With a shake of my head and one of Aaron’s nods, we ventured onto the dance floor.
The women were dancing, doing their thing while lost to the song, spinning in circles with their arms up. It reminded me of the Rosie I’d seen swirling to “Dancing Queen.” A smile parted my face at the memory, at the sight. In fact, I was pretty sure I was eating up every one of her motions in blinding awe, as if the sun was rising in front of me for the first time.
A strange thought infiltrated my mind. Rosie, straddling my board, floating in the ocean. Her wet hair sticking to her skin, a smile on her face. I’d love to take her, teach her to paddle, catch her first wave, hear her laugh over the sound of the waves. All things I couldn’t do.
Rosie’s eyes found mine, and whatever was on my face made her lips fall, her expression turning serious. Concerned. She immediately strode in my direction, and while I didn’t want to ruin her fun, I was glad to see her closing the distance. Coming to me.
When she stopped in front of me, she was standing close enough for me to catch another whiff of peaches. Of her.
She went on her tiptoes so I could hear her over the music. “You’re not dancing. Is your leg bothering you?”
Lina and Aaron were several feet away now—bodies fused together—getting swallowed by the colorful crowd.
Maybe that was why I felt free to say the truth. “I was too distracted to do any of that. Watching you.”
The green in Rosie’s eyes deepened. “Watching me?”
I nodded my head slowly, everything in me screaming to lean down. To dip my head and get close to her ear. To place my lips against the delicate skin there and feel her squirm with awareness. “It’s really hard not to stare, Rosie. You make it hard.”
Her lips parted, but before she could say anything, she was pushed into my chest. Forcefully.
Rosie gasped as my arms draped around her, holding her to my chest, my hands immediately feeling the liquid running down her back.
“This really has to stop,” I gritted under my breath. “？Qué cojones le pasa a esta gente?”
Because seriously, what the hell was wrong with everyone at this goddamn party?
I looked up, finding some person dressed like a… Chewbacca? He turned around and took his hairy head off and tucked it under his arm. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there, sweetheart.”
Ignoring the way he eyed Rosie and that sweetheart he’d let drop like there hadn’t been a man—me—holding her, I looked down at Rosie. “You okay, Ro?”
“Yes.” She nodded quickly, not moving out of my embrace. “But I’m completely covered in whatever he’d been drinking.”
She was. And from the way the fabric of her dress felt between my fingers, I could tell just how much.
Chewbacca stepped closer to us. “Please, let me take care of the dry-cleaning bill.” He shoved a business card in Rosie’s face, then added, “My number is there. You can give me a call. Or let me get you a drink, I’ll make it up to—”
“It’s okay, really.” Rosie cut him off, not accepting it. “No need for any of that.”
Good, now scatter, an illogical and basic part of me wanted to say.
“You sure?” Chewbacca insisted. “Not even the drink?”
“I’m sure.” She gave the man a polite smile, leaning more into me. “But thank you.”
Chewbacca stared at her for a beat longer than necessary, as if he’d been waiting for her to change her mind.
I frowned, holding myself back from barking something at this guy because one, I had no right to. And two, Rosie had handled herself fine without me.
So instead, I threw an arm around her shoulders like I’d been dying to do the whole night. Too damn bad it had to be now that she was drenched, and I was a little pissed.
“Let’s get you dry. The bathrooms must be somewhere close. I’ll help you clean up.”
Treading the swarm of dancing creatures, superheroes, and more than a fair share of pop culture references I didn’t get, we finally found the restrooms.
Rosie untangled herself from me, leaving me behind.
Choosing to ignore etiquette, or society rules in general, I followed her in, and the moment she caught my reflection in the mirror, she came to a halt. “Lucas, what are you doing?”
“Helping you out.” I gave her my best smile. “Like I said. And before you think of complaining. Yes, I have to. And yes, I want to.”
“This is the ladies’ room. You shouldn’t be here.”