Page 49 of Away We Go

Clasping onto his hand, I pull him along behind me.

“That dimple…” he grumbles and I flash him another smile over my shoulder.Huh, maybe I need to use my superpowered dimple more often?

We skirt around the dance floor and find a spot in the back, away from all the wayward hands and elbows.

“Here is perfect,” I declare, twirling around as the music takes me over.

He puts his hands around my waist and pulls me closer to his body. We move together in time to the music, his arms like steel bands holding me to him.

Oh, so we’re doing this sort of dancing.

I stare up into his face, our bodies moving in sync with the beat and each other and it feels…incredible.

“I thought you said you don’t dance.”

He smirks. “I don’t.”

He twirls me out and pulls me back in again, holding me even tighter than before. My hands move from his shoulders to the back of his head, and I run my fingers through his hair. You know, to see if it’s as soft as it looks.

“Cherry.” His voice holds a note of warning I choose to ignore. With the effects of the tequila sloshing around my body, I lean in closer to him, fluttering my eyelashes and flashing my dimple to see how far I can push him.

With a tortured groan, his hands fist my dress around my hips, forcing me even closer to him, his eyes now glued to mine. My breath comes out in ragged gasps as he presses my front fully against his, his fingers smoothing circles all over my bare back.

Thank you, little red backless dress.

“Ah, another one of your little secrets. Don’t worry, it’s safe with me,” I say, struggling to keep up with the conversation.

What are we talking about, again?

His lips twitch and his eyes travel languidly across my face before settling on my lips. I moisten my dry lips with the tip of my tongue, noting his eyes darken as he follows its progress.

“Cherry—” His face inches in slow motion closer to mine.

“Cherry!”

Serena’s high-pitched squeal drowns out whatever he was about to say and his head flinches away from mine. I blink at the suddenness, whirling around to face my friend as she snatches me almost violently out of his arms.

“Idris Elba is here!”

I shake my head to focus on what she’s saying. “What?”

She points to the bar. “Idris. Elba. Is. Here.”

Standing on my tippy toes, I follow her line of sight. “That’s not Idris Elba.”

She squints. “It’s not?”

I giggle at her crestfallen expression. “No, it’s really not.”

“Boo.”

“I’ll leave you two to your celebrity spotting,” Nicky’s hands are clenched into fists by his side, his intense gaze flickering away from mine.

“But—” I stammer. I don’t want to look for celebrities. I want to dance with him.

He leans over and brushes his lips over my hair. “Have fun.”

I watch with my heart in my shoes and disappointment swimming in my belly as he walks away. Not to the VIP area, but towards the front door. He stops when he gets there, tilting his head in my direction and I see James nod from his spot off to the side, where he’s standing like a tall building.

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