We start moving again, bodies connected and moving together. Faces insanely close, breathing the same air. And I'm counting the steps in my head, to keep from stepping on her and to keep from kissing her. There are only three steps. But somehow each sway feels different than the last.
As we continue to move to the sound, I start to distinguish the hikes she mentioned, the steps seem to fall perfectly in line with those points in the song. For the first time we don't break our stride, falling into perfect momentum.
"You're impressing me," she says, amused.
I spin her around the way I saw someone else do earlier. "I have a good teacher."
I'm just moving, with her against me, holding her tightly. But God, it's unbelievable. I wouldn't go as far as to say it feels better than sex, but it's pretty damn close. It's intimate in a way I'm not used to. Not in an obvious and explicit way, but in a more consuming way. Like my entire body is breathing her in, and our movements are stroking something in my stomach that feels comfortable and hopeful. Something that makes me want more...
Fuck. The start of a hard-on swells in my pants and we are way too close for me to be able to hide it. I shift the next time we change direction, trying to subtly add inches between us. The last thing I need is to sport giant wood in front of her entire family. But she brings herself flush against me again.
"Julia..." My warning is eclipsed by lust, and I have no control over my voice.
"Yeah?"
I'm not sure if I'm imagining the thickness in her own voice. The greedy part of me hopes this is leading to a point where we'll both strip off our clothes and use our hip movements in other ways. More delicious ways.
"This is dangerous."
"What is?"
The song ends and we stop moving, or I stop moving, abruptly, and she trips a little and sort of lands on my chest. Then she bursts out laughing and takes a step back. I laugh too. Though, I'm not sure what we are laughing at. The situation is funny, somehow. It's funny until suddenly it's not. Until I realize the humor is in the fact that I want to screw my best friend.
So goddamn bad it literally hurts.
Almost the moment I think it, the delight on Julia's face drains and for a split second I get the irrational thought she read my mind. But she's not looking at me. I follow her gaze across the yard, to the end of the patio where a guy stands by the open gate, hands in his pockets and eyes fixed squarely on Julia.
"Tell me that's not who I think it is," I say.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Julia
HE'S THE LAST PERSON I expected to see here. Not in a million years would I have guessed that he was reckless enough or stupid enough to show up at my parents' house.
Andrew stands by the gate of the backyard, not making any effort to come further onto the property. I don't know how long he's been waiting for me to notice him, but now that I do, it's clear he came with the sole intention of seeing me. He knew I'd be here. He knows my mother throws a big family gathering for her birthday. What he should've also factored in is that my father will rip him in half if he notices him standing there.
Blood rushes to my head, dulling the sounds around me. But what I feel isn't unruly or uncontrollable the way anger is. It's focused and razor sharp. It's a sheer resolve that turns my spine to steel and my breath to fire.
"Tell me that's not who I think it is," Giles says.
"Stay here, I'll handle this."
Giles wraps a hand around my arm before I can take a step. It's a possessive move that doesn't sit right with me. I yank my arm free and fix my eyes onto his. "I'm going over there. Alone."
"I can take care of--"
"This isn't your problem," I snap, meaner than I intended.
Every second Andrew stands at the threshold of my parents' backyard is another second closer to inviting disaster. And here I am arguing the issue with Giles because he wants to play hero. The last thing I need is another one of the men in my life overwhelming me.
I walk off and Giles doesn't try to follow, but his eyes might as well burn a hole through the back of my shirt because his gaze follows my every step.
When Andrew sees me approaching, he slides back out of the gate, to the side yard of the house and out of sight. I glance over my shoulder at Giles, who takes a few steps forward, shaking his head at me in warning. I'm not sure what he's worried about. I'm not in danger. If anyone's in danger, it's Andrew.
I waste no time rounding on my ex-boyfriend. "What the hell are you doing here right now?"
"I thought you'd come. I needed to see you."
"You've seen enough of me," I say, unwavering in my glare.
It's strange how his face is familiar in a distant, far off way. To a girl I used to know. A girl I used to be.
"I shouldn't have uploaded the video. I'm sorry. Can you tell your lawyer to back off? Julia, I'm facing charges. And it's like every cop in the city is waiting for me to so much as run a stop sign to throw me in a holding cell."
Of course he'd make this all about himself.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" My hands close into fists at my sides. "You shouldn't have uploaded the video? You shouldn't have taken the video, you pathetic, sick bastard." I pause, hearing a ruffle of something beyond the gate, but no one approaches. My sights fix on Andrew again. "I've played this moment in my head. I've thought of all the things I wanted to say to you. I wanted to make you feel low, way lower than you made me feel. But you know what? There are only two things I need you to know. The first is that you need to get the hell off my parents' property before my dad rips off your pathetic face. The second is--" I drive my fist into his throat in a swift jab that he clearly doesn't see coming. He collapses to his knees, hands flying to his throat. "Apology not accepted. Asshole."
He's kneeling below me, face bright red as he struggles to regain his breath, coughing and gasping for air. I look at the spot between his knees and resist the urge to kick him in the nuts. I need him to be able to walk out of here. I storm off, back through the gate, glancing back to see him still on his knees. Not looking where I'm going, I run into something. My face squishes against a solid chest.
Giles.
"Jesus, what happened?" he asks, craning his neck to look over the gate toward the gasping noises.
"I handled it, that's what happened."
Giles looks incredulous for a second then his shock melts away to a huge grin. He pulls me close to his side in a one-armed hug. I'm still so flooded with adrenaline that I almost shake him off of me. But his smell and warmth work to calm me down, centering me. My breathing starts to even out again as we walk, away from Andrew.
"See?" Giles says, as he guides me back toward the thick of the party. "I knew you were a closet ninja. That's what I meant when I said I wouldn't want to mess with you."
"Don't forget it," I say, a smile working its way onto my lips. But the reality of what just happened sinks in slowly.
Holy shit. I just throat punched Andrew. And it was so amazing, I want to go back and do it again. Glancing over my shoulder to the gate, I see a figure slinking away across the lawn, toward the street.