Out of Character (True Colors 2)

“I want to.” Still holding hands, Milo took a few halting steps toward the dance floor.

“Okay.” I took over, leading him to the edge, near a speaker, and while not hidden, it was a little more out of the way. It had my intended effect as Milo huffed out a breath and relaxed enough to move into a dancing position. We had a bit of a tussle as we sorted out how to stand. Of course, Mr. Ideal Platonic Formal Dance Date assumed he’d lead, but I’d sort of automatically taken that stance too. But we figured it out, and like with kissing, Milo went from instigator to happy follower, letting me direct us as we shuffled and swayed. Dancing with the Stars we were not, but there was music and we were dancing and it was possibly the best moment of my whole life, especially when Milo kept looking at me like he too couldn’t believe we were here.

“This is…”

“Perfect.” I finished the thought for him, because it really was. I could tell he was still a little nervous, and that made it all the sweeter because he was trying. Trying to be here with me. And that mattered.

“Exactly.” He gave me a tentative smile that lit me up from the inside out. A new song started and we kept dancing. “Jasper?”

“Yeah?”

“Tell me we can get out of here soon.” The heat in his gaze made it clear this request was motivated by something other than discomfort, and my body finally caught up to my brain, taking notice of how close we were standing, how delicious he smelled, how good his hand felt in mine.

“Are you in a hurry?” My laugh was strained from holding back the urge to kiss him.

“Yes.” Milo glanced back at the door to the ballroom.

“Good.” I didn’t kiss him, but it was a close call. Instead, I dropped his hands and led the way back to my friends where we made the world’s fastest goodbyes before heading out into the cold and clear night. “You’d better drive. I might be tempted to speed if you keep looking at me like that.”

“Like this?” Milo gave me an exaggerated leer that had me preening.

“It’s a wonder my costume hasn’t spontaneously combusted.”

“It’s a risk.” He gave me a fast kiss right next to my car. The parking structure was otherwise empty, but I still thrilled at the gesture.

“Okay, we really need to get out of here.” Charged energy crackled between us the whole way back to the college. “Hurry.”

Laughing, we raced toward my dorm, but I slowed when Milo pulled up short, grimacing. “Damn it. These sandals. Still not used to them.”

“Sorry. I should have remembered about your leg. Can you do the stairs? I don’t want to make it worse.”

“Oh, I’m doing the stairs.” His mouth was still tight, but the heat was back in his gaze. “Totally worth it.”

“Yeah, it is. But we can go slow.” We took the stairs at a more sedate pace, and when we emerged on the fourth floor, the board game among my fellow residents was still going on.

“Hey, Jasper!” A biology major who was a senior like me, with a love of loud K-pop, looked up from the game.

“How was the ball?” Another girl spoke up, shuffling some cards. “And Prince Charming?”

“Excellent.” I inched toward my door.

“You guys want to play?” She held up the cards.

“Later.” Milo’s expression was less alarmed than earlier, more like he was vibrating with the same need to be alone as me.

“Sorry.” I wasn’t entirely sure what I was apologizing for as I closed my door behind us. We threw our coats on the chair where neither of us would be sleeping that night.

“Don’t be sorry. Kiss me.”

“That I can do.” First, however, I quickly connected my phone to my speakers, which were cheap but effective.

“What are you doing?” Milo had followed me over to my desk, a most welcome stalker. Within moments, a playlist I used sometimes for unwinding my brain for sleep filled the room. Wasn’t perfect, but I hardly had seductive music at the ready.

“Privacy. In case you wanted to make good on your earlier promise…”

“Oh, I do.”

“Excellent.” I pushed him until he was seated on the bed, sinking to my knees in front of him, but he shook his head and hauled me up next to him. “What?”

He stretched to grab his backpack from the floor next to the bed. “I…I brought stuff. If you want to…”

“Because you think I need that?” I tilted my head as I considered him. He was blushing again, but he didn’t seem anywhere near as uneasy as he had earlier. And his eyes still glowed with sexy intent.

“Because I need to. Want to, I mean. With you.” Abandoning the backpack, he gave me a slow, soft kiss.