I knew there wasn’t a chance in hell that was going to happen. The moment I was released from the ICU, I’d made sure to get rid of her number and sever all connections with the people in those groups.
Addison spun around in her platform shoes and disappeared into the crowd, all feathers and low-rise pants. Overwhelmed and breathless, I longed to collapse onto the ground, hoping it would cradle me in its warm embrace, shielding me from the remnants of a chaotic weekend filled with visitors.
I braced for the urge, but it never came. I numbly got back in line and got the two waters, and I managed to think to get a couple extra since Dakota and the others were joining us. I could barely feel the weight of them in my hands.
By the time I got back, the group had already joined Micah, and he was involved in some kind of intense conversation. Dakota, on the other hand, wasn’t engaged with them at all.
He was watching me.
Blood rushed away from my head and slammed into my feet with such force my face went numb. Had he seen what happened? If he did, would he say something to Micah? Fuck, was this all going to bite me in the ass?
Somewhere inside of me, I gathered enough bravery to push aside the panic and walk toward the group without breaking eye contact with Dakota.
“Thanks,” Dakota said when I offered him a bottle. “Run into a friend?”
I twisted off the bottle and took several long drinks, the chill numbing my throat. When I was done, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and shook my head. “Not at all. And if I’ma be real with you, if I never saw the likes of her again, it’d be too soon.”
At this, Dakota snorted and lifted his fist to me. As I bumped his, he said, “Amen to that, bro.”
For the second time in the last ten minutes, I waited for the floor to fall out beneath me and for everything blow up in my face, but it didn’t happen. When the group decided on which stage to head to next, I caught up with Micah and grabbed his hand, kissing the back of it.
Micah let out a soft laugh, confused. “What was that for?”
I shrugged. “Nothing. I just wanted to do it.”
I wondered if Micah would see through my front, if he’d pick up on my anxiety. When he didn’t, the weight I’d felt with Addison cut away. For once, I finally felt free.
MICAH
Aserpentine line of cars dragged toward the campground’s exit, and I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel, my blood buzzing from the closing band. Spending the day on muddy campgrounds made me feel grimy as hell, and I was desperate for a hot shower.
Nik adjusted his seat backward and rested his hands on his stomach. The lights of the carnival at the campground still blazed with life, their colors glittering along his profile. Even with the sunburn that grazed his nose, he still looked otherworldly.
It was hard not to watch the way his chest rose and fell, how his lips parted when he was relaxed. He looked the same when he snoozed between rounds of sex, like all his edges had been softened, and it kicked the breath out of my lungs every time.
I ripped my eyes away, plucking a random thought to talk about and focusing on the road. “I’m glad today was the last day, or Dakota would’ve tried to get us to stay in one of the campers.”
Nik spoke through a long yawn, his words elongated and a little distorted. “Hard pass on that. Crazy shit happens on those campgrounds, and I ain’t got no interest in it. The amusement park does slap, though.”
I raised my eyebrows. Going by the way Nik had been acting all day, I figured it was his first time at Astral Motion. Hell, the first time I’d gone with Dakota, it was a sensory nightmare, being on a campground with thirty thousand other people.
So, it was impossible for me not to say, “I didn’t know you’d been before.”
Nik didn’t speak for a long time, and I figured he’d fallen asleep. The traffic had finally started to gain some speed, so I had to pay more attention to the road.
“It’s been a long time,” Nik said, his voice subdued. His palm glided down my arm, his fingers twisting above my elbow. “I don’t remember most of it. Today . . . today was different.”
“What was different?”
“The music. Your crew.” His grip tightened, a testing squeeze. “You.”
A tingle zoomed up my spine and back down again, spreading a tremble to my knees. I repressed the urge to pull over and do something that would very likely get us arrested and said, “I’m glad you were there.”
By the time we got back to my apartment, Nik was dead asleep. I gently brushed my knuckles along the side of his neck, and whispered, “Hey.”
Nik’s groaned and stretched his arms over his head and groaned. “We home?”
“Yeah,” I said, unbuckling my seatbelt, desperately trying to ignore what his slip of calling my place home did to my heart rate.
It took Nik a sec to get out of my car after me, but when he did, his bag was half draped on his lean body, his shoulders slumped with exhaustion.
I stepped closer, cupping my hand on his hip. “Wanna hang tonight? You can crash here if you want.”
Nik’s face scrunched in apology. “Please don’t be offended, but I don’t think I could get my dick working right now even if my life depended on it.”
This pulled a loud laugh out of me. “You look like you’re about to fall asleep standing, and that’s not my thing.” I ran my thumb over his hip. “I just figured we could chill.”
“Does chilling include a shower?”
“Shower is mandatory,” I said, peering down at myself. “I smell like sweat and dirt. And that’s not my vibe.”
“Facts,” Nik said. “If you’re cool with me borrowing your clothes, I’m down.”
“Consider it returning the favor,” I said. I tugged Nik closer and brushed my lips over his, earning a lingering kiss. Electricity shot through me, and if I wasn’t also exhausted, I’d likely push his ass against the car and continue.
Nik pulled away, a groan rumbling in the back of his throat. “Let’s write a check on this and cash it another time, because I’m literally crashing.”
