Page 49 of Party Favors
Amanda put the back of her hand to her forehead playfully. “Oh my, what’s come over me?”
“I’m a bad influence.”
“You’re the best influence.” Amanda kissed her soundly, her smooth thigh sliding between Wren’s legs, sliding against her stockings.
Wren’s mind spun from the lust, the heavy dance beat, and the desire to give Amanda anything and everything she’d ever wanted. To make this night unforgettable. Their earlier conversation niggled the back of her mind as Amanda cupped the back of her neck and really kissed her.
Amanda had mentioned getting hot at the idea of being watched. Maybe some pseudo-exhibitionism was in order. A plan started to form in Wren’s mind. All she would need to do was have a chat with her favorite freaky friends, Leo and Rosie.
Amanda pulled back with a gasp. Her lipstick was flawless, though her lips were wet from their kiss. A rosy blush had spread down her neck, and her eyes were bright.
“I have to stop kissing you,” Amanda said. “It’ll ruin midnight. I want it to feel special.”
Wren couldn’t hold back a dirty, irrepressible grin. She slid her fingertips down Amanda’s side, slipping over the shimmering fringe of her dress. She let her hand come to a stop on the inside of Amanda’s hipbone.
“I’ll make it special. I can’t promise my mouth will be on your mouth at midnight.” She dipped her hand to Amanda’s inner thigh, inside the short dress, her thumb rubbing a suggestive circle on the soft skin there. “But I do promise I’ll be kissing you.”
Chapter Twelve
Amanda spent the ten o’clock hour on fire. She danced with Wren. She danced with Benji. She even danced with Daisy the bartender on one side and Rosie on the other. Then she and Wren spent twenty minutes using up their bubble party favors and making up backstories for different couples scattered around the dancefloor.
She’d never had so much fun. Her voice was sore from laughing and her legs weak from jumping to the beat. It was exactly what she’d wanted in a New Year’s Eve, and she couldn’t help but think that it was exactly what she wanted all the time.
With Wren, every day would be exciting. Sitting on the couch with Wren was exciting. Talking about their feelings was exciting. There was a lightness in her chest. Arightness.
At the beginning of this journey, she’d been able to let go because she’d convinced herself that what she did over New Year’sdidn’t count. She was able to shed the facade of perfect daughter, of uptight heiress, because this thing with Wren was a fling with a deadline. She’d allowed herself to open up, to be unafraid because, yes, she trusted Wren as a friend, but also because there had been a haze of unreality over the whole deal.
Well, the haze had lifted, and in the clarity, she saw only Wren.
Wren, who was currently whispering conspiratorially with Rosie and Leo while Amanda admired the sharpness of her shoulders and the messiness of her dark short hair from a distance.
Eventually, Leo handed Wren what appeared to be a credit card, and Wren waltzed back over to Amanda.
“I’ve got a surprise for you, but it involves leaving the party. Sort of,” Wren said.
“Sort of?” Amanda draped her arms over Wren’s shoulders. She felt touch-starved, like she needed her hands on Wren all the time or the night would spin out of her control.
“Yeah. We’ve got a little less than an hour before midnight. Let me show you the surprise, and if you don’t like it, we’ll come straight back to the dancefloor.”
“Is the surprise sexy?” Amanda asked. She’d been thinking about Wren’s teasing earlier, about Wren saying she’d kiss her somewhere not on the lips at midnight.
“I hope you think so.” Wren winked, which made Amanda reevaluate her opinion on winkers because it was damn sexy when Wren did it.
Amanda yanked Wren forward and planted a quick kiss on her. She couldn’t help herself. “Lead the way.”
Wren tugged her off the dancefloor and to coat check, where Wren had left a large black purse. Then they took an elevator to the third floor and stopped in front of a hotel room door.
“This is Rosie and Leo’s room. I asked if we could enjoy their balcony overlooking the party for a while. They won’t be up here for another few hours.”
Wren used a keycard to get into the room, which was fancy but lacked the personality of their Chalet. There were three bottles of champagne and several glasses on the entertainment center. Wren snagged two flutes, a bottle, and, confusingly, a fluffy white towel as they made their way to the balcony.
On the balcony, they could clearly hear the bumping of the party. Amanda leaned on the railing and studied the partygoers down in the atrium. The balcony was fairly deep and private. They couldn’t see onto anyone else’s balcony from theirs, and she suspected no one would be able to see them if they were far enough away from the railing.
“What do you think?” Wren asked as she popped the champagne bottle and poured them some bubbly.
“It’s awesome.” Her skin was buzzing with anticipation. She wasn’t sure exactly what was going to happen up here, but she had hopes.
While Amanda sipped her champagne, Wren rearranged the furniture on the balcony, pushing an armchair and a large adjustable chaise lounge to the back wall and firmly out of view. It was basically fancy outdoor furniture with wooden arms and legs and big blue cushions.
