Chapter Thirty-five
“Do you really need your purse?”
“Let’s just say I’ve seen one too many Lifetime movies.”
She shut her door before walking in step with Thayer. Severine could hear the pounding of the music nearby.
“What do these Lifetime movies teach you?”
“That the stalker shows up out of nowhere and is always friendly and nice at first. It quickly turns vicious after that.”
He glanced down at her. “Then carry some Mace with you.”
“I do,” Severine patted her clutch. “It’s in my purse. The same purse you were pressuring me into leaving behind.”
Thayer looked away, but Severine saw a small smirk lingering on his lips. In the past few hours, Severine had discovered more things about Thayer than she had ever known about Macsen. For once, she pressed her body close to Thayer as they walked into the club.
“Follow me,” Thayer shouted above the noise.
Severine went to answer, but stopped short when Thayer grabbed her hand tightly in his and guided her past the warm bodies around them. There was no weaving around people. Thayer towered above everyone, giving him free rein to demand space as they made their way to a couple waiting by the bar.
“Thayer F*cking Sloan!” A guy yelled from the bar.
Thayer’s shoulders moved up and down from laughter as he did the ‘bro hug’ that had been around for ages. “You guys been waiting long?”
The black haired guy laughed and reached a hand out for the small girl next to him. He was around Severine’s height. An infectious grin spread over his lips as he wrapped an arm around the girl next to him, bringing her closer. She had on a cute black dress with red heels. They made her come up to Severine’s chin. It was dim in the club, but Severine could make out the smokey eye makeup and red lipstick. Her blonde hair was layered around her face in a cute style that Severine would never be able to pull off.
Severine’s bitch-o-meter wasn’t flying through the roof, and that was a good sign. Time was always the best thing when it came to getting to know other females.
“Severine,” Thayer draped an arm around her, shrouding her to his side. “This is Dan and Morgan.”
Severine’s smile was wide. It was all from Thayer. “Nice to meet you guys.”
“How much did he have to pay you to come with him tonight?” Dan teased.
Severine kept a solemn expression on her face as she answered him. “Nothing. He kidnapped me from the local McDonald’s.”
Thayer guffawed at her response. “What she’s trying to say is that we go to the same college.”
The mention of school made Severine’s back stiffen. Not here, not now. She didn’t want to think about it. Thayer noticed her tenseness and started to rub his hand up and down her arm. Both Morgan and Dan watched the movement.
“Are you going to stand here all night?” Morgan directed her question toward Dan. “Chop, chop, and get us some drinks!”
He walked away, and she slapped him on the butt.
“You want something?” Thayer asked.
“Ahh...” Severine couldn’t concentrate long enough to think of anything good. “Just get me a White Russian.”
He nodded and followed behind Dan. Severine was left with Morgan. The two of them awkwardly stayed silent. Sometimes it was easy to connect with someone. Other times, it took a little more work. Severine was willing to put in the effort for tonight. “You wanna go find a table?”
Morgan smiled quickly. “Yep. Let’s find something far away from the bar.”
“Why?”
“It’s fun to listen to Dan complain. He’s my bitch,” Morgan teased.
Severine laughed as she helped Morgan search for a table. One finally became open, and Severine practically tackled someone to get to it.
“Have you been with Dan very long?”
Morgan turned to look back at the bar, where Thayer and Dan stood. A bright smile lit up her face.
“For about five years. It’s all really, really romantic. He told everyone in eighth grade that it looked like I drank a bottle of self-tanner, and I baked him a plate of brownies with laxatives laced in them.”
Oh yeah, Severine could get along with Morgan. “So true love really does exist.”
“And the plus side is I never have to bake for him!”
“Have you known Thayer long?”
“God, yes.” Morgan rolled her eyes in thought. “I grew up alongside both him and Dan.”
“Really now.” Severine leaned across the table anxiously. “Do you have any really embarrassing stories about Thayer?”
Morgan smirked deviously. “I have hours worth of stories.”
“You know you have to tell me one,” Severine demanded with a sneaky grin. “Right now!”
Morgan smiled back and scooted closer to Severine. As she settled in her seat, she glanced behind her. Severine looked at the same time, noticing that Thayer was watching her with a slight frown. “Uh-oh. He knows I’m going to say something,” Morgan snickered.
“Ignore him,” Severine said quickly. “Now, tell me, tell me, tell me!”
“You remember school field trips, right?”
“Of course.”
“In the fourth grade, all three classes took a trip to the Arch. It’s a long trip on a bus, a really long trip...”
“What did Thayer do?”
“Oh, nothing on the bus. He was probably being a dumbass with Dan. But, after the bus ride there, after visiting the Arch, after everything...that’s when things got interesting,” Morgan said cryptically.
