"Oh." Heat creeps in my cheeks, and somehow Damon notices it even in the dim lighting.
"Stop blushing, or I will not be responsible for my actions. I always did think you were irresistible when you blushed."
"Let's go," I murmur.
When we find the group on the dance floor, Chase immediately puts an arm around my waist, as if we’re old friends.
“If you want to keep that arm, you’d better put it elsewhere,” Damon tells him. His tone is half-joking, but the glint in his eyes is dangerous. Even in his advanced state of drunkenness, Chase recognizes an alpha claiming what’s his and backs away.
“Didn’t realize she’s yours,” Chase slurs, removing his hand. “My bad.”
“Now you know it. She’s mine.” Damon pulls me into him, and we begin to swing our hips to the rhythm of the music. We spend the rest of the night dancing with the group, laughing and joking. Damon never lets go of me.
***
When the night is over, Damon walks Hazel and me back to our dorm while Kylie and Drew carry a drunk Chase to his room. Tiredness sweeps into my bones, yet when I slide under my covers, I remember the touch of Damon's lips before he said goodnight. A delicious shiver shakes me. Suddenly, I know sleep won't come easily. Hazel twists around in her bed, too. I bet I know what keeps her awake.
Clearing my throat, I ask, "What's the deal with Chase?"
"He's the world's biggest man-whore," Hazel declares. "And I am totally in love with him."
"Of course you are." I punch my pillow into a more comfortable mass then turn on one side toward Hazel. "You are finally meeting your mom's prophesy of dating a bad boy."
"Not exactly. I'm not dating, just daydreaming about a bad boy."
"Did anything happen between the two of you?"
"You mean besides me drooling whenever I see him?"
"I'm pretty sure there's some drooling on his part, too."
"Nope, that look he gives me is just him exercising his eye-fucking muscles." There is disappointment in her voice; my heart breaks for her. "Don't read anything into it. I did last semester and was bitterly disappointed."
"But why are you into him? I mean, he's good-looking and fun, but seems a bit of an asshole."
Hazel gets out from her bed, groping for the door in the darkness.
"Where are you going?"
"This talk needs chocolate," she says.
"True that." I follow her, driven by the promise of chocolate. Nothing better to prolong the afterglow of a kiss than chocolate. I turn on the small lamp on our couch table, though Hazel seems to be able to find her way to the chocolate piling place even without light. That's what I call commitment. She whisks out a new package and we both sink on the couch, ripping it open.
Hazel sighs over-dramatically while taking a bite. "Other college kids have beer stacked up everywhere, and we still swear by chocolate. Do you think we might do college wrong?"
"Absolutely not." I savor the chocolate, the caramel melting in my mouth and the pepper giving it just the right amount of kick.
"I don't get the appeal of beer. It's bitter and makes you fat. Why not eat chocolate instead? Anything that fits the saying one second on your lips, a lifetime on your hips should at least have the decency to be sweet."
"Amen."
We chew on our guilty pleasure for a while before I bring Chase up again. "So...every good girl has to fall for a bad boy, right?" I say, remembering her mother's words of wisdom.
"Yep. My turn has come, it seems. I just wish it would fade away soon. I'm tired of hyperventilating every single time I’m around him."
"Have you tried...you know, making a move on him?" I ask tentatively. Knowing our history with boys, it's unlikely.
"He sort of made it clear last semester that he only sees me as a friend." She plays with the hem of her pajama top, rubbing her thumbs together.