Page 32 of Until We're More
I hadn’t really thought about it, but I should’ve. The whole theme was from the prohibition era. “You know, I’ve always hatedThe Great Gatsby. It’s such a frustrating, depressing book. I prefer my endings much happier.”
Nervousness crept into Kevin’s features, and he fiddled with the linen napkin. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve asked before bringing you here.”
I lowered my eyebrows. “No, I’m not saying I don’t like the club. It’s awesome. As long as they don’t force me to readGatsbyright now, I’m good.”
He appeared to be confused, so apparently my joke hadn’t landed. “I’m sure no one will force you to read it.”
“Yeah, tell that to my high school literature teacher.”
Again, he seemed confused. Was I not as funny as I thought?
“That was a joke. Because she literally did force me to… Anyway.” I picked up my expensive cocktail and sipped at the fruity concoction. “When does the music start?”
For once, the universe gave me a break, and a man climbed onstage to announce the band, relieving me from having to make any more small talk, which I was clearly failing at. I sat back in my cushy seat and soaked in the jazz music that filled the room.
The singer packed all the feels into the words with her smoky, sultry voice, and it sounded like one of those tragically romantic songs, where you worried heartbreak was inevitable at the end.
I wonder if Liam would like this. Maybe if he heard it live.He normally stuck to the pump-up music at the gym, the kind that yelled at you.I hope he remembers to brush George’s teeth.
Maybe I shouldn’t have asked him to. One day won’t make or break George’s teeth.
Only in cat land, that was, like, a whole year. I reached inside my purse, wrapping my hand around my phone so I could text and ask how it was going. But then everyone around me applauded, and once again, I told myself to stop living halfway in two worlds.
I was in a fancy dress, my cute date was smiling at me, and I was missing it.
Toward the end of the set, the singer announced it was time for their most romantic song and suggested couples come forward and dance. For a few seconds, I stared longingly at the pairs who took the floor. Then I thought now would be an ideal time to put some of my assertive lessons into practice. I wanted to dance, and if Kevin wasn’t going to ask, I’d ask him.
“Hey, do you want to dance?”
He glanced toward the floor and tugged at the collar of his shirt. “Sure. I’m, uh, not very good. I don’t know any of the fancy moves or anything.”
“Me neither. We’ll make it up as we go.”
He didn’t look super convinced, but he stood and offered me his hand, and I took it. With my heels, we were the same height. I went one way, and he started the other, but I laughed it off, and we tried again.
His arms didn’t feel like Liam’s, and I had to lead—something I highly doubted Liam would let me do, if I could even convince him to dance, which was a big if.Omigosh, stop.
On top of having a hard time getting my roommate off my mind, there was something else constantly overtaking my thoughts. Living with Liam left me thinking about sex way more than I ever had. I thought it’d just been because I’d never had sex before and the guy exuded it, but right now, I wondered if I was broken.
If I’d be a virgin forever.
Sure, I could have sex with a guy to “get it over with,” but I didn’t want to get it over with. I wanted passion and fireworks and the kind of mind-numbing orgasms I read about in romance novels.
I just need to try harder. And keep my goals more realistic.By the end of the song, Kevin and I found our groove, and when he smiled at me, a hint of a flutter went through my stomach.
Even though it fell ridiculously short of the swarm of hyper butterflies a certain other guy caused, it gave me hope that maybe someday I’d get there.
And to be honest, Kevin was the best candidate I’d had in a long, long time.
Chapter Fourteen
Liam
It’d come to this. Bribing a cat to hang out with me on a Saturday night.
I’d lured George out of hiding with ham, and now we were watching the nature channel. Keeping my movements achingly slow, I picked up his toothbrush and squeezed out the fishy toothpaste that made me want to gag. When I pivoted his way, he tensed and flattened his ears. Yeah, he was definitely on to me.
“Look, I know that we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but I promised Chelsea that I’d brush your teeth. We can do it the easy way or the hard way.” Total lie. This wasn’t going to be easy. “Just don’t claw the shit out of me, okay?”
