Page 52 of Sex Positive

“I’ve been dying to know what these feel like,” he says above the bass.

She swallows. “They’re a little unmanageable.”

“I think they’re gorgeous.”

She is a puddle, her brain a melted mess of cells swirling in her skull. His eyes flick to her lips, and she’s certain she’s seeing things when his face draws closer, when his eyes darken, when he tips her chin up with his fingers. A faint trace of alcohol lingers on his breath, and she can almost taste him on her tongue, can almost feel his mouth on hers—

Something hard barrels into her, and she’s shoved backward into the crowd.

She stumbles, nearly losing her balance, but someone steadies her. She pulls away before she can see who it is, and the party returns in full force. The heat of the room and the feeling of being in a mass of bodies is almost nauseating.

Catching her breath, she focuses on Wes, who’s supporting a laughing and stumbling Nico, the strong arms that were pressed against Charlie moments earlier looped around his friend’s shoulders.

Wes catches her eye. “Hey, you okay?”

Her mouth is dry, and there’s a hard lump in her throat when she tries to swallow.

Desperate to diffuse whatever emotion is suffocating her, she calls, “Bathroom?”

Wes hands Nico off to Mia, who lingers behind him, her gaze tracking his movements. He tilts his head toward the back of the house. “This way.”

They pass through an open doorway and into a grungy kitchen, the counters overflowing with wine and beer bottles. A few people are chatting in there, leaning against the dirty counter. Turning a corner, Wes leads her down a long hallway lined with closed doors, laughter and muffled music leaking from behind a few of them.

He pauses beside a door labeledeveryone welcome.

“I’ll wait here.” He leans against the wall, smiling.

“You don’t have to,” she says, not looking at him, too embarrassed by the moment that was not a moment. “I’m going to take off after.”

He shrugs. “I promised I wouldn’t leave you.”

She stares at him, another zip of surprise running through her while ignoring her disappointment about being interrupted before anything could happen between them. It was simply a bit of fun in a dark and crowded room, and she got caught up in the music and the ease she always feels with him.

She’s not in the bathroom for long, but when she returns to the hallway, Wes is nowhere to be found.

It’s fine, she tells herself. A quick glance at her phone surprises her—she’s been at the party for almost an hour. She thought she’d barely make it twenty minutes.

As she makes her way back down the hall, a loudthumpcomes from one of the rooms, followed by a girlish giggle.

“Well, hello there.”

Her stomach flutters at the sound of Wes’s familiar drawl. One of the doors is open a crack, light filtering into the dim hallway. Charlie can just make out Wes’s signature hair, his body half concealed by the door.

“You’ve been avoiding me all night.”

Mia.

Charlie’s cheeks burn, and she knows she should walk away, but she’s frozen, hidden from view.

“I’m not avoiding you. I’ve been otherwise occupied,” Wes says.

“We haven’t spent any time together,” Mia whines. “I thought you saidwewould hang out.”

“We’re together now.”

“What are you doing with her?”

Her words are slightly slurred, and Charlie presumes she’s more than a little drunk.