Page 29 of Facing the Line

My mouth waters at the sight of her. She looks amazing in jeans that hug her backside. Her black crop top reveals a strip of smooth skin and a hint of her belly button. What would it feel like to press my lips to that spot?

“Baby Sister! You made it!” Hunter grins at her and bats her hand away as she punches his shoulder.

And when he uses that nickname, I’m a creep for ogling his sister.

“Break it up, you two.” Natalie steps between them and hugs Hadley. “No sibling rivalries tonight.”

“Yeah, and no more baby sister.” Hadley glares at her brother, then perks up and gazes at everyone else, lingering on me. “Now, who wants to buy me a drink tonight?”

“Nuh-uh.” Hunter steps in the middle of our circle and points his finger. “No one will be doing that for the under-aged freshman.”

Evan throws up his hands. “Don’t look at me. This is my favorite bar. I don’t want them to lose their liquor license.”

Hadley pouts and crosses her arms over her chest. I swallow and force myself to glance away from her cleavage. “Like you guys never drank when you were underage.”

“Not here we didn’t.” Cooper boops her on the nose. “But maybe if you’re lucky, I’ll give you a beer the next time you come over for Movie Monday.”

“Oooh, a beer.” She feigns excitement, then sighs. “You really know how to party, Cooper.”

He tips his cowboy hat to her. “You know it.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Smiling, Jasmine grabs his hand and pulls him out to the dance floor. Natalie tries to do the same to Hunter, but he stays put and narrows his gaze as a guy approaches Hadley.

With gelled hair and a too-tight polo, he screams “frat boy.” But maybe that’s Hadley’s type. He gives her a smolder and says, “Hey.”

It makes me want to roll my eyes. I sip my drink, instead, and Hunter steps in front of her. “Nope. Go try with someone else’s sister.”

“Hunter,” she whines as Fratty turns around without another word. “You can’t be like this. I’m allowed to have sex, and drink, and dance with guys when we’re out at a bar.”

He makes a disgusted face. “Please don’t ever talk about having sex again.” He points to me. “Here. Dance with Joe.”

My mouth gapes open, probably making me resemble my sister’s goldfish. I glance at Evan to help, but the spot next to me is empty. He’s disappeared.

Hunter doesn’t wait to see what happens but lets Natalie have her way and tug him over to the group of dancers. His left foot is in a boot, but he left the crutches at home, and he’s moving around fine.

“Um.” Settling down my glass, I hold out my hand to Hadley. Her brow furrows. “We don’t have to dance if you don’t want to. Obviously, I?—”

“No, I will.” She puts her fingers in mine and a spark of warmth ignites in my chest. “I want to.”

“But. Your boyfriend.”

She shakes her head. “We broke up.”

“Oh.” I try to keep my expression neutral. It would be inappropriate for me to pump my fist in victory, right? “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really. I do want to dance, though, and for some reason my brother thinks you’re a safe choice.”

Little does he know.

It’s not like a movie—the song doesn’t immediately change to something slow and intimate. No, it’s worse. The thumping bass beat moves through my veins, and I feel it everywhere. All I can think about are the points where we touch—first our palms, then my hands on her waist.

I was right, that strip of skin between the hem of her shirt and her waistband is the silkiest thing I’ve ever touched. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath to hold on to my control, but it only fills me with her sweet scent.

“Jonas, I’m not trying to torture you.” Leaning closer, she speaks into my ear. “If you don’t want to do this?—”

“No, I definitely do.”

“Then can you relax and try to have fun?”

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