I’m going to rip the bowling ball out of his hands, I swear. I don’t think I’ll be able to stop myself. But just as I’m about to do something stupid, all the lights in the bowling alley go out.
13
The whole bowling alley is dark for a second, and then everything flips back on. Everyone looks around in confusion, but it seems like it was just a blip. But the first thing I notice is that the games on all the screens are gone, and that all the lanes are starting to reset. Shit.
“Sorry everyone,” one of the employees yells from the desk. “Power surge. We’ll get everything up and running in a second, and we’ll deduct the last game from your total bill.”
My dad sighs. “Looks like this is the perfect time to get us all some refills before the next game. You want one, Katti?”
“Yes, please.”
But dad isn’t the only one with that idea. The bar is flooding with people—including some people from our group—and that’s going to take a while. I see my chance. Marching over to Bryce, I say under my breath. “You want a conversation? Let’s have a conversation.”
“Please.”
“Not here.”
I lead him down the lanes to the exit door and out into the side alley. It’s late summer now, and since the sun has already set, the air is cool. I let the door completely close before I start to speak. “We can’t do this. You can’t just flirt with me and fuck your stupid bowling bowl and tell me that your ass is mine—”
Bryce leans against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest and just watches me. He’s not angry, not smiling, not trying to flirt. He’s just watching, and I can’t stand it. His sleeves are pushed up just the way I like them, and I can feel the heat in his eyes even in the darkness.
I can’t do this. I have to touch him. I have to. If I don’t, I’m going to lose myself, and I can feel myself letting go of the consequences in this moment.
The sound that comes out of me is desperate and needy, and I take a step toward Bryce. Reach for him. That’s all it takes. The second I break, he reaches for me, spinning me against the wall and crushing my body with his. Lips crash down on mine, and it’s like I can breathe again. I didn’t know that he was my oxygen, but he is, and I don’t know how I’ve lived without this feeling.
My hands are touching him without my permission, and his are doing the same to me. I have all the parts of him memorized and I’m satisfying the craving to remember with my fingertips. He moves his mouth to my neck, and down further to my chest where I undid my buttons. He’s lighting a fire under my skin and I’ve never been so happy to burn alive.
I let my hands fall to his ass and squeeze, and he groans against my skin. “Katti.” My name is rough on his lips, and the sound of it makes me wet. His tone and the need that it conveys.
Yes.
Yes.
He’s hard. I can feel it against my hips, straining though his jeans and mine. Fuck, I missed that feeling.
I’m raw right now. This hurts and feels amazing and I know that I should pull away. I know I should tell him to stop, but I can’t. Tears rise to my eyes, because there’s too much emotion, and I gasp when Bryce kisses my lips again.
He steals my breath again. And I give it to him. Bryce’s tongue pushes into my mouth, exploring me. Opening me up so I stop, and reminding me of all the ways that he’s been inside me. I’m shaking, vibrating with energy and need. Bryce pulls away suddenly, heaving in breaths and pressing his forehead to mine.
“I need you,” he says.
“Not here,” I say.
“Yes,” he growls. “Here. Right now.” Pressing his hips into mine, I shudder. He’s so close. “Say yes, Katti. Please.”
“Yes,” I say. I can’t say no. I need him more than I need the next breath in my lungs.
The rough sound in his throat has me dripping. “If I could, I would strip you down to nothing and worship every part of your body,” he says, unbuttoning my shirt. “But I’ll take what I can get.”
Every button he undoes reveals more of my chest, and he kisses the skin it reveals until he’s on his knees in front of me. And his hands are on my belt, undoing it, pulling my pants down before I protest. “Bryce. Anyone would come out here.”
“Fucking let them. If you think that I’m not tasting you right now, you’re out of your goddamn mind.”
My jeans are around my knees, and Bryce pushes his head between my thighs. I collapse against the wall, knees falling open as his tongue runs over the fabric of my already soaked panties. “Fuck,” I say through gritted teeth.