do with me.” She grinned and pulled Sylvie in close. Slipping her leg between Sylvie’s thighs, she held her close while grinding to the beat. “Or maybe to me.”
Lauren’s breath was warm on Sylvie’s sensitive neck. She closed her eyes, gasping when Lauren’s lips brushed against her skin. When Lauren’s hands slid down her lower back and didn’t stop, Sylvie bit the inside of her cheek.
She was about to ask Lauren whether she wanted to see if the locker room was unlocked — to fulfill a fantasy she’d entertained more than once during high school and more recently — when the song changed.
Sylvie stiffened before leaning back to look at Lauren. Lauren who was trying to hide her Cheshire grin and doing a terrible job.
“You did not pick this song.”
“What?” Lauren was a terrible actress. Her expression was far too amused to sell an innocent act.
Sylvie opened her arms as if Lauren could see the lyrics to Fix You all around them. “Coldplay? Seriously?”
Lauren’s laugh was magic, pumping up her already unsteady heart. She pulled Sylvie into a slow dance.
“It only seemed right that Chris Martin be here with us tonight. His lyrical genius is the only thing that could bring us together and heal old wounds.”
Sylvie propped her hands on Lauren’s hips and swayed slowly to the music. After a beat, she erased the remaining space between them.
She inhaled Lauren’s scent, closing her eyes as she allowed herself to be transported to 2005. “What do you think the nuns would’ve done if we’d danced like this?”
Lauren’s chuckle vibrated against Sylvie’s chest. A distant rumble on a rainy night best spent tucked under the covers. “They wouldn’t like that we weren’t leaving room for the Holy Ghost for one,” she joked.
“I regret not dancing with you that night.” Sylvie rested her head on Lauren’s shoulder. “I regret so many things.” Slow dancing in the middle of the empty gym, Sylvie stopped running from her pride. “We’ve wasted so much time. Spent so many years hating each other for no reason. I just wish we could get some of that back, you know?”
Lauren stopped swaying to the music, prompting Sylvie to look up at her. With the softest brown eyes, Lauren looked at her as if she was seeing straight into her heart. Did she know what was growing there? What was sprouting there for her?
“We have wasted a lot of time.” Lauren ran her thumb over Sylvie’s bottom lip. “But we have a lot of time left.” Her eyes darted between Sylvie’s mouth and her eyes. “And I don’t intend to waste any more of it thinking about the million and one things we would do differently. All I care about is the future.”
She brushed the hair away from Sylvie’s face before slipping her hand over the back of her neck, kissing her so deeply it severed Sylvie’s connection to her body. She was floating. Flying.
“Well then,” Sylvie breathed against her lips. “How about we go get started on that future?”