23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Cody

It’s the first party I am attending with Stella as my girlfriend, so naturally she decided it would be best if I showed up alone.

For the most part, anyways.

“I feel like I should close my eyes for the grand reveal, what do you think?” Wes snaps his fingers before I can get a word in. “Actually, blindfolds might work better. That way I can’t cheat.”

I stifle a laugh, “Is the pitch-black room not enough for you?”

Wes sighs as if I just suggested we cancel the party and all go home early.

“Dude. The room can’t be pitch black if people are glowing inside.” He gestures towards the paint glowing from our naked torsos.

That’s right. Stella managed to convince the entire lacrosse team to go shirtless. Not that it took much convincing with Nico and Wes already on board. The rest of the team has no choice but to follow.

I look at the green and purple swirls covering Wes’ chest and abdomen, each one strategically placed so the glow makes him look more defined than usual. I, on the other hand, have the artistic ability of a two-year-old, so the blue streaks covering my chest are randomly placed on every spot I could reach.

“You make a fair point. I still don’t think the blindfolds are necessary, though.”

“Did someone say blindfolds? I’m in.” Nico emerges from the dance floor, his brow glistening with sweat and orange warrior glow paint.

Wes groans, “I’m still recovering from walking in on you and a blindfolded Mark Chu. Worst roommate moment ever.”

Nico laughs, his white teeth glowing brightly in the dark room, “I forgot about Chu! Man, that was a fun night. Shame he didn’t want a repeat.”

“Even if he did, you wouldn’t have taken him back.” Wes puts his hands together in prayer, “Nico Montez does not do repeats. Amen.”

“Amen.” Nico raises his glass and gives me a solemn nod. I shake my head at the duo, their status of childhood best friends shining through every interaction.

Glancing around the room, I admire the neon-themed decorations lighting up every corner. Nico and Wes somehow managed to convince Taber’s one and only nightclub, BA$$, to host the event in exchange for a five dollar entry fee and a cash-only bar.

The local hotspot is nothing if not profitable.

Nico lets out a wolf whistle just as the song switches to a seductive Spanish beat, “Mi amigos, I think your ladies have arrived.”

The change in tempo seems to change the atmosphere of the room. Or maybe it’s just my heart rate that’s changed.

Two figures move easily through the swarming crowd, the glow of Stella’s hair making it easy to spot them. Wes looks like he’s about two seconds from dropping to one knee, and if I’m being honest, I might not be far behind him.

“Trip, you look amazing. My balls feel blue already.”

Nico cracks up while Lou rolls her eyes. The dark room makes it hard to tell if she is blushing, but based on previous interactions with her, I’d say chances are her cheeks are pretty red right now.

“Charming, Wes.”

He grins, taking Lou’s hand and pulling her flush against him. Neon green lines glow down Lou’s back, dancing and intertwining with the crisscrossing straps of her white top.

It has Stella written all over it.

Wes shrugs modestly, “It’s not my fault my girlfriend is a smoke show.”

Lou rolls her eyes again, but I couldn’t tell you what her reply is because suddenly my attention is trapped by the gorgeous girl standing in front of me.

My girl.

“Cat got your tongue, Captain?” Stella cocks out a hip, simultaneously capturing my attention and my libido all in one move.

“Wow.” It’s the best I can come up with as my eyes rake over her outfit, my balls tightening as they flick over the small but firm curves on display. My gaze comes to a stop at the pink paint trailing along her exposed torso.

She’s wearing a crop top.

The darkness of the room keeps her scar hidden, but the significance of this moment hits me immediately. It’s the first time I have ever seen Stella wear anything cropped, and tonight she chose to wear this lacy black number for all to see.

Pride bursts in my chest as I tug her closer and lean down to whisper in her ear, “Stel, I am so proud of you.”

Stella gives me a small smile, silently asking for the reassurance she would never ask for out loud. Wrapping my fingers around her own, I quickly give them a squeeze, “I am all yours, tonight. Whenever and wherever you need me.”

“Thank you.”

Our moment comes to a screeching halt when Nico’s favourite song comes on.

“OH MY GOD, I LOVE THIS SONG!” His scream draws our attention and next thing I know, Stella is grabbed by the hand and dragged towards the dance floor. My date mouths sorry as she heads off with my homosexual teammate, leaving me confused as to whether or not I should be offended.

“Cap, you gotta get her back. If you let Nico grind all over Stella, she’ll fall in love by the end of the song.” Wes gives me wide eyes, his arms still locked around Lou.

“Very funny.”

“Nah man, I am serious. Nico is universally loved but choses to love very few.” His lines sound like something straight out of a trashy tv show, but it does the trick. Ass in gear, I head for the gyrating mass on the dance floor.

Body odour hits me the second I merge with the crowd, the pulsing energy of the music feeding the energy on the dance floor. Two-stepping aside, I have never been the biggest fan of dancing, especially not at a club when half the people are too drunk to even dance and just stumble into one another.

I find Nico and Stella off to the side, safely tucked in the corner closest to the tables surrounding the bar. Breathing a sigh of relief, I note the absence of any grinding.

Stella laughs as Nico twirls her around, both of their bodies moving perfectly in synch to the beat. I watch, mesmerized by the fluidity of Stella’s hips as she swings them around and around, her equally impressive abs flexing with each motion.

“Your girl sure can move.” Wes materializes beside me with Lou tucked under one arm. She nods in agreement, “It’s like watching a Shakira music video.”

Wes grins, breaking his hold on Lou to sweep into a low bow, “Milady, would you be so kind as to accept this dance?”

She curtsies on cue, making me think this scene has played out more than once for this couple.

“Very gladly, kind sir.” Lou takes his hand and I follow them to where Nico and Stella are tearing up the dance floor.

