Page 86 of The Pinkie Pact

He surprised me by glancing at me, catching my eye, and we shared a look that was electrifying, sending a jolt of energy all through me. When he still didn't look away, it was as if we were silently saying a million secret things between us.

Kara elbowed me. "Stop staring at each other," she whispered to me. "You guys are so damn obvious when you do that."

I turned away, feeling my face flush. "Is it that bad?" I asked, now glancing at her, determined to keep my eyes away from Kieran right now.

She shrugged, a smile on her face. "Maybe it's just me that notices because I'm trying to help you keep it on the down-low. But you have to stop making goo-goo eyes at each other."

The way she said it made me laugh as I took another sip of my coke and tried not to look at Kieran. It was freaking impossible. My eyes wanted him. He was like a goddamn magnet drawing me to him with an intensity that was driving me insane.

"But it's not like anyone's paying attention," she said, typing away on her phone, probably texting Gen who was back in town tonight too.

Checking everyone out, andnotlingering on Kieran, I noticed she was right. This was one focused group. But I started to notice something different about everyone all of the sudden. The air in the room grew even more intense, even more excited, the glances at phones and computers more and more frequent. A larger group surrounded the senator, including Kieran.

Even Kara felt it and stood up. "Something's happening," she said as I scrambled up from the couch with her.

The energy around us was unreal, and my heart started to pound. What the hell was going on? Was it good or bad? Anxiety pulsed through me as I stared at everyone standing near the senator who was talking on her phone.

Her face was a mask, though. Man, she could be a serious contender in the poker world series if she lost her job tonight.

After another moment of heart-stuttering tension, she hung up her phone and looked around at everyone. An expectant hush fell over the room. I could practically feel the nervous vibrations bouncing off the walls around us all, making the anxiety multiply by a million.

All eyes on her, the senator's face suddenly transformed with the world's biggest smile. "We did it, folks! We won!"

Shouts went up in the air as everyone jumped up and down and hugged each other like a bunch of football players who had just won the Super Bowl. All that tension, all that stress, released into the air and morphed into wild excitement.

People I didn't even know hugged me right along with Kara. I heard the sound of champagne bottles popping one after the other.

Oh, here we go.

I glanced around hoping for a glass of that sweet, bubbly nectar that I loved. And then Kieran was in front of me, giving me a quick hug and a secret smile.

"Congrats," I said.

He nodded and grinned, his eyes bright with happiness, before someone pulled him away.

Glasses overflowing with champagne were passed around the room as the giddiness rose up along with the bubbles. I managed to drink half my glass before the senator quieted everyone to say a few words of thanks and a gracious toast to everyone in the room.

I loved how she always said we, not me or I, and gave so much credit to all the staffers in her well-fought victory. She was an incredible woman, and I hoped she'd someday rise even higher in the ranks.

As everyone clinked glasses and drank, I took a sip too, my mind suddenly swirling with where the hell I was right now. How had I ended up being great friends with a senator's daughter? And how on this crazy planet was I now the girlfriend of a senator's son?

When I had hoped to start over at GW, I'd never even dreamed of this strange turn of events. How could I have ever thought it up in the first place?

Someone came around with a champagne bottle and filled up my glass. Oh, this was nice. I loved the bubbly, and it made me super frisky. As if I wasn't feeling it already.

Damn it, I didn't even care anymore. My eyes found Kieran and I just outright stared at him. Someone turned on some music, and the celebration pumped up even more.

I noticed Mrs. Emerson leaving the room along with a few other people. "She has to give a speech and talk to the media," Kara said.

"Ah, she can't quite let loose yet, I guess."

"No. But we can." Kara grinned, holding up a bottle in her hand and pouring me even more.

As I tried to keep it from overflowing, I couldn't stop the smile from spreading on my face. "So no pinkie pact tonight."

"Hell, no," Kara said. "And guess what? Gen's campaign won too."

"Woohoo."

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