“I don’t. This is your night. Is there anything you wanted to do that we haven’t yet?”
“Not one thing.”
Corbin looped our intertwined hands around over my shoulder. “Come on. I want to show you something.” He handed me my drink and took his before leading me through the suite. Some of our friends began to whistle, even though I was pretty sure all the bedrooms were occupied.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked.
“Away from these goons,” he said, opening the front door to lead us into the hotel hallway.
I didn’t want to think too hard about it. I leaned my weight on him, snuggling into his side. His cologne smelled good, but underneath, he was pure Corbin—surfboard wax and sunscreen. He took a sip of his orange juice and rum, then leaned down to give me a wet, citrus-y kiss. Was just kissing Corbin so bad? We zig-zagged down the hall, leaning left before overcorrecting to the right. Our drinks sloshed, our teeth clinked. He tasted good, felt good, too, but it was still weird to be kissing my best friend.
He stopped all of a sudden, setting his drink on the carpet. He fished his wallet from his back pocket and held out a room key.
I released his hand, flipping the plastic over in mine. “What is this?” I asked dumbly.
He nodded at the door behind me, and what he was trying to tell me clicked. I looked from the door to the key and back. “You got us a room?”
“Yup. Before you say no, just come in and look around.” He swiped they key, and the door opened with a click. He turned his blue eyes on me. “I know you weren’t expecting this, so there’s no pressure, Lake.”
I peeked into the room, more out of curiosity than anything. It was smaller than the suite but just as nice. Nicer, even, because there wasn’t music blasting or people everywhere. I spotted a bottle in a bucket of ice. “There’s champagne,” I said.
“I know. I put it there.”
“When?” I asked. “You’ve been with me all night.”
“Earlier.” He opened the door wider to reveal a white bedspread dotted with red rose petals. “I know it looks romantic, and that’s because it’s supposed to be.” He crooked a corner of his mouth. “But it doesn’t have to be if you don’t want.”
“Oh.”
“You all right?” he asked. “You’re a little pale.”
I touched the doorframe. “It might be the alcohol.”
He laughed. “It might be the sex.”
I smiled despite my apprehension. It was so easy with Corbin. Easy to talk to him—like Val, he actually listened when I spoke instead of trying to one-up me like my other friends. Easy to laugh with him, to be around him. Easy to love him. I did love Corbin, so why couldn’t it be easy to fall head over heels for him? To get butterflies? Maybe it would be, if only I gave him a chance. After all, Manning seemed to be doing that for Tiffany. He’d taken her hand earlier tonight. I downed a courage-bolstering sip of my drink and entered the room.
The door closed behind me as Corbin dimmed the lights. He followed me in and lifted my drink from my hands to set it on the nightstand with his. Tucking some of my hair behind my ear, he said, “We can take it slow. Talk for a while, even.” Then, he kissed me again. I forced myself to focus on his lips, his breath, him. I wasn’t doing anything wrong. A lot of girls in my class had either had sex or were planning to tonight. None of them had someone as sweet and fine as Corbin, I was pretty sure.
Corbin deepened the kiss, and my body pressed into his of its own accord. Feeling how solid his chest was, my nipples hardened. Doing this didn’t necessarily have to mean we were official or anything. I wasn’t sure I could ever be official with anyone, not as long as my heart belonged to someone else. Was that fair to Corbin? Maybe. He’d had sex before and hadn’t made anything official with anyone. He’d always been a gentleman to me, but I knew that wasn’t the case with other girls.
Corbin circled my waist and walked me backward to the bed. The thought of lying down with him pulled at something deep in my belly—the something I was pretty sure I was supposed to feel about sex. He slid his hand down my lower back and over my ass, pulling me against him. As his hardness pressed against my belly, I couldn’t help my small gasp.
He groaned. “I’ve wanted this for a long time, Lake. This is so perfect.”
“I don’t know if I want to do this,” I blurted.
“Why not?” He kissed my temple. “Give me one good reason.”