Author: K.A. Linde

They found Phillip and Topher having zero luck talking to a group of girls by the bar.

“Hey, y’all,” Hayden said, approaching his friends.

“Lane,” Topher said with a brief nod in their direction before returning to his conversation with the girl.

Phillip turned and then acted as if he was trying to see behind them. “Where’s Jamie?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

“She’s not here,” Hayden said, shaking his head.

“What? Why not? I thought you said she was coming.”

“She’ll be here later,” Liz told him, saving Hayden from having to say it. “She’s meeting up with some friends first.”

“Ugh! Let’s get drinks before he starts talking about her.” Hayden slid his hand around her waist and guided her toward an open space at the bar.

One of the perky blond bartenders came over to get their order. She smiled brightly at Hayden and gave him sex eyes. Liz wondered whether that was how she earned her tips or if it was specifically for Hayden.

He looked good tonight in navy shorts with a gray-and-white striped button-down, a thick brown belt, and matching brown Sperrys. Laid-back preppy, like normal. She couldn’t imagine him any other way.

“Whiskey sour, right?” Hayden asked Liz, still not moving his hand from the small of her back.

How did he remember that? she wondered.

“Perfect. Thanks,” Liz responded. She leaned her elbows against the bar.

“A whiskey sour and a Maker’s and Coke,” Hayden ordered. He handed the bartender his credit card. “You can leave it open.”

“Sure thing,” the bartender said, winking at him.

Hayden turned his attention back to Liz as the girl started making their drinks. “I’m really glad you decided to come visit this weekend,” he said with that same smile. His hazel eyes were dark in the dim lighting as they looked down at her.

“Me too. I’ve had a really good time. It was nice to get away,” Liz said with a sigh.

“You wanted to get away from your amazing summer to spend a few days with some random guy, you know,” he said, blowing it off as if it was nothing.

“Yeah, just some guy,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’d never even met him before or anything.”

“Nope. You’re a bit of a stalker, Liz.”

“Oh, you know, it’s what I do in my spare time. Actually, it’s kind of my job. I don’t know if you know, but I’m a big-time reporter.”

Hayden fake-gasped. “I had no clue.”

“Here you go, hon,” the bartender said, reappearing with their drinks and sliding them across the bar. “Anything else?”

Topher and Phillip appeared behind Hayden at that moment. Phillip shoved Hayden out of the way and into Liz, who grabbed onto him quickly.

“Guys, watch what you’re doing!” Hayden called.

Liz’s body was flush against Hayden’s, and when he looked down at her, she blushed and pulled away.

“We’re going to need,” Phillip said, and started counting the people, “six shots of SoCo. Got to do it right for my buddy from the Carolinas.”

“There are only four of us,” Hayden observed.

Topher nudged Hayden; he had his arms slung over the shoulders of two girls. “Meet Anne and Abigail.”

Liz shook her head at the display. The girls barely acknowledged them. Liz started making a bet with herself on how fast these girls would ditch them after they took the shots.

“Six shots of SoCo,” Phillip said, passing around glasses as the bartender handed them to him. “Hope you don’t mind, Lane, but I put this on your tab.”

“That’s like fifty bucks,” Hayden said, exasperated.

“Better you than me,” he said, raising his shot glass in the air dramatically. “To nights you’ll never remember, and friends you’ll never forget.”

The group all cheered and clinked their shots together. Liz tilted her head back and let the liquor slide down the back of her throat in one swift motion. She closed her eyes and shook her head. Potent.

“Awesome,” Topher said, slamming his drink back on the bar.

“We’re uh…going to go dance,” one of the girls said with a shrug.

“Yeah, thanks for the drink,” the second one said, already attempting to retreat.

Called it, Liz thought.

“Aww, leaving already?” Phillip asked, walking with them away from the bar.

Liz laughed as Topher trailed after them too.

“That’s a lost cause,” Liz said.

“Those guys don’t give up easy,” Hayden told her. “The girls will give up fighting it before they do.”

They picked up their drinks and followed the guys back to where they were chatting up Anne, Abigail, and their friends. The girls all started dancing together to the rhythm of the music. Liz knew girls at home who used this as a defense so they didn’t have to dance with certain guys. Phillip and Topher stood and watched them for a couple minutes before coaxing one of the girls to dance with each of them. They were smoother than a lot of the guys she knew, but still.

The dance floor filled up as the alcohol flowed, and soon even Liz found herself dancing with the group of girls. She could only remember that the tall girl was Anne and the short one was Abigail. The rest of the girls blended together and really it didn’t matter. It was nice to kick back and enjoy herself. She forgot about everything that was frustrating and confusing about her summer and lived in the dance.

She didn’t even think she was that great, but she was living by Victoria’s motto tonight: If you’re a girl, you can shake it. Apparently that was all that was needed.

Liz danced sandwiched between the other two girls, feeling tipsy and giddy from the drink and heat. She raised her hands high over her head, swished her hips side to side, and dipped down low with the other girls. She dropped her head back and laughed as the girl in front of her touched her toes. It was all entirely too ridiculous, and that made it all the more fun.

