Page 40 of Be My First

“Try it,” she’s smiling brightly at me.

I lean forward and eat it. “That is good. Thanks.”

She splits the piece of cake with me, handing off the fork between bites. After we’ve finished eating, a slow song comes on.

“Dance with me,” she says, taking my hand. I don’t want to. I should say no, but I don’t want to hurt her feelings.

I follow her to the dance floor. She wraps her arms around my neck and steps close to me. I put my hands on her waist. I feel like I’m buzzing right now. I can’t look at her. I watch Declan and Maggie across the dance floor, half dancing/half making out.

“What are you looking at?” Juno asks.

I nod toward Maggie and Declan. “The bride and groom.”

I turn her so she can see them. She gives a little laugh. “Getting a jump start on the honeymoon.”

I chuckle.

“Hopefully they’ll make another baby,” she says.

“That would be a little close with Ian, wouldn’t it?”

She shrugs. “They had trouble getting pregnant. It took almost a year for them to get pregnant with Ian, so I don’t think they’d mind.”

I think about this for a moment. I know a little bit of their story, but I didn’t realize they’d tried for that long to have a baby.

Juno is looking up at me. I make the mistake of looking down at her. Our eyes lock and there’s so much heat between us right now. How long is this song? Is it not over yet?

She leans in close and whispers into my ear, “Come to my room tonight.”

My eyes widen in surprise. She licks her lips and then says. “No one has to know.”

The song ends.

Not soon enough.

She gives me a quick peck on the cheek and walks away. I’m hoping no one noticed. The party starts to wrap up, and Juno picks up her heels and says, “Well, I’m beat. Always fun to celebrate with you guys. Good night.”

A few minutes later, I say my goodnights and go back to my room. My heart feels like it’s pounding out of my chest. I can’t do this, right? The house is full of people. Juno’s room is right next to Brooklyn and Kip’s and mine is next to Eli’s. Not to mention the President is just down the hall. The last thing I want is to get caught by the President sneaking in or out of Juno’s room.

I grab the back of my neck and pace until I’ve covered every inch of my bedroom. We’re obviously attracted to each other. Let’s say we hook up and no one finds out. Then what? Is this a onetime thing? A summer fling? Is it possible to keep this from Eli?

I pick up a pillow and hold it over my face. I’d like to scream into it, but I’d wake up the whole house. I can’t do this. She’s only twenty-two. I’ve known her since she was a kid. I shouldn’t. I really shouldn’t.

I set down the pillow and walk to my door anyway. I pull open the door and step out into the hallway. I know she’s about five steps away, waiting inside her room for me to come. I take one step forward when I hear someone coming up the stairs. I freeze.

“Hey, Bode,” The President says as he reaches the top of the stairs. “Thought you had gone to bed.”

I take a step toward the stairs and say, “I need to grab a water bottle. I realized I’m going to have a killer hangover tomorrow if I don’t drink some water before bed.”

He nods and then chuckles. “I could drink whatever I wanted in my twenties and never had a hangover and then I hit thirty.”

He shakes his head. “It was all downhill after that.”

I shrug. “I guess that’s life.”

He nods. “Good night, Bode.”

“Good night.”

---