Stella

Everything is better when you’re dancing.

That is the one and only lesson my mother ever taught me.

“GET IT GURL!” Nico claps as I drop it to the floor, my hips slowly grinding their way up and down an invisible pole. This probably isn’t the type of dancing my mom pictured when she taught my brother and me the magic of rhythm, but I know she would applaud the effort.

Wes and Lou appear beside me, the two of them looking achingly cute in the blacklight glow of the nightclub. Lou is not what you would call a good dancer, but Wes takes the lead and wraps her arms around his neck, gently swaying her to the beat.

Looking around for my actual date, I’m about to go hunt him down when I feel someone come up behind me.

“I like watching you dance.” Cody murmurs the words in my ear, his gravelly voice sending a jolt of heat to my core. Reaching behind me, I grab his hands and pull them to the front of my waist, enjoying the way his hard body fits perfectly against mine.

“I’ll dance for you anytime you want.” I change the tempo to a slower rhythm, pushing back against him just enough to make things interesting.

Cody’s grip on my waist tightens as his movements shift to match mine. He skims his lips down my neck, planting a kiss on my collarbone before coming back up.

“Is that a promise?”

Goosebumps raise along my flesh despite the stifling heat of the room, my nipples already aching to be touched.

“Perform well tonight, Captain and you’ll see for yourself.”

I can’t see Cody from our current position, but I feel the change in his body. His fingers burn through my jeans as he brings us closer, our movements going from semi-graceful gliding to hard core grinding.

Yup, we are that couple.

“GET A ROOM!” Nico pretends to cover his eyes while Wes laughs, his own dancing getting more inappropriate by the song. I try to catch Lou’s eye to see how she is doing, but she’s too preoccupied by the rookie doing his own Magic Mike rendition to notice.

The next song brings on a slower beat, so I turn around to enjoy the view from the front. Haphazard blue streaks line Cody’s body from neck to waist, the glowing paint doing nothing to hide the thick muscles underneath. I run my hands up his chest, smearing blue in every direction.

Cody’s eyes darken as his own hands start to wander, his fingers burning a trail over every inch of my skin.

“Would it be rude to leave soon?” My breathing hitches as Cody’s fingers gently trace the uneven edges of my scar.

He smirks, “Is there someplace you’d rather be?”

I grin, rubbing myself shamelessly against the front of his jeans, “I’d rather be someplace private so you can be inside me.”

A low growl escapes his throat, his normal brown eyes shining like a pair of obsidians.

“Let’s go.” He takes my hand before taking a step back, intertwining our fingers so we won’t get separated in the crowd.

“Wait. Let me say bye to Lou first.” Somewhere in our grinding session, we got separated from the others. Standing on my tip toes to look around, I spy Nico dancing atop the bar with a newfound dancing partner, but Wes and Lou are nowhere to be seen.

“Give me a second to text her and then we can go.”

Cody nods and follows me to one of the booths lining the far back wall. I go to sit down when a pair of legs catches my attention.

“Is that…” Cody trails off as he looks at me with wide eyes.

I bite my lip to keep from laughing, “It sure is. Hey, Lou!”

The sexy black skinny jeans I bought for my roommate disappear into the booth before Lou’s sheepish smile peeks around the corner.

“Oh, hey Stella. Sorry we disappeared like that.” Blotches of green and purple paint cover her face and I can’t hold back a laugh when Wes pops up looking equally rumpled beside her.

“Hey, Cap! Y’all heading home for the night?”

Cody coughs awkwardly into his hand, “Uh yeah. Do you guys want a ride home?”

“Nah, we’re good. Trip and I are going to hang around for a bit longer, make sure Nico doesn’t get into any trouble.” Wes grins, giving us the full force of his dimples, “Text when you get home, okay?”

“Will do.” We give them one last wave, and just like that, the couple picks up where they left off.

Our hands stay clasped together as Cody and I reach the exit door, making a mad dash for my black jeep parked across the street. Snow crunches under our feet as the bitter wind cuts straight through the thin material of my top and all but decimates Cody’s bare chest.

I crank the heat the second we scramble inside, my automatic starting system making the leather seats slightly less cold than they would have been two minutes ago.

“Fuck, that was worse than your pool” Cody shivers against the leather seats, the blue tinge of his skin blending in with the dried paint.

I laugh, reaching over to angle the vents toward him, “I think Wes and Lou figured out the trick to stay warm. Body heat.”

“Mm, I’ve never understood that.”

I shift in my seat to look at him, “What? Fooling around in public?”

He nods, “Some things are better done at home.”

“I mean, don’t knock it till you try it. Unless you’re scared of people seeing you naked?” I smirk, “Hate to be the one to break it to you, but Nico has probably checked you out in the changeroom. Wes too, for that matter.”

Cody rolls his eyes, “Very funny. It’s not about the public indecency.”

“Oh?”

Cody leans back against his seat, the fire in his eyes doing wonders for my frozen lady bits.

“When we get naked, I want to see you naked. I want you spread out beneath me so I can take my time discovering every one of your hidden fantasies.” He licks his lips and I feel it right between my legs.

“Guess I’d rather let the anticipation build so I can eat you properly, like a main course, rather than scarf down an appetizer somewhere convenient.”

I blink, suddenly feeling the need to wind down a window.

Cody shrugs, “Anyways, that’s just my opinion on the subject. Are we ready to go now?”

I stare at him, making no move to put the car in drive.

“What?” He feigns innocence, knowing damn well the visuals stuck in my head right now could classify me as a distracted driver.

“You did that on purpose.”

“Did what?”

I narrow my eyes, “You know what.”

Cody chuckles, leaning over to plant a kiss on my cheek.

“Hurry up and get us home. I’m getting hungry.”