Out of Breath (Breathing, #3)(5)

‘I’m attached to it,’ he said with a quick raise of his brows, making me roll my eyes with a low laugh.

‘Are you going up again?’ I asked, nodding towards the stage, deciding I might as well talk to someone, and he seemed interesting enough. At least he wasn’t predictable.

‘Nope. We’re done for the night. And now I have some catching up to do.’ He downed the cup with several large gulps. I looked on, amused, and handed him another, which he accepted with a flashy smile.

‘What’s your name?’ he asked, moving away from the crowd forming in front of the table.

‘Emma.’

‘How are you feeling?’

A minute ago I would have answered, On fire. But now I realized the fire was gone. In its place was a dull hum. A swirling calm ran through me, casting a veil of numbness over my senses.

‘Calm,’ I answered with a deep breath, relieved that the jacked-up Kool-Aid had finally kicked in.

He laughed at my answer. ‘I’ve never heard that one before.’

‘You’ve never met me before.’

‘True. But I like that – I mean that you say what you’re thinking. No bullshit. That’s cool.’

I shrugged.

‘Well, here’s to no bullshit,’ Gev raised his cup, and I tapped it with mine before we both took several large gulps.

‘Do you go to –’

‘No bullshit,’ I cut him off.

‘Okay,’ he said, considering my request. ‘What colour underwear do you have on?’

I was caught off guard by his forwardness. ‘I can’t remember.’ I pulled my jeans by the belt loop to take a look. ‘Purple.’

‘Nice.’ He nodded in approval.

‘And you?’ I asked, liking this ‘no bullshit’ conversation. It was more interesting than talking about majors and sports teams.

Gev was more daring, unbuttoning his jeans to show the top of his boxer briefs. ‘Black.’

‘I can see that.’ I pursed my lips to keep from smiling.

I tipped my cup back and finished it, embracing the haze that continued to creep in.

Gev’s hand slid along my back as he leaned in to ask, ‘Who are you kissing at midnight?’

‘How much time do I have?’ I enquired, not that it made a difference.

He looked at his watch and answered, ‘An hour.’

‘I guess whomever I’m closest to.’

‘Then I’d better stay next to you,’ he replied with an arching brow.

‘Emma!’ Peyton exclaimed. I turned towards her voice and squinted to focus as she neared me. ‘Where’s Cole?’

‘I don’t know,’ I replied when I finally recognized her beside me. She looked from me to Gev and scrunched her eyes in confusion.

‘Come over here,’ she demanded, grabbing my arm and dragging me away from him. I stumbled after her, not prepared for the sudden movement. ‘Who is that?’

‘Gev. He’s with the band,’ I answered and waved back at him. He raised his cup in return.

‘What happened to Cole? He’s hot.’

‘He’s boring,’ I huffed. ‘Gev’s much more interesting.’

‘How many drinks have you had?’

‘Three.’ I grinned proudly at my accomplishment. ‘And I’m numb.’

‘Three?! Em, we’ve only been here an hour! You can’t drink anything else, or you’ll be on the ground before midnight. And I don’t think Gev’s a good fit for you.’

‘So?’ I wasn’t looking for a ‘good fit’. I was just looking for someone interesting to talk to, or drink with. But I didn’t want to waste my words trying to explain that to her.

‘Omigod. You’re already drunk.’

I considered her accusation and smiled widely. I was numb from head to toe, except my lips felt tingly. I didn’t mind being drunk. It wasn’t what I’d expected, but it wasn’t bad.

‘Okay,’ I answered, accepting her assessment as true. ‘I’m going to find Gev now.’ I was done with the lecture. She wasn’t being fun. I turned, and the quick motion made everything blur past me. I remained still for a moment to allow the world to settle back in place before searching for his dark hair among the faces.

‘Fine. I’ll find you at midnight,’ she called after me.

I felt a hand grab my arm, and I turned my heavy head to find his dark blue eyes. ‘Still next to you,’ he declared, clasping my hand.

‘Tell me something interesting,’ I requested, taking the cup he offered me.

‘I think you are the most interesting person I’ve met in a long time,’ he responded. He slipped his hand around my waist and leaned in to say, ‘Dance with me.’

I was about to open my mouth to explain that I didn’t dance, but the next thing I knew, we were squeezed in among the sweaty bodies and his hand was pressed against the small of my back, pulling me against him. I flopped my arms around his neck to steady myself and let him do all the dancing. He even danced for me, swaying my hips along with his.

Time moved fast, and the next thing I knew, I was yelling along with everyone else as this year ticked away into the next.

‘Happy New Year!’ we all chimed in unison. Gev turned me around and made certain he was the one closest to me. I allowed his wet lips to slide along mine, followed by the force of his tongue. My head buzzed louder when I closed my eyes, propping myself against him. He pulled me closer, making me stumble slightly. Gev gripped me tighter and continued to kiss me aggressively. I didn’t stop him. I kept thinking about how strange it felt. I couldn’t feel my lips, or maybe I couldn’t feel his lips. Either way, it didn’t seem like we were really kissing, and I was more focused on this than the fact that I was kissing at all.