Page 139 of Embrace

So I nod, and Kian kisses me, only giving me his tongue when I clutch his shoulders so tight I’m sure my nails are leaving indents. It’s agonizingly slow, but it lights me up from head to toe.

He’s hard under me again when a chant starts outside the photo booth. “Cap! Cap! Cap! You always have us, buddy.”

I laugh, but it makes me a little sad to think that, if I weren’t here, he’d spend the night alone. Still, a part of me knows that no matter where he is, I’d find him.

I slide off his lap, and he ducks out of the booth before reaching for me.

There’s a hiccup in the hollering. His entire team is staring at us, and I’m praying I don’t look like I just had sex.

Kian leans in. My eyes go wide because I think he’s going to kiss me, but he shifts to grab the two photo strips from the slot.

“Don’t forget your pictures,” he whispers.

I snatch them out of his grip and flush all over again. I’ve never seen myself like this, nor have I been able to capture the way Kian looks at me, but it’s all here. Kian takes my hand and leads me to the hockey table. I shove the pictures into his back pocket.

“Red stayed? I thought we were gettingFolkloreKian tonight,” Sebastian jokes.

I squeeze Kian’s hand; he squeezes mine back.

Sierra and Dylan come toward us, his hand firmly on her waist. Their eyes narrow. “You had sex,” they say.

My ears burn, but Kian looks proud as he pulls me to his chest. “How do you know that? Am I glowing?”

They look at me.

“You know, it’s annoying when you two do that in-sync thing,” I say.

“Can’t help it. We’re partners,” they say in sync.

“Who had sex?” Cole asks, handing Dylan a beer that he refuses. His gaze catches on us. “Wait, is that why you were in—”

I focus on Kian’s arms, pretending like he has tattoos I haven’t seen.

“Oh gross! Seb and I just took a picture in there.” He starts to gag, turning away to tell Sebastian. Kian laughs, and I bask in the way it vibrates against my back.

We sway to the music. “You okay here? We can go home if you want.”

He makes it sound easy, like it wouldn’t be an inconvenience. But my friends are here, and the only person I need is pressed right to me. “We can stay.”

“Okay, but when we go home, I have someone for you to meet.”

I tilt my head back to look up at him. “Is it your cat?”

His brows furrow. “How did you find out? I was going to surprise you.”

“You posted him like thirteen times yesterday. The entire campus has pictures with Whiskers. And there’s an article about him inThe Dalton Press.”

“My boy’s gonna be a star. Can you believe he chose me?” I nod, and he grins. “You’re going to love him.”

“I already do.”

He appears weightless as he presses his lips to my ear. “You have me forever, you know?”

It’s like a craving finally satiated. The room falls away, and only our heartbeats and the music surround us.

Three words dance at the top of my tongue, but I think more than that, he needs to know I’m here. “You have me forever, too, Kian.”

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