Page 65 of So I'll Know
“Hold on. I’m not done.” He nods for me to continue. “I listened to the soundtracks so much that my aunt threatened to throw away my iPod speaker dock.” Marcus laughs, and I almost lose my train of thought. “Uhm, so guess what my favorite song was?”
Marcus groans. “Jesus, it’s that Nickelback song, isn’t it? Because I know it wouldn’t be a secret if you were talking about Dashboard Confessional.”
“Hey, c’mon! That song wasn’t so bad.”
He looks at me deadpan. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to look at you the same way again.”
“Technically, it wasn’t even Nickelback. It was Chad Kroeger and Josey Scott.” I bite my lip, suddenly feeling nervous and silly for sharing that bit of personal information. Even though it seems innocent enough, I have never told anyone about it. “I know it was stupid, but I asked the DJ to play it at every schooldance, and they never did. I was so bummed because I was convinced it’d be so romantic to dance to.”
Marcus’s laugh is louder this time, and so genuine. “Let’s find out.” He stands and pulls his phone from his pocket, typing something on the screen.
“What?”
After a few seconds, the drumroll intro to “Hero” sounds over his iPhone speaker and Chad Kroeger’s voice fills the salty air as Marcus turns it up and sets his phone face-up on the log.
He extends his hand, and I look at it in confusion. “Dance with me, Starlight.”
I swallow. “W-what?”
He rolls his eyes and grabs my hand, tugging me up as the blanket falls to the ground, and I let out a surprised chirp. Then he holds me against his body, takes my hand in his, and places a possessive grip on my waist.
“I said, dance with me.”
“Okay,” I whisper, still not sure if what’s happening is real.
We sway awkwardly around the fire, and I let a giggle slip because Marcus Conner is a terrible dancer.
“What?” he asks, grinning down at me as he grips my hand tighter.
“You’re just . . . kind of stiff.”
He glances down. “Not yet, I’m not.”
“That’s not what I meant, pervert.”
He smiles wider. “I’m not graceful like you. We both know that.”
“It doesn’t matter.” I lay my head on his chest. “I would have killed for a dance like this in middle school. Or high school, for that matter.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“I was too shy to ask a girl, and not many gay kids wanted to come out just to dance with me.”
“That’s sad.” The words vibrate against my cheek.
“It’s sad that it’s the norm, yeah. Think about how difficult this has been for you and then imagine a child doing it.”
He goes quiet as we move to the music. “Well, I went to all the school dances, and I hated them, so you weren’t really missing anything.”
Something in his voice gives me pause, and I stop to look up at him. “You fucked Lizzy after a dance and then broke up with her, didn’t you?” Marcus stares at me, and he looks so affronted that I laugh. “You really are a bastard. That always happens in nineties movies too. I can’t believe I ended up with the villain!”
“I wasnotthe villain,” he says adamantly.
“I dunno,” I say, my voice lowering to a husky whisper. “I kind of like you as a villain.”
“Oh yeah?” His eyes glitter with something that I can’t quite read, and then he lowers his lips to mine in a brutally hot kiss.
Eventually, the music stops and so does our dance, but it’s replaced by something dark and hungry as we enjoy each other, the kiss becoming sloppy. We press into each other as if we could become one person, our hard cocks grinding together. I rise up on my tiptoes with a throaty moan, and Marcus’s callused fingertips dig into my scalp.
