Page 72 of Wanted You More

“Babe, he already likes you for just being you. I have no doubt the slightest invitation will give him the opening to do something. All it takes is the slightest touch. Dance with him. Brush his hand. Grab his arm. Make sure you’re close to him. Trust me. You’ll be fine.”

I can see a little bit of confidence in her dark eyes as she smiles. “Okay. Want me to text you these pics to send to Noah?”

“Oh, I won’t be sending these to him. That’d be too obvious.” When I see them come through, I grin, knowing it’ll get a reaction from him. “I will, however, be posting these on the apps I know he uses. The rest is up to him.”

She looks intrigued as she watches me do exactly that. I don’t bother with a witty caption on the post or filters on the pictures. I post, turn my screen off, and let time work its magic.

“Let’s get you finished so we can go.”

***

Hands find mywaist during one of the classic rock songs playing, turning me away from Kennedy and Lincoln and toward the newcomer.

I vaguely recognize the boy in the firefighter costume from a different party. He must be freezing because he’s lacking a shirt under the red suspenders. And is that…?

Touching his chest, I laugh at the glitter that comes off on my fingertips. “Are you wearing body glitter?”

My new dance partner wiggles his eyebrows at me. “Thought it added something to the costume. You like?”

I don’t tell him that it’s going to take forever to get that glitter off. I’m sure he’ll figure that out soon enough.

Before I can say anything, I feel another hand on my shoulder. When I look behind me, it’s Kennedy’s panicked face I see. Lincoln is talking to some other girl, all while my roommate stands there looking awkward as hell.

Sighing, I turn back to the wannabe fireman. “Sorry. Maybe next Halloween.”

Without waiting for a reply, I give him my back and tug Kennedy to the side of the room. A sad expression creeps over her face as she watches the girl dressed like some sort of furry animal flirt with Lincoln, who’s soaking up the attention.

“I told you he’s not interested in me!” she hisses, grabbing my hand with super strength.

Her grip has me wincing, but I don’t pull back, even though I’m pretty sure I hear one of my bones pop.

“Ken, chill. You know he’s a flirty guy. For all we know, he’s not flirting back.” I make a face when I see him move closer to her, which doesn’t exactly paint the picture I’m trying to reassure her with. “Okay, so he’s a dude. You never know what they’re going to do. Did you make a move like I told you to? You’ve been inseparable all night.”

Her frown tells it all as she pushes up her glasses. “Austen, I’m not cut out for this. I thought I was, but…”

I grab hold of her upper arms and squeeze them once in encouragement. “Listen to me, Kennedy Beck. You’re a bombshell. I’d go gay for you in a heartbeat. I’ve seen at least five guys over the past hour stare at your butt, but you’ve been too focused on Lincoln to notice. If you want to make a move on Linc, do it. But all I’m saying is that you’ve got options tonight.”

Her eyes nervously glance around the room at the boys lingering with their friend groups. “Maybe we should just go back to our room and watch a movie or something.”

Disappointment seeps into me when I see her eyes start welling. “Give me one second, okay? Then we can go back and have a girl’s night in just the two of us.”

Blinking rapidly to fight off the tears, Kennedy says, “You won’t be mad?”

I wave it off because I don’t want her to feel bad about leaving. “This party is lame anyway. There’s no originality in the costumes. Some of the athletes just wore their uniforms. Boring.”

Holding up my finger, I march over to Lincoln and grab his arm. He stumbles back as I pull him away from the girl, laughing when he sees my no-nonsense expression.

“What are you doing?” he muses when we stop on the opposite side of the room as Kennedy.

I ask him one question. “Are you blind?”

He blinks slowly. “No?”

He sounds confused, making me scoff at his naivety. “Do you not understand that Kennedy likes you? She’s been all over you tonight and you’re letting some rando hit on you in front of her? Open your eyes, idiot!”

Once again, he blinks.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “She wants to leave because she doesn’t want to see you drooling over other chicks.”

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