“Okay.”
“We were all getting ready to get back on the bus to go home. But the teachers and chaperones wanted a picture. So we all lined up on these stairs. At the time, I was hitting a growth spurt and had to stand next to Thayer in the back. Well, after the sixth picture, Thayer was getting a little antsy, started mumbling that he had to pee,” Morgan paused dramatically.
“Uh,” Severine screeched out, “don’t tell me.”
“Yup, he pissed his pants.”
“This might be the greatest moment ever.”
“Dan dared him to drink an entire liter of Surge. Even at the age of nine, they were idiots.”
“This is amazing. I officially want to make love with this moment.”
“Oh, it gets better. All of it is captured on camera. So the first few shots are okay. But then you get to the last three, and it shows me looking horrified while looking down at his pants. Thayer’s face is contorted in relief.”
Severine laughed until her ribs ached. “I take back what I said earlier. I want to divorce the other moment and marry this moment.”
“Shh!” Morgan hissed out. “He’s walking over. Play it cool. You heard nothing from me.”
Severine nodded and kept her face neutral as Thayer placed her drink in front of her. Her hands immediately reached for the straw, and she sipped erratically.
Thayer leaned his arm on Severine’s chair and notched his head in Morgan’s direction. “What were you two talking about?”
Morgan shrugged and stirred her drink. “Nothing.”
“Nothing.” Thayer nodded his head and took a long drink of his Heineken. He tested the boundaries and shifted closer to Severine. His thigh touched her knee, and she raised her eyebrows at him expectantly. “What were you guys really talking about?”
Severine smiled slyly. “Nothing...” Thayer nodded his head and looked away, just as she finally finished her sentence. “Huggies.”
He slammed his beer on the table and pointed in Morgan’s direction. “I f*cking hate you, Morgan.”
She shrugged her shoulders while Dan choked on his beer next to her. “Suck it, Thayer. That’s for telling everyone during freshman year that my eyebrows looked like the ozone depletion.”
Thayer pointed between his eyebrows and smirked. “Good to see you lost your tweezers.”
Severine laughed at their banter and enjoyed the moment. Seeing this side of Thayer, for longer than a few minutes, hushed all the worries in her head.
More time sped away as the four of them talked. Thayer’s arm moved closer and closer to her back, until it was secured near her hip. After four shots, Severine’s peaceful energy was replaced with the crazed feelings she’d had the minute she met him.
Her legs slid to the floor, and she clutched Thayer’s hand. “Let’s dance.”
His smile showed just how pleased he was as Severine led them toward the dance floor.
If Severine concentrated long enough, she would’ve recognized the song. All she could hear was the beat, as it pulsated around the room. She instantly started to move. Thayer’s smile started to fade as he stared at her hips. For someone who was always so smooth, he seemed hesitant. His movements were almost slow, like he was trying to draw out the moment.
He took in every shift of her body. Severine looked him in the eye, waiting for him to relax. Slowly, he started to let go. Severine tilted her head back to look up at him. He couldn’t keep the cocky illusion around her. She wanted him like this. Always.
She smiled—it seemed like the wisest thing to do—and grabbed his large hands into hers and held them high into the air. Their bodies were inches apart. They had been thigh to thigh moments ago, but now the air had shifted around them to something more intense.
Any space between them was closed off as Severine lowered their hands and touched the muscles on his hips. Her fingers splayed on his stomach. Severine felt his muscles twitch as she moved them up his chest, around his shoulders.
Thayer’s eyes took on a feral look. His hands moved down her hips. He tightened his grip and pulled her close enough for her to feel how hard he was. Severine’s response was to push further. She knew she was playing with fire. But right now, she was getting a glimpse at how sex would be with him. Every boundary would be pushed. Neither one would pull away and admit defeat.
The heat of the room made every move even more acute. Everything he felt, she could feel too. Severine didn’t ignore what was building around them. She took what she wanted, wrapped her fingers around his neck and guided his lips to hers.
Unknown territory should be a terrifying thing. His tongue crept into her mouth, just as his fingers dragged down the length of her hair and pulled lightly for Severine to tilt her head.
Kissing Thayer bordered on wicked. Severine could become greedy after this.
Lust would set in and she’d want more. Her pride would always be with her, but she’d beg for this again.
Severine wanted him closer. She wanted relief.
Everything about this kiss enticed her to take as much as she wanted. By the time they pulled away, Severine knew she had to have more.
“I wanna go.”
Thayer’s chest moved up and down as he absorbed her words. His eyes never moved from her face while he nodded his head. “Let’s go.”