Page 91 of Alive At Night

“Have you ever actually broken someone’s fingers?” I cocked my head to the side, asking the first question that popped into my head. It was swimming a little bit, my head. Those shots were finally doing something.

Julian looked away, biting down on his lower lip like he had a confession he didn’t know if he should share.

I sucked in with surprise. “Youhave, haven’t you?”

He shrugged. “He deserved it.”

“Who was it?”

I was suddenly absolutely sure that I’d never wanted to know anything more than this information about Julian Briggs.

Julian’s gaze swooped down to mine, intense. “Greg Kennedy. Luckily, we were at football practice in high school, so it was easy to pass it off as an accident.”

“What?” I gasped. “But…why?”

Julian’s feelings about Greg Kennedy were far from a secret, butbreaking bones?

Another shrug. “Don’t like the guy.”

“Not liking someone isn’t a good enough reason to break their fingers, Julian.” A questionable statement at times, but usually, it held true. “I mean, you don’t likeme, but—”

“He cheated on you.”

I stopped moving, my hands falling to my sides as I stared blankly at Julian. His jaw ticked, irritation threading through his tense features. He plucked my arms back up and threw them one after another around his neck again. Then he grabbed my hips, tugging them tighter to his.

“And I do like you, Daisy,” he breathed, dipping his head to press it against mine. “Stop telling me how I feel.”

It took everything in me not to ask him more.

But all my thoughts and wonderings flew out the window when the song changed. With a racing beat that matched my pulse, it was the type of song meant for dancing. Julian’s hips picked up on the switch in tempo, and suddenly, they were grinding against mine.

The feeling of his body made it hard to think, much less talk. We danced wordlessly. Julian’s fingers dug into my hips, urging them to move with his. Heat seeped through my dress, warming my skin. Warmingallof me. Julian’s hot, short breaths hit the side of my neck, urging on the flames licking my insides.

His last words rang in my head.I do like you, Daisy.

They repeatedly rang until I knew I needed to do something about them. I pushed myself up the front of Julian’s body, my lips finding his ear.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” I breathed. “But I like you, too.”

Julian made a noise in the back of his throat, and I felt it everywhere. It reverberated into my body, making my skin tingle. I could become addicted to that sound, to that feeling. I slid back down until my feet were flat again, and Julian crushed us closer together. He extinguished the space between us in such a desperate, raw way that my breath vanished, and I suffocated on my sudden need for him.

Our bodies rocked, Julian’s hands started to roam, and the ache—

“We should take a break,” Julian gasped, taking an abrupt step back.

“I don’t want to.”

I should be ashamed of how quickly those words flew from my lips, but this dance was intoxicating, and I wasn’t done getting drunk. I wanted to stay right here in this bubble, with Julian’s hands all over me, forever. I wanted my breaths to keep matching his. I wanted to feel his pulse against my temple, racing beneath his skin. I wanted this—this right here.

“Juniper, you need water,” Julian said, more demanding this time. He let go of me, and I relented as he started pulling me off the dance floor. I followed behind him, admiring how sweat had gathered at the base of his neck, causing that auburn hair to curl. I wanted to wrap it around my fingers.

“Wait here,” he said, sticking me in a seat next to Grayson before stalking off.

I slunk back in my chair before spotting the remaining shots that Nessa had grabbed earlier. The alcohol had nothing to do with my high right now, but it certainly hadn’t hurt. And, hating to see them go to waste, I tipped one back.

My face immediately contorted at the rush of alcohol.

“Did you just—” Julian’s familiar voice lapsed into a growl as he pushed the remaining shot glass out of my reach and pushed an overflowing cup of water into my hand instead. “Drink, Juniper.”

---