My face flamed and I shifted on my feet self-consciously, horrified that I was getting turned on watching this intimate scene. I was unable to look away. I continued to gawk at the guy. I ignored the girls. I watched him. The way he kissed—like his whole being was focused on the act. The way the bottom of his spine dipped was sexy as hell. His jeans rode low, hugging an ass that looked like it could bounce quarters. Just the sight made my stomach muscles clench and twist. And that was a wholly new experience.
A James Taylor song slid on. A hard and fierce beat. His powerful vocals a demanding, urgent wail that added to the tension swirling in the air.
The guy on the pool table lifted up from the lucky recipient of his attentions then. Still on his knees, straddling the one, he twisted around to face the girl who was kissing his back. He took her face in both his hands and that’s when I spotted the full, rocking, masculine beauty of his features.
And my world stopped.
I sucked in a breath as recognition sliced through me. It was Logan. Logan Mulvaney. Reece’s little brother. Reece, as in Pepper’s boyfriend. Logan as in only eighteen and still in high school. About to graduate but still in high school. And here he was. At a kink club.
The fire in my cheeks intensified. This must be what it felt like a split second before spontaneous combustion. Mortification washed over me as I realized I was getting all hot and bothered over a guy I had no business feeling that way about. Off-limits was putting it mildly. It didn’t matter that the guy had more experience than I did. He had seen and done more sexually than I probably ever would. Rumor was he had already slept his way through the female undergrad population of Dartford and was moving on to grad students now.
I was on the verge of turning and fleeing when his eyes locked on mine.
Hello, awkward.
Now he knew I had seen him. How could I ever act normal when our paths crossed over the course of the next few decades? And yeah, I had no doubt that our paths would cross that long into the future. Pepper and Reece would probably get married and I’d see this guy a couple times a year. First at the requisite wedding events, then the baby baptisms. Birthdays. Holidays. Each time I clapped eyes on him, I would recall this mortifying moment. And I’d know he would be recalling it, too. Damn it, where was the rewind button for tonight?
“Ohmigod! It’s Logan!” Annie gave a little hop beside me the moment she spotted his face.
Of course, she knew who he was. I seemed to recall they had fooled around once. Pepper had mentioned that tidbit. For the first time since knowing this, something ugly spiked inside me. I hated that Annie had gotten to kiss him . . . that they had maybe done more than kiss.
As embarrassing as the whole situation was, I did not spontaneously combust. The earth did not open up to swallow me. Still, I didn’t walk away. My feet were rooted to the spot, pinned by Logan’s dark blue eyes. With his gaze glued to me, he lowered his head to kiss the girl again. Eyes wide open. Trained on me. He didn’t look away from me as he kissed. Not even when the girl on the table brought her hand up and began working him through his jeans. He looked directly at me with a burning-hot stare.
Kissing one girl, his cock being rubbed by another, he stared me down.
I couldn’t look away.
“That’s hot,” Annie breathed near my ear. “He’s looking right at you like it’s you he’s kissing. Or wants to.”
I fought to swallow the golf-ball-sized lump in my throat. “No,” I choked out, not even certain what I was denying. He was looking at me. But he didn’t want to kiss me. That would be . . . weird. I was his older brother’s friend.
Suddenly someone started shouting: “Ten, nine, eight . . .” The crowd joined in, chanting out the rest of the countdown. “Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!”
A tall, thin guy wearing a Charlie Brown T-shirt held up his phone as the timer started trilling. “Time’s up!”
I exhaled, so relieved to know there was an end to this. That Logan wasn’t about to engage in a full-scale threesome in front of this mob. In front of me. Because as much as I disliked the idea, I knew I wouldn’t have been able to look away. I would have watched it all.
Which made me wonder who in the hell I even was anymore?
People clapped and hooted as Logan hopped down from the table in one smooth move, landing lightly on his feet. Turning, he assisted the other two girls off the table. One clung to him, clearly eager to continue what they’d started on the table.
“Number 364 . . . 364!”
Logan’s gaze found me. Not difficult. I still hadn’t moved from where I was rooted.
“All right! Who’s got 364? C’mon now!”
“Georgia, did you check your ticket?” Annie grabbed my hand. I’d forgotten about the ticket I’d grabbed from the bucket. I didn’t even know what it was for, but I’d hung on to it, clutched it between my fingers as I’d watched Logan’s little exhibition. “Ohmigod! That’s you!” Annie jerked my hand high into the air. “Right here . . . 364!”
The skinny guy pulled me forward. “Here’s 364! Annnnnd.” He made a show of tossing the tickets in the bucket. He selected another ticket and brandished it in the air. “The lucky number is 349! Where is 349?”
Another guy emerged from the crowd. This guy was big. Like lineman big. And tall. My head fell back to assess him. He grinned. “Hey, sweet thing.”
Before I could even speak, his hands dropped on my waist and lifted me up on the table. I winced a little as I came down hard. My legs dangled over the side of the table. “Ready for two minutes on the table?”
I opened my mouth, but no words came. For a split second, I tried to convince myself I could do this. Make out with a stranger in front of a group of strangers. I could be that bold. I could let go of my inhibitions for a few minutes and do something just that wild.
He leaned close to whisper in my ear, his fingers tucking the hair back from my face. “You’re a pretty piece. If you’re shy, we don’t have to do this here at all. Would you like to go somewhere else? Take more than two minutes?”
The words finally came. A big fat no materialized on my tongue. I opened my mouth to object, but someone else was suddenly speaking.