Anne, the girl behind her, grabbed Liz’s hips to keep from falling over and ended up laughing loudly in her ear.

“Oh my God!” Anne cried.

Liz laughed and steadied herself against Abigail, who stood up and reached out for her friends in front of her. Liz glanced over at Hayden with the biggest smile plastered on her face.

He was standing there only a few feet away, just staring at her. She couldn’t judge his expression. It was like a mixture of curiosity with disbelief and a whole lot of where the hell did that come from?

Hayden caught her staring back and smiled. He took a few steps to bridge the distance between them and grabbed her hand, pulling her away from the girls. She landed against his chest and he drew her into him.

“Good Lord, what have you been doing all summer?” he whispered into her ear.

“What do you mean?” Liz asked innocently.

“You’re so…free,” he said, as if it was the only word he could come up with.

“It’s just me, Hayden.”

“You say that,” he said, his hands sliding to her hips and swinging them into time with his, “and then you dance like this.”

Liz wound her arms up around his neck. “No reason not to dance,” she murmured.

“No,” he agreed, “no reason at all.”

He stared down at her then and she saw in his eyes something she hadn’t noticed before—lust. Liz swallowed hard and tried to forget about it. That wasn’t what this was. Hayden had his chance at the end of the semester and had made it clear they were just friends. But she knew for certain that he was not looking at her like a friend.

The crowd drew in all around them as couples paired off, but when she was dancing with Hayden, it felt as if there wasn’t anyone else in that room.

As they continued to dance, Liz felt her heartbeat rise along with the temperature in the room. She couldn’t believe that after two years of crushing on Hayden, here he was finally showing her the attention she had been craving all along. It didn’t feel fair that it had taken a summer with Brady to change her, to open her up. It was as if he had unlocked a piece of her that she hadn’t even known existed.

Now here she was in a crowded nightclub with the guy she had always wanted, and to say she was conflicted was an understatement. She couldn’t turn off two years of attraction like a light switch, but she owed it to Brady. They had too much to work out for this to happen.

Their dancing slowed almost to a stop as Hayden drew her closer and closer to him. She dragged in a ragged breath as her eyes rose to his. She could feel his hot breath on her cheeks and his fingers dig softly into her back.

Oh God, she thought, seeing everything play out before her eyes as if in slow motion.

“Guys!” someone called, barreling against them and clinging to Liz’s arm.

Liz broke out of her trance and took a step away from Hayden. Her heart was beating fast and she knew her cheeks were crimson. She broke his gaze and looked over at the person holding on to her.

“Jamie,” Liz said, relieved. That had been close.

Jamie smiled brightly at her. She was dressed simply in a striped hi-lo dress and sandals. She threw her arms around Liz with a cheer. “Oh my God, you guys are still here!”

Liz laughed and moved her to arm’s length. “Of course we’re still here. How drunk are you?”

“The girls gave me too much wine,” she said with a giggle. “We should dance!”

“Um…your sister is pretty wasted,” Liz told Hayden.

“Shhhh, don’t tell him,” Jamie whispered into Liz’s ear.

“Jamie,” Hayden said, shaking his head. “You can hardly stand up.”

“Don’t you start.” Jamie pointed her finger in his face. “James will be here any minute, and I’ll hear enough from him.”

“Do you want me to go get you a water?” Hayden held her steady.

“Yes, I do, but first, bathroom,” she said with a giggle. “Liz, shall we?” She gestured out dramatically in front of her.

“Sis, your Drama Club is showing,” Hayden teased.

“Smack him for me,” Jamie told Liz before striding toward the bathroom.

“I’ll uh…go with her, I guess,” Liz said with a shrug.

Liz walked across the crowded bar and into the bathroom behind Jamie. It was packed with girls fixing their hair, applying makeup, gossiping, and there was always one throwing up into the toilet.

“I’ll be quick!” Jamie said, finding an open stall.

Liz stood against the wall with a huff. She tried not to think about how Hayden had almost kissed her. They had been in that position before, except this time she didn’t think he’d had any intention of backing off. She was thankful that Jamie banged into them when she did. She wasn’t sure if she would have stopped him if he had leaned forward, and that was disorienting.

What am I going to do the rest of the night? she wondered.

Jamie left the stall, walked to the sink, and started washing her hands.

“I just have to tell you something, Liz,” Jamie said, grabbing the last paper towel and drying her hands.

“Yeah?” Liz wondered what kind of drunken conversation they were about to have.

“I was really worried at first when Hayden said you were a reporter.”

“What?” she said, confused. “Why were you worried about that?”

Jamie tossed the paper towel. She turned to Liz and sighed as if it was such an obvious question. “I didn’t want him to be dating someone too rigid. You know, like him.”

Liz’s eyes bulged. “Oh, Jamie, we’re not…uh…we’re not dating.”

“Oh, yeah, of course,” she said, waving it off. “He mentioned that.”