Torrid Affair (8 page)

“Moose, come on! We need a picture,” some girl called from behind him.

Delaney’s lips puckered together. “Go. Have fun at your party. Come on, Brie. Let’s go find some tequila.” She laced her arm through mine and spun me so our backs were to Nate.

“What was that about?” I asked when we managed to find our way through the sea of bodies and into the kitchen. “I thought you wanted to come here.”

Delaney yanked a bottle from the counter, along with two plastic cups. She handed me one and she poured amber liquid into mine and then hers. “He’s fucking Santa,” she muttered through gritted teeth and shot the liquor down her throat. She swallowed, shook her face in disgust, and motioned for me to drink mine.

I followed suit and gagged as the alcohol burned down my throat. “God!” I held my hand over my mouth. “That’s horrible.” Delaney poured another shot into her glass and then mine. “What does him being dressed up as Santa have to do with us pouring rubbing alcohol down our throats?”

Delaney drank back another gulp. “Every year they have two of these parties. Christmas and Easter. Every time someone is Sexy Santa or Bad Boy Bunny. The girls get drunk and toward the end of the night they get to sit on Santa’s lap and tell him if they’ve been naughty or nice.” She lifted my cup to my lips. I contemplated not drinking it, but the thoughts of girls sitting on Nate had me seeking more liquor.

The second shot wasn’t as bad as the first. “What do you tell the Easter Bunny?” Heat permeated through my body.

Delaney filled our cups again. I wasn’t a drinker. I avoided parties and only drank once a year. I was in for a messy night if Delaney kept pouring me shots.

“You ask him to fertilize your eggs.”

“Ew.” I scrunched my face.

“Here’s to the Wright brothers being complete dick faces.” She held up her cup and toasted it with mine. We tossed back a third shot which surprisingly went down smoothly. She was right. Julian was a dick for telling me to cover up a
nd Nate was a fucking sexy Santa
.

A heavy arm draped over Delaney’s shoulder and mine. I stepped to the side to steady my balance.

“What are you two ladies drinking tonight?”

“Seriously, Austin, you’re putting all your weight on me.” Delaney shoved his hand off her shoulder and I did the same.

“You’ve never complained about it before.” His lip curled into a devious smile.

I watched Delaney dramatically roll her eyes at him. “You’re drunk and talking out of your ass.” She took another swig of the bottle. “Come on.” Delaney put the bottle down and grasped my hand. “Let’s go play some flip cup and get wasted.”

I followed her outside, and the cool air felt refreshing on my warm skin. Whatever Delaney gave me to drink was working because suddenly I was really happy.

Three games of flip cup later, and all the beer my stomach could take, I needed to use the restroom.

“I need to pee.”

Delaney gulped her beer and shook her head. “Come on. Let’s go dance.”

“I need to pee, though.”

We walked toward the house. “Okay. Go pee and I’ll meet you on the dance floor.”

There were two bathrooms in the entire house. One upstairs that had been designated as the fuck spot and one on the main floor. I took my chances and waited in line for the one downstairs. It seemed an eternity before it was my turn. I used the bathroom, washed my hands, and ran my fingers under my eyes to remove the mascara that had smudged.

Feeling a thousand times better, I walked toward the makeshift dance floor.  My body swayed to a Timbaland song about promiscuous girls as I looked for Delaney.  

“What are you doing?” I felt Nate’s warm breath on my neck. A smile grew on my face as I turned to face him.

“Have you seen Del?” I closed one eye and looked up at him.

“No.” He stepped closer and lowered his face to my ear. “Are you okay?”

“A little tipsy.” I giggled and goose bumps popped up all over my skin. He pulled back and I ran my gaze up his torso. “You know, Del is not happy about this whole thing.” I indicated his taut abs.

Nate ran his tongue across his lips. I bit mine to contain the fear of asking him to kiss me.

“Moose!” someone called from behind me.  “Come on. We’re waiting for our pictures.”  

“I have to do this Santa thing.” His green eyes never moved from mine. “Can you wait here for a second? I don’t want you walking around alone.”

I nodded. Nate’s body brushed against mine as he passed me, and the warmth of his skin had my body reheating. This couldn’t be good. Inhaling, I walked around the dance floor once more but I still couldn’t locate Delaney.

A line of girls and a few guys who wanted to joke around with a picture of sexy Santa had formed toward the den. I promised Nate I’d stay where I was, but he didn’t say I couldn’t get in line to sit on Santa’s lap. I also figured if Delaney showed up she would come looking for her boyfriend.

One by one, each girl sat on his lap and whispered in his ear. You could tell some girls were more daring than others. Nate’s face tensed when a girl got too close or whispered something in his ear that I assumed made him uncomfortable. Some of the guys fucked around and sat on Santa’s lap for a picture.

I was the last one in line. I had let eight people in front of me. Nate licked his lips and muttered, “Your turn, sweetheart.”

The butterflies began to flap their wings in my stomach. I chewed on my fingernails as I approached. A smile widened above Santa’s beard as he patted his right knee for me to sit.

“So, tell me, young lady.” He lowered his voice. “Have you been naughty or nice?” His fingers ran across my lower back.

I don’t know if it was the alcohol, his bare chest, or the way a sideways grin grew on his face, but I felt daring. Throwing away my fears, I leaned in closer. “I want to be very naughty.”

