Savage Royals (Boys of Oak Park Prep 1)

“Elijah hasn’t played in a while, Legs,” Mason said softly, his voice drawing my focus. “But if he’ll play, will you dance?”

It was on the tip of my tongue to say no. I loved dancing, but I hadn’t done it in front of an audience—well, not counting Finn—in a long time. And my body was still so wound up from my dare to Mason that I wasn’t sure I trusted myself to stand.

But then Elijah began to strum the strings of the guitar, and my heart skipped a beat.

It was fucking amazing. Haunting, wistful, and perfect. He sang while he played, not in recognizable words, just sounds. But they were so infused with emotion, with meaning, that I could’ve sworn I knew exactly what he was saying.

The sound filled the large basement room, filled my ears, filled my entire soul, until there wasn’t even a question.

Wordlessly, I stood and walked to the middle of the space. And then I began to move. Just like Elijah, I was making it up as I went along—but he played with me and I danced with him until we synced up perfectly. I didn’t push too hard, just let the simple movements, the arcs and curved lines that had drawn me to ballet in the first place, guide me.

I wasn’t sure how long he played, but unlike the exquisitely torturous ten minutes when Mason had knelt before me, I didn’t ever want this to end.

Finally, Elijah strummed a sequence I recognized from earlier, repeated it twice, and then let the last note fade.

I floated to a stop and dropped my arms, a little breathless. I felt lighter than I had in years, happy and proud.

Mason, Cole, and Finn all stared at the two of us, but I knew they wouldn’t clap. On the lake the other day, my ballet pose had drawn raucous and enthusiastic support from the crowd. But this moment wasn’t like that.

It was bigger than that.

It wasn’t us showing off for each other.

It was us… sharing.

I’d shown a part of myself that not everyone even knew existed. My favorite part of myself, the part I might truly die if I ever lost.

And Elijah had done the same. I couldn’t be sure, but I had a strong suspicion that guitar was to him what dance was to me—what football was to Finn.

His freedom.

I crossed back to the couch and sat down as Finn blew out a breath. “Holy fuck. I really am gonna need that cold shower later.”

“Not so fast!” I poked him in the ribs. “Mason and I both got dared. And Elijah got roped in too. You think you’re getting out of this?”

He groaned, but a grin tipped his lips as he leaned back, spreading his arms wide. “Whatever. I’m un-fucking-touchable.”

Elijah and I shared a smirk. “Yeah, okay. If you say so.”

We ended up daring him to streak through the party, which was actually a pretty lame dare for someone like Finn. With a few more drinks in his system, he probably would’ve done it on his own. And once again, it backfired on me as my cheeks flushed bright red when he sauntered back into the basement, naked from head to toe.

“Well, that was a refreshing jog. Oh and, Legs? My eyes are up here.” He pointed to his amber eyes, sticking his tongue out seductively.

He took his sweet time getting dressed, and I felt like I might fucking implode.

Elijah somehow begged out of the first round, but we made him do the second, and by the third, I was several more drinks in and couldn’t stop laughing.

“Okay,” I panted, scooting to sit up on the couch and straightening my shoulders, trying to look serious. “Dare.”

Mason’s gaze flicked over my shoulder, and I turned to look at the other three. There was a second of silence, and then Cole said, “I dare you to kiss each of us.”

My stomach fluttered wildly. “All of you? Like, right now? In—in a row?”

“Yeah, that’s probably easiest.” His voice was its usual neutral tone, but he was watching me intently. “You can even pick who you want to kiss first.”

I swallowed, my pulse kicking up in my throat as I glanced around the room. Finn hadn’t put his shirt back on when he’d gotten back from streaking, so the only guy who wasn’t bare-chested was Mason.

I didn’t know why, but for some reason it seemed to make the most sense to start with the most clothed man. As if that would make this easier to get through without losing my dignity.