Page 29 of Still Here Without You

He raises an eyebrow in question, and I laugh again.

“We’re not together, but it’s a thing. If I was going to be with someone, it would be him.”

Hang on! That didn’t come out right.“What I mean to say is—”

“Too late,” I hear from behind me.Dammit. “I heard what you said.”Of course, he did.

Thomas laughs at Joel over my shoulder, while I choose to ignore them both. Spotting Luke, another of Dylan’s teammates, walking my way, I stand and grab his arm as he passes. “I’m looking for a dance partner. Are you interested?”

Luke looks me up and down, slowly raking his eyes all over my body as he runs a hand through his short dark hair. I don’t like it, but at the same time, I just need a moment away from Joel.

“I’m down,” he says, linking our fingers and pulling me to the dance floor, completely oblivious to what we’ve just left behind us.

Luke and I dance for a few songs, and I find I’m actually enjoying myself. He’s not as sleazy as I thought he would be. He’s actually fun, switching from a dirty dancer to making a fool of himself every few minutes. I don’t mind him shaking his ass my way because what an ass it is. If only I could focus on his hotness instead of someone else’s.

As much as I’ve tried not to look, I’ve failed, meeting Joel’s gaze several times. I always find him smirking back at me, completely aware of what I’m doing but most likelynotaware of my reasons behind it. This time when I look his way, he winks—fucking winks—and I feel it deep inside me. I want him; there’s no denying it. But a few casual fucks is not worth the pain it might cause me in the long run. Sorry Joel. I just can’t do it to myself.

When Luke announces he needs to take a piss, I cringe and head back to our table. The only free spot is next to Joel, of course, so I drop down beside him with a huff. I’m a sweaty mess, but I don’t care. Grabbing Joel’s beer—his only one for the night—I knock back the remains and hold up the empty bottle, signaling for a new one.

“Did you have fun?” Joel asks, his smirk still in place.

“I did, thank you,” I say, still waving the bottle in the air.

“I’m good. No more for me,” he says with a grin before adding, “Shouldn’t Luke be buying you drinks?”

“You’re right.” I rise from the seat. “I’ll just go find him.

“Sit down,” Joel demands, pulling me onto his lap and wrapping his arms around me. “It’s Dylan’s round.”

Dylan laughs at our little scene before heading to the bar, leaving me trapped with Joel. Not that I’m arguing.

“Hope you’ve got your little dalliance out of your system, because for the rest of the night, it’s you and me. And you and me alone.”

Turning my head to face him, I try not to react when I see how close our faces are. “So much to unpack in that sentence,” I say, tapping him on the chest. “The demand, the alpha tone you’ve got going on, but the first thing I need to ask is…dalliance? Really?”

Joel shrugs. “Seemed fitting? Now about this alpha tone…is that something you go for?”

“God, you are impossible.” I laugh as Dylan returns from the bar. I try to move back to my own seat, but Joel holds on tight and when I look over my shoulder again to question him, I notice he’s not even looking my way. Instead, he’s watching Dylan pass out the drinks. My heart rate picks up to think his possessive grip on me is almost instinctual.Gah.

An hour later, I have a decent alcohol buzz, and I’m now comfortably curled up in Joel’s arms. As he talks to his friends, he has one hand resting on my thigh and the other running up and down my arm. I like the feel of it, a lot. I’m just about to pull him onto the dance floor, desperate to feel his body pressed against mine—you know,outsideof bed—when my cheer captain, Shelby, comes over, sweet smile and flirtatious look well in place.Oh right, she wants me to introduce her to Dylan. I’ve been avoiding it.

“Delilah, you’re here!” she exclaims with her Texan drawl, like she didn’t just spot me from across the room and beeline straight for me.

“I’m here,” I say with a huge, slightly fake smile, trying to match her enthusiasm.

“Hi, team,” she says, waving to the guys around the table. “How’re y’all doing?”

“Hi, Shelby.” “Shelbs.” “‘Sup.” The guys all call back at once. When their attention moves back to their conversations, Shelby smiles and turns to me with a pointed look. At this point, I don’t know if she’s aware I won’t be on the team once the semester ends, so I decide it’s best to stay in her good graces for as long as possible.

“Shelby, this is Joel,” I say, motioning over my shoulder. “And Dylan.” I wave his way.

“Oh, we know each other,” Shelby says. “You know, with me being cheer captain and all.”What?Why did she ask me to introduce them then?When I catch Dylan’s frown, I get it.He doesn’t give her the time of day.Hiding my urge to roll my eyes, I watch as Dylan recovers.

“Yeah, of course, we’ve spoken on occasion. Are you friends with our girl here?” he says, smiling at me, making me wonder if he can sense that something is off between us.

“Well, I was, until she decided to abandon us.”Guess that answers my question.

I hear Joel whisper, “the fuck?” in my ear as his grip on me tightens.

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