Nate looked away from the camera and over at me. Under my dress, I could feel his erection growing within his red pants.

“Naughty?” he questioned. His voice was so low I had to read his lips. I bit my lower lip and nodded.

“I can help you with that.” Nate never pulled his eyes away from mine as his hands continued to trace small circles around my back.

Suddenly, it was impossible to breathe. “I need some air.” I pushed off his lap and stood. Nate reached behind him, grabbed a white T-shirt, and pulled it his over his body.

“Let’s go.” He stood and grabbed my hand.

Mixed emotions ran through me and made speaking nearly impossible. Nate held my hand until we were outside. He led me to the back of the house, away from the chaos. I stood against the wall for support and he stepped in to block me from view.

“Better?” One hand rested on the brick wall and caged me in.

“A little.” I inhaled.

“Did I tell you how gorgeous you look?” His voice was low and husky.

My clouded head began to sway. I was drunk off the alcohol. I was drunk off him, too. “Nate,” I whispered.

“Brie.”

There was a line between us. A line that said he was my best friend’s boyfriend. A line we were desperately close to crossing.

“What are we doing?”

“We’re getting some air.”

“No.” I shook my head; my eyes felt heavy. “I mean this. Us. What are we doing?”

“I’m helping a friend.” His body inched closer to mine. His fingertip played with the hem of my skirt.

“Friend?”

“Yes, you’re my friend.”

This was the moment I could choose to cross that line. But once I did, there would be no turning back. “Do you get this close to all your friends?”

“Fine.” He sighed. “You’re my best friend.”

“Nate . . .” I moaned his name.

“Shh.” He lowered his face to the crook of my neck. The tip of his nose ran up my skin and toward my cheek.

I was high.

Intoxicated by him.

He had this power over me, over my heart. He was mere centimeters from my mouth. One small movement and his lips would capture mine.

One kiss.

One kiss was all I desperately wanted.

My heart pounded so hard in my chest that I heard it in my ears. I silently begged him to kiss me. With each second that passed, I became a ball of nerves. And then all the alcohol in my system decided it wanted to ruin the moment.

“I think I’m about to be sick.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, my body bent over and the contents of my stomach splattered all over the grass. Nate pulled my hair back, his hand running up my back as I continued to heave.

Talk about the worst buzz kill.

Once I felt I was done, I straightened. My high had vanished and I was left drunk. Not the kind of drunk where I want to dance it off, either. This was the “I want to go to bed right now” drunk.

“You okay?”

I shook my head. “I want to go to bed.”

“Come on.” Nate brushed my hair away from my face. Squinting my eyes, I tried to un-blur his face. He chuckled and tucked me under his arm. “Let’s get you home.”

* * *

I
woke
up the following morning in
my
bed with my head pounding. My covers had been draped over my body but I was still in my dress. Sunlight peeked in through the curtains and I could tell it was very late morning. I rolled onto my side and held my temples. It felt as though my brain was pounding against my skull. When the throbbing subsided, I noticed a bottle of water and a small packet of Advil on the bedside table. A little Post-it was stuck to the bottle.

Drink this in the morning. The Advil should help with the headache.

Love, Nate.

Memories of the previous night flooded my head. Nate had taken care of me. I puked in front of him. Where did Del go?  How did I get into my room?

I popped the two pills into my mouth and drank the water, laid my head back on the pillow and noticed that Dell's bed was untouched. Though I should have worried about my missing roommate, I needed a few more hours to recuperate.

Sometime later, I heard the room door open. Delaney appeared with her coat covering her dress and last night's makeup still on her face.

“Morning,” she greeted me. She dragged her feet across the floor and kicked her heels off.

I looked over at my clock.

“You mean good afternoon.” My voice was hoarse but my headache had subsided a bit.

She plopped on the bed next to me. “I feel like shit,” she complained.

“Where did you go last night?” I sat up on the bed.

“I wasn't feeling well and I bumped into Chloe, so she took me home. I couldn't find my keys so I crashed at her place. Then, this morning, I found them in my purse.” She pulled the blanket off her bed.

“You just left me?” Anger began to build. Not only had Julian been a complete douche, but my best friend, who begged me to go to the party with her, left me there by myself.

“Nate was there.”  

“That's beside the point.” I shook my head. “I was lucky he was there because I got really sick and he's the one who brought me home, because you were gone and Julian was gone and I didn’t even want to go to this party to begin with.” My voice grew higher as my rant continued.

“Brie, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to leave you. I was really,
really
drunk and I asked Chloe to tell Nate I was leaving and to keep an eye on you.”

I shook my head. “It’s fine.” I dropped the conversation. Some of the pressure in my head was relieved, but I still wasn't feeling well.

Delaney discarded her dress then threw her UNC sweater over her body and climbed under the covers. “I need to sleep for a little bit,” she informed me.

I kicked my covers off, undressed and put on my bathrobe, and grabbed my toiletry bag. “I'm gonna go take the longest shower possible. I'll be back later.”

I let the scalding water pour over my head as I pushed out the memories of Nate, but they kept invading my thoughts.

I remembered him coming to my rescue when I couldn't find Del. I remembered how he held me on his lap. I remembered the way his hands rubbed up my spine and how it caused my skin to ignite. I remembered how I needed air and he dragged me outside. I remembered how his lips were mere inches away from mine.

I was playing with fire but it felt too good to stop.