"So..." Her expression becomes sober again, and she lowers her eyes to the floor. "I've known Chase for more than half a year."
"Yeah, but trust me, it's too early for sex. What's the rush?"
"Well, he's been with a lot of girls, and I just think he expects..." Her voice trails away as she starts rubbing her palms up and down her thighs as if they're suddenly sweaty.
"Did he say something?"
"No, I'm just assuming that."
"Of course you are. We're best friends for a reason. I thought the same thing when I met Damon." Hazel snaps her gaze up, looking half-relieved, half-skeptical. "Look, if he cares about you—and I think he does—he’ll be happy to wait until you’re ready."
"Dani, Hazel." I whip my head to one side. Damon hurries toward us, sporting a panty-melting grin. He kisses me the second he's close enough, and the desire to be alone with him hits me hard and unapologetic. By the way his lips linger on mine, I can tell he feels the same. "Why are you two hiding here?"
"We wanted someplace quiet," Hazel says quickly, blushing even more furiously than earlier. "Where we could talk..." Damn Hazel and her pearl-white complexion. In a fraction of a second, her face gets a violent shade of red, and I jump in before Damon can figure out what we were talking about.
"So I could tell Hazel why Dad wants to sell the chocolate factory. I might lose my best friend. Sometimes I think chocolate was the only reason Hazel decided to be friends with me."
Hazel elbows me gently before admitting, "No bonding like that over chocolate." Wrinkling her nose, she asks, "Is this weed I'm smelling?"
"Ugh." I acknowledge the scent.
"Definitely," Damon says.
A tall, athletic-looking girl materializes out of nowhere. She looks like she had something stronger than weed.
"Well, this is one classy party," I mutter as the girl leaves.
"I'll leave you two and go back to...dancing," Hazel says. I give her a pointed look before she walks away, then Damon and I sit on the stairs. He pulls me into his lap, kissing my mouth hungrily. My body responds to him i
mmediately, my thighs pressing on him. I fist his hair as Damon's lips descend to my neck, nibbling hungrily.
"I want you." His voice is rough as he cups my chin, looking at me so intensely I start burning on the inside. We launch into another kiss, more passionate than the first one. Heat pools low in my body, more so when Damon cups my ass over my dress, pulling me even closer to him until I can feel just how much he wants me.
A loud burst of laughter behind us makes us both jump and come to our senses. I climb out of Damon's lap, carefully rearranging my dress as I sit on a stair. Next to me, Damon draws in a labored breath. I can't help smiling, but I force myself to look anywhere except at the bulge in his pants. We can't jump each other again.
"I didn't know about the factory sale," Damon eventually says in a strained voice. "James did mention your dad wanted to talk to him, but gave no specifics."
"I talked to Dad earlier and he dropped the bomb."
"But why does he want to sell it? It's doing great, even if he isn't heading it."
"He intended for it to be a family business, and since James has no interest in it and Dad is getting old..." I lean back on the stairs with my hands under my head. "It's such a shame. I love that factory. I always hoped it would stay in our family."
"So, why don't you do something about it?" Damon asks.
"What do you mean?"
"You’re part of your family, you know. If James doesn't want it, you can take charge in a few years."
"I never thought about that...the subject never came up." But now that I’m thinking about it, the excitement starts trickling in my veins. I bounce to my feet, no longer able to sit.
"You aced the business course, and you looked like you had fun doing it," Damon continues, evidently encouraged by my reaction. "With the right training—”
"I could work part-time during the term and then full-time during summers," I say, more to myself than to him. "I'd learn my way up. No favors for being the boss's daughter or anything."
"That sounds like a good plan."
I grin. "I just found my map."