Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 84289 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84289 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
“You’re here, you take what you want, and then you’re gone. Like a dragonfly.”
I grip his waist. “You know, it’s a common misconception that dragonflies can sting or bite. They don’t.”
I reach up and stroke his hair, searching his eyes.
It feels as though there’s a warm fire heating me from the inside, keeping me safe, in a place that’s normally so cold. Can’t he feel my warmth?
Can’t he feel all of this, between us?
He doesn’t think I give a damn about him.
And I know that’s entirely my fault.
“You two look hot,” a voice comes from beside us, and when I turn, a camera flash hits my eyes.
I’m still holding Oliver as Weston comes over, snapping some manual Polaroid photos of us and then grabbing a few with his phone camera.
I lean against Ollie in the photos.
Holding him tight.
Because I need him like oxygen. And because it’s what we’re supposed to do.
Weston is clearly having a good time, too, smiling wide and dancing off to go snap pictures of other people.
And the moment we’re alone again, I feel words trying to push out from inside me, like I’m having to hold back from telling Ollie every little thing about him that I’m obsessed with.
I kiss him so I won’t speak.
I take his mouth and while we’re out here on the dance floor, the feeling of his tongue sliding on mine, wet and hot, feels more like I’m fucking him, instead.
Way too intense for a winter formal.
And I don’t even try to stop.
We dance for what feels like hours in the crowd.
I ride the wave of the molly, and the initial rush settles into a calm, warm high. Like I’m in a cloud. Like the world isn’t hostile, but finally a place I belong.
And I make sure Oliver and I look every bit like a couple.
People pass by, waving at him or stopping to say hello, and I keep close with him at all times. Touching him. Holding his hand. Taking my own pictures and videos with him whenever I feel like it.
“I need air,” I tell Oliver. “Need to go out on the front steps for a few minutes.”
“You need water, too.”
“Right. Yes. Water. I’ll grab a glass.”
Ollie nods. “Meet you out front in a second, okay?”
“You’re so good to me.”
I lean in to kiss him before I head for the front, but the moment my lips are on his, I need so much more.
The small peck turns into something deeper. I can’t pull away.
He tastes like apple cider and he smells like the vanilla body wash he always uses, and fuck, I’ve never been with anyone who lights up every nerve in my body like Oliver does.
“I want every part of you,” I say when he pulls off for a breath.
“I think we’ve done well tonight making everyone think we’re an item, by the way,” Ollie says, glancing over and noticing another group of people who just certainly saw us making out.
I wasn’t aware of it.
I haven’t given a single fuck who’s been watching us tonight, and I’ve been singularly focused on him.
“Glad we’re being seen,” I tell him just because I know it’ll satisfy him.
“See you outside in a sec.”
I head over to the drink bar and grab one of the water bottles there. I crack it open and take a long swig, and somehow even water tastes amazing right now.
Oliver would love this.
He needs to try this water, and then I need to kiss him again.
I work my way through the crowd, past one of the tall Christmas trees and out through the front doors.
The moment the cool air hits my skin it’s like a beacon from heaven.
Yes.
God.
Needed this.
I walk out onto the stone steps, sucking in the fresh air like it’s a cigarette after sex. I get a little rush of anticipation, just from knowing that I’m going to get to touch Oliver again soon.
Apart for three minutes and already I’m like this? Fuck, I’m getting so needy for his proximity.
So good.
Need to get Ollie up against the wall and heat him up out here in the cold, too. He’s probably already so cold, but I’ll fix it for him.
I can fucking fix everything for him.
“There you are.”
The voice comes from the other edge of the steps.
It sounds strange.
Almost like it belongs to another world.
I turn and see a figure standing near one of the benches that line the path leading toward Student Hall.
And my stomach drops when I realize who it is.
Callum is there, right beside Oliver, and even right now I feel a flare of rage as I see him anywhere near Ollie.
I drop the water bottle onto the ground and walk over.
“Get the fuck away from him.”
I watch Callum’s silver hair as he walks under the lamp post toward the steps like there’s an apparition coming toward me, something that should never be in this reality at all.