C O M P L E T E - first draft.
7x featured story.
Undiscovered Gem, Romance Ambassadors, January 2025.
Ambys 2024 Favourite - Mystery & Thriller
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I don't register what comes first--Mum's screams and curses, or the searing pain that perforates...
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August 31st
C A R M E N
Two hours later, the alcohol has me feeling merry. I sway side-to-side among the throng of my drunken peers, Wild Thoughts by Rihanna reverberating in the background as disco lights flicker across the room. Me, Fred and several others from the football and dance teams finished playing ring of fire a little while ago, and it's fair to say I drew the short straw by pulling the last king twice.
I pity my poor liver.
Deidre has not yet resurfaced, but I'm trying not to overthink. Fred said she was fine. She was getting friendly with some guy who he said seemed nice. It's normal for people to mingle and hook up at college parties for temporary distraction, and it might just do her some good in getting over Jamie.
As for Jules, we've locked eyes once or twice, but haven't spoken. I guess she's not ready to apologise to me for earlier just yet, but she'll come around and grovel soon enough. Maybe tomorrow.
As I dance along to the sensual number playing through the speakers, I feel a presence behind me and a pair of large hands land on my hips. I lean backward and my back presses against a sturdy structure—a chest, and a combination of men's cologne and chlorine hits my nostrils. A pair of lips brush against my helix, and my breath catches in my throat at the sensation it elicits.
"The offer's still there, Ellis," a velvety voice whispers into my ear, hot breath fanning my skin. "I can still think of a lot of ways to keep you warm."
"Zachary," I murmur his name. "Didn't I tell you to leave?" My body defies the meaning behind my words as I impulsively press further against his tall, firm form as he sways along to the beat with me.
He removes his hands from my hips and wraps his muscular arms around my midriff. "You never threw me a stick, so I got mixed signals and came back."
"And you never gave me a kiss, so who says I'm going to let you stay?" I utter without a second thought.
Stupid alcohol.
Zachary chuckles deeply from behind me and swivels me around in his arms, so I am now facing him. My hands move on instinct. I drag them up his abdomen and feel him shudder at my touch, and then brush them across his firm chest before looping my arms around his shoulders and neck. True to what he said earlier, he had a change of clothes in his friend's boot, as the outfit he now sports is not sopping wet.
"Believe me, I fucking tried," he murmurs as his hands draw an array of shapes and patterns across the exposed skin at the top of my back. "You pulled away before I could."
"You were soaking wet," I reply, moving one of my hands to fiddle with the silver chain necklace that hangs around his neck, tugging at the metallic object. "I didn't want you to ruin my dress."
