Page 46 of Embrace

I crouch slightly, meeting her gaze. “It’ll be easy. We just have to try not to pop it.”

Scarlett nods, her brows pinched and her gaze completely focused. It’s the same look she gets when she’s studying or marking one of my mock tests. My chest tightens when she steps closer, the space between us shrinking.

The balloon is small and fragile-looking, and it presses lightly against her as she instinctively leans back a fraction, testing the weight. I mirror her, keeping my balance.

The buzzer goes off and the host yells, “Go!”

Scarlett’s eyes dart down to the balloon and back to mine. Her hands stay firmly at her sides, just as mine do. She exhales sharply and leans forward, trying to inch the balloon upward along our bodies. I adjust, tilting slightly, and watching as she crouches, trying to slide it up the length of me with her chest.

The crowd is cheering us on, laughing as we all struggle to get the balloon higher. I live for this. Having fun, making people laugh—it’s been my favorite thing since I was kid.

I try not to stare, I really do, but she’s got the balloon cushioned right by her cleavage, helping it along. The balloon trembles against her chest, then my stomach, threatening to escape at any moment.

She squeaks out a short gasp before I press more firmly against her, keeping the balloon in place, grateful that it doesn’t pop.

“Careful…” I breathe, leaning closer than I probably should.

“It would help if you did some of the work,” she says, getting it up to my chest.

My face brushes her hair for a second, and I inhale, basking in the sweetness and the warmth radiating from her. My pulse spikes.

There’s a small, almost imperceptible shiver that runs through her body, and I’m not sure whether it’s from the closeness or the anticipation. Her lips part as she exhales, and I move with her, guiding the balloon along.

“Almost there,” I whisper over the chaos of the crowd.

The balloon edges closer to our heads, and I can’t stop the small, satisfied grin creeping onto my face. When it finally rests precariously between our foreheads, I don’t know what happens, whether I short-circuit or time slows down for a moment, but we stand there, staring at each other, until the host calls on us.

She laughs, breathy and surprised, and I can feel her heart beat against mine. My hands are still at my sides, but every inch of me feels like it’s pressed against her.

“Nice work, Scar.”

“I can’t believe you got me to do this,” she says.

The host brings the attention back to us. “And these are our winners, folks.”

We pull apart immediately, letting the balloon drop, but I catch it just as Scarlett’s hand reaches out reflexively, catching mine, then pulling away like she’s been stung.

I pass the balloon to the host, who fumbles with it as he tries to hold the mic too. I take Scarlett’s hand, lifting it in the air. The crowd cheers us, and the host hands us a coupon for a date at Lola’s.

“That was sick! I got it all on video,” Cole says, waving his phone like a trophy. Cassie glances between us, lingering on Scarlett a little longer than she did when we first arrived.

“Of course you would win,” she says, shaking her head with a laugh.

Scarlett is extra quiet when we sit back at the table. Cole takes the seat closest to her, and Cassie sits with me. Somehow this feels like it’s becoming the exact thing it’s not supposed to.

I promised her this wasn’t a date. Well, actually I insisted that it wasn’t.

So the moment the last singer of the night walks offstage and the usual band that plays nights gets on, the lights turn low and the bass pumps through the floorboards. They start to move the tables by the stage away, clearing the floor for people to dance.

When Cassie presses a hand to my arm, I duck down to hear her over the music. “Did you like my song?”

“Yeah, it was beautiful, Cass. Did you write it yourself?”

She nods. “It was for a music class, but I kept working on it after and I think it’s pretty good.”

I nod, trying to focus on her, but Cole and Scarlett stand from the table and walk to the bar. I’m watching their departure when Cassie pulls my attention back.

“They’re probably just going to the bar. She’ll be fine with him.”