“Sorry. This one’s mine.” Logan reached for my arm, fingers closing around my wrist as he guided me down from the table. Relief coursed through me. Until I remembered that I was a big girl who didn’t need rescuing.
A James Taylor song slid on. A hard and fierce beat. His powerful vocals a demanding, urgent wail that added to the tension swirling in the air.
The guy on the pool table lifted up from the lucky recipient of his attentions then. Still on his knees, straddling the one, he twisted around to face the girl who was kissing his back. He took her face in both his hands and that’s when I spotted the full, rocking, masculine beauty of his features.
And my world stopped.
I sucked in a breath as recognition sliced through me. It was Logan. Logan Mulvaney. Reece’s little brother. Reece, as in Pepper’s boyfriend. Logan as in only eighteen and still in high school. About to graduate but still in high school. And here he was. At a kink club.
The fire in my cheeks intensified. This must be what it felt like a split second before spontaneous combustion. Mortification washed over me as I realized I was getting all hot and bothered over a guy I had no business feeling that way about. Off-limits was putting it mildly. It didn’t matter that the guy had more experience than I did. He had seen and done more sexually than I probably ever would. Rumor was he had already slept his way through the female undergrad population of Dartford and was moving on to grad students now.
I was on the verge of turning and fleeing when his eyes locked on mine.
Hello, awkward.
Now he knew I had seen him. How could I ever act normal when our paths crossed over the course of the next few decades? And yeah, I had no doubt that our paths would cross that long into the future. Pepper and Reece would probably get married and I’d see this guy a couple times a year. First at the requisite wedding events, then the baby baptisms. Birthdays. Holidays. Each time I clapped eyes on him, I would recall this mortifying moment. And I’d know he would be recalling it, too. Damn it, where was the rewind button for tonight?
“Ohmigod! It’s Logan!” Annie gave a little hop beside me the moment she spotted his face.
Of course, she knew who he was. I seemed to recall they had fooled around once. Pepper had mentioned that tidbit. For the first time since knowing this, something ugly spiked inside me. I hated that Annie had gotten to kiss him . . . that they had maybe done more than kiss.
As embarrassing as the whole situation was, I did not spontaneously combust. The earth did not open up to swallow me. Still, I didn’t walk away. My feet were rooted to the spot, pinned by Logan’s dark blue eyes. With his gaze glued to me, he lowered his head to kiss the girl again. Eyes wide open. Trained on me. He didn’t look away from me as he kissed. Not even when the girl on the table brought her hand up and began working him through his jeans. He looked directly at me with a burning-hot stare.
Kissing one girl, his cock being rubbed by another, he stared me down.
I couldn’t look away.
“That’s hot,” Annie breathed near my ear. “He’s looking right at you like it’s you he’s kissing. Or wants to.”
I fought to swallow the golf-ball-sized lump in my throat. “No,” I choked out, not even certain what I was denying. He was looking at me. But he didn’t want to kiss me. That would be . . . weird. I was his older brother’s friend.
Suddenly someone started shouting: “Ten, nine, eight . . .” The crowd joined in, chanting out the rest of the countdown. “Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!”
A tall, thin guy wearing a Charlie Brown T-shirt held up his phone as the timer started trilling. “Time’s up!”
I exhaled, so relieved to know there was an end to this. That Logan wasn’t about to engage in a full-scale threesome in front of this mob. In front of me. Because as much as I disliked the idea, I knew I wouldn’t have been able to look away. I would have watched it all.
Which made me wonder who in the hell I even was anymore?
People clapped and hooted as Logan hopped down from the table in one smooth move, landing lightly on his feet. Turning, he assisted the other two girls off the table. One clung to him, clearly eager to continue what they’d started on the table.
“Number 364 . . . 364!”
Logan’s gaze found me. Not difficult. I still hadn’t moved from where I was rooted.
“All right! Who’s got 364? C’mon now!”
“Georgia, did you check your ticket?” Annie grabbed my hand. I’d forgotten about the ticket I’d grabbed from the bucket. I didn’t even know what it was for, but I’d hung on to it, clutched it between my fingers as I’d watched Logan’s little exhibition. “Ohmigod! That’s you!” Annie jerked my hand high into the air. “Right here . . . 364!”
The skinny guy pulled me forward. “Here’s 364! Annnnnd.” He made a show of tossing the tickets in the bucket. He selected another ticket and brandished it in the air. “The lucky number is 349! Where is 349?”
Another guy emerged from the crowd. This guy was big. Like lineman big. And tall. My head fell back to assess him. He grinned. “Hey, sweet thing.”
Before I could even speak, his hands dropped on my waist and lifted me up on the table. I winced a little as I came down hard. My legs dangled over the side of the table. “Ready for two minutes on the table?”
I opened my mouth, but no words came. For a split second, I tried to convince myself I could do this. Make out with a stranger in front of a group of strangers. I could be that bold. I could let go of my inhibitions for a few minutes and do something just that wild.
He leaned close to whisper in my ear, his fingers tucking the hair back from my face. “You’re a pretty piece. If you’re shy, we don’t have to do this here at all. Would you like to go somewhere else? Take more than two minutes?”
The words finally came. A big fat no materialized on my tongue. I opened my mouth to object, but someone else was suddenly speaking.
“Sorry. This one’s mine.” Logan reached for my arm, fingers closing around my wrist as he guided me down from the table. Relief coursed through me. Until I remembered that I was a big girl who didn’t need rescuing.
