Page 49 of Rise Above

music. “You have a lot to catch us up on, girly.” She raised an eyebrow.

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The woman always knew more than she should.

Quickly, she placed a kiss on my cheek before racing to the bar. Natalie laughed, hugging me and following after our friend.

TJ appeared next to me holding another lemon drop.

He was holding a beer in his other hand. He looked so relaxed and put together. Any woman would be lucky to have him in their life. Again, I had no idea why I was thinking like that. I decided to blame it on the alcohol, even if I had been feeling like this prior to drinking.

Grabbing the glass, I took my time with this one

before moving to be near Nat and Dre. Both were wearing wide smiles. Nat’s cheeks were pink as she talked to Davis. Was she crushing on him too? I turned to Dre and saw her animatedly talking to Zeke, presumably about hockey. He seemed mesmerized by my little ball of energy friend. Dre loved hockey; she could talk about it for hours.

“Looks like they’ve found others to talk to.” TJ

whispered into my ear. “Do you wanna dance?”

My eyes met his blue ones. “Sure,” I said, downing

the rest of my drink. Liquid courage would have to get me through.

TJ smiled and held my hand, leading me onto the

crowded dance floor. His large hands gripped my waist as we swayed to the beat. I let my hands rest on his chest as I started to shake my hips, allowing the music to flow through me. My eyes closed as I turned to place my back to his front. I felt him stiffen for a moment before his hands were back on my hips. Without thinking, I ground my hips against him. The feel of his muscular thighs against mine rewired my brain, short-circuiting my ability to think. They 113

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were much stronger than I realized, and I found I was pressing myself harder against him. TJ moaned softly and pulled me closer, pulling my hair to the side.

“What are you doing, Aife?” His voice was rough,

hoarse.

“Dancing with a friend.” Slowly, I dropped down

before popping back up and placing my hands around his neck. My back was still pressed firmly to his front. I knew if I saw his face I’d lose all courage the alcohol had given me.

“Fuck.” His hands tightened on my hips. “Stop or

we are going to have a problem.” TJ’s voice was so deep and sexy now. It echoed in my head like a challenge.

I wanted to tease him more. I wanted to feel those

thighs pressed against me again. I don’t know what had gotten into me, probably the alcohol. But I also wasn’t ready to push this man too far. I was tempted to, especially feeling him against me.

“Okay, sorry.” I licked my lips before dropping my

hands. Had I done something wrong with my dancing? Or was he as affected by me as I was him?

“Shit, Aife.” TJ grabbed my hands carefully, pulling

me slowly off the floor. “Darling, I’m trying to respect that you want to be friends. You dancing like that is a major turn on. I’m fairly sure friends don’t put their hard-ons on each other.”

“Oh.” My cheeks flamed red. He was so blunt.