8. Adrian

8

ADRIAN

T he lights are on and the remaining kids are waiting out front for their rides. It's just the vendors packing up their equipment and late volunteers cleaning up the mess left behind by the students.

I can't keep my eyes off Britt taking down a strand of lights five feet from me. She's insisting that she and I dismantle and pack all the lights ourselves, because heaven forbid another volunteer puts our hard-won decor away incorrectly. Slipping off her heels, she climbs a short ladder and reaches above a doorframe to unhook the last light strand. I should stop her and do it myself, but instead, I steady the ladder, watching her stretch her body up high, the top hem of her dress moving down a few inches and revealing more of her back.

I'm frozen until she turns to me and smiles.

"Can you let me climb the ladder next time?" I throw my hands up when she's back on the gym floor.

"It's hardly a ladder. More like a step stool." But she grins and rolls the strand into a neat pile in one of the new plastic bins that is just about full. "And we're all done, I think."

When I look at her, I feel all the things I've been fighting against my entire life. Emotions so intense they overwhelm me. I'd do anything to pull her behind that curtain again.

For once, I don't feel bad about wanting to give in to those emotions. I don't feel like I'm making the mistakes my parents did, because this feels right and good. Not destructive nor forbidden. I can't define what I feel. Just lust? Really intense lust? No. It's more than that. Affection? Friendship, along with the lust?

I'd wanted to dance with her every time a slow song came on, but she was always running around making sure everything was going smoothly.

Maybe she was avoiding me and whatever is happening between us.

"Want to help me find this mysterious storage room?" She bends down and picks up a box of lights.

"Yes, I do, but give me that before you lose your whole dress carrying it across the gym."

Britt laughs and I close the gap between us and slide my arms along the bottom of the bin, our hands meeting at the center of the container. We stop, our fingers touching, both of us smiling. I see a flush creeping up her neck and feel a stirring in my dick as I imagine the bin tugging her dress further down.

Across the gym by the entrance, a loud crash draws my attention. Two parents and the caterer are cleaning a mess of metal trays and lids.

And Chelsea stands in the middle of the doorway, watching us with arms crossed.

Oh no. I would wave, but my hands are full, so instead I press my lips together in an attempt at a smile.

We aren't doing anything wrong, but it's clear from my daughter's stiff back and narrowed eyes that she's not impressed. Fuck. She spins and disappears before I can react.

Britt follows my glance but doesn't see Chelsea.

"Oh, just trays? They've got it covered. Let's get this bin put away."

"I'll follow you." I heft up the heavy container of lights, wishing I'd taken off my tux jacket and loosened the bowtie first. I'll need to talk to Chelsea. I'll need to figure out how to explain to her what's going on with Britt. But how will I do that when even I don't know? I shake my head, trying to clear it of worry about Chelsea. For now.

"I'm not one hundred percent certain where this closet is." Britt leads me down the school hallway lined with lockers and through a set of double doors. "The PTO moms gave me directions."

I follow her through a gate with a No Students Allowed sign and down a flight of steps to the dimly lit lower level.

"Are you sure you're not taking me somewhere to murder me?" I hope she's planning on making out with me down here instead, like a couple of high school kids sneaking into a forbidden area.

She glances back over her shoulder and smiles. I'm so glad I get to have that smile directed at me again. It feels as if the clouds have parted in our gray skies after too long.

"I know. It's a bit isolated. Oh, I think this is it." Britt stops in front of a closet door and pulls it open. The air inside feels moist, and it's dark and dingy.

"Gross." I drop the bin at my feet.

"Well, shit," she says. "Someone was supposed to clean this all up." The floor of the closet has puddles of water on it. Britt sniffs the air and sticks her hands on her hips, scrunching her nose. "Oh no."

"It smells like rotten mice carcasses."

"Ew. And I was supposed to call maintenance. Damn! And now the school's closed for the holidays, so it won't get done until January."

"Hey, not a big deal. Can we leave them in the gym over the holiday break?"

Right now, I couldn't care less about the bins. I'm watching Britt. She pulls her hair over her shoulder and bites her lower lip, staring into the closet.

She lets out a nondescript sound and shakes her head. "They're pretty strict about stuff like that. Fire codes or something. But I can take them to my house for a few weeks. I have the space."

Britt turns to me and freezes at the look on my face. I can only imagine what she sees there, but if it matches the tornado of desire that I feel inside, no wonder her eyes grow wide.

As we stare at one another, the longest moment passes. Her eyes flit down to my mouth and she licks her lips.

Now's the time. I have to take my chance with her.

I step forward and reach out to touch her hair before sliding my fingers along her neck, around the back of her head. Her eyes close and she breathes deeply, as if she can't catch her breath.

"Britt."

"Mmm."

"Open your eyes." I need her to look at me. Know how fucking incredible she is.

Her eyes flutter open and she comes to life, closing the remaining inches between our bodies, pulling me in by my waist so our pelvises press together. I breathe in sharply.

"I need you to kiss me right now, Adrian. Don't make me beg."

Without hesitation, I kiss her lips. Nothing has ever felt as right as this moment. The room spins lazily with our lips pressed together, as if I'm tipsy, and I know with certainty that I could stand here in this basement for the rest of my life kissing this woman.

She leans into my mouth and flicks her tongue onto mine, driving me wild and causing my cock to immediately harden. She pulls away and stares at me with hooded eyes and a sexy, lazy smile on her lips.

"Fuck, Britt," I say. I've lost any cool I ever had. How could I have ever questioned my feelings for her? I wish I could go back to that night in the airport and kiss her. Just like this. I know why I didn't. If we had done it that way, I would have lost her. I know Britt. She didn't want anything to happen. Kissing her back then would have been the wrong way on so many levels.

"I've thought about kissing you more than I'd like to admit," she murmurs. Her lips are extra red. But when I move in to kiss her again, she leans away. I take a few beats to attempt to calm down with deep breaths, but it's hopeless.

"Adrian," she says like it's a prayer.

And maybe it is. Maybe she's asking for help, for guidance. Maybe she's still trying to resist this thing between us.

I don't move my hand from where it's buried in her hair. "These past few days, Britt, they've been so incredible, and I've..."

"Britt?" A voice calls from just up the stairs and Britt steps back abruptly, breaking our physical contact.

"Yeah?" she squeaks. "We, uh, can't use the closet. It's too gross."

Liz appears at the bottom of the stairs, tilting her head and taking in the scene with raised eyebrows.

"You don't want the other bins brought down here?" A small, curious smile crosses her face.

Britt shakes her head and won't look at me. "No. We're coming up with this one now."

"Okay." Liz takes one last look back and forth between us and heads up the stairs.

"That was close." A chuckle escapes my mouth when we're alone.

Britt turns to me, her cheeks red, lips redder, half-smiling.

"Let's go upstairs."

I follow her back through the basement with the bin positioned in front of me like a shield.

Somehow, Britt's got me wrapped right around her little finger.

And god help me, I'll follow her anywhere.