Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
DANE
I slip my hand into hers like I would have done at any point in time for the past sixteen years. As I study her round green eyes, panic shoots through me, so I blurt out, "Nothing changes."
Her eyes soften but I see the tell-tale sign that she's about to cry. Her bottom lip quivers as she agrees nothing will change.
"Umm, I'm going to the restroom." She ducks her head and brushes past me. Stupid me lets her go.
I close my eyes and run my fingers through my hair recording every moment of the past half hour with Lettie. She let me touch her in the most intimate of places and I feel like a fucking king getting to enjoy how her body was soaking wet for me. How pliable and soft her lips were and how I just fucked up a sixteen-year friendship.
"I'll come with you," I say with my voice veiled in desperation.
"I'm ca pable of going to the bathroom by myself."
Lettie takes one step, baring her long leg escaping through the slit of her dress. I swallow a heated lump, and she looks down.
"Lettie." My hand finds hers and our bodies freeze. I feel like an airplane in a holding pattern just waiting for my sign to land.
"Don't worry Dane," she whispers. "I'm not a stage one clinger. Nothing changes."
"Lettie."
She slips from my grasp and disappears through the ballroom. Placing my elbows on the rail, I drop my head into my chest. My emotions are all over the place. Whenever I am scared or nervous, Lettie says, "Buckle up, Dane the Great," but not now. Tonight, she can't ease my nerves. We both know we can't erase that kiss and my fingers sliding through her folds. Fuck, it felt so right.
Buckle up.
I straighten, button my tuxedo jacket and smell her sweetness as my fingers rake over my face.
Buckle up.
I grab a drink from the bar and find my parents. "Hey kiddo, are you having fun?" my dad asks with a wink. I have to assume he caught a glimpse of the action on the patio. The question remains if he knew it was Lettie.
"Yeah."
"This is Mr. Dorsey's daughter Daphne Ann. She started at the university this year."
"Are you a freshman?" I ask her. She's so tall, only a half foot from looking me in the eyes.
She moves toward me, leaving our parents behind her. "It's my junior year. I was recruited to play volleyball for the Stallions."
"Our coach is amazing. Congratulations."
My dad taps me on the shoulder. "I expect you on the dance floor."
I hate to dance, and truly I don't like drinking too much, but now that I've kissed my best friend, I'm going to need it to get through the rest of the weekend.
Daphne Ann says, "I need a glass of wine before I dance."
I walk back to the bar with Daphne Ann. This time, I order a Heineken, knowing too many mixed drinks will have me drunk way too fast. While talking to Daphne Ann, I glance over my shoulder scanning the ballroom and I'm met with Lettie's saccharine smile. She's so damn beautiful in her coral dress that fits from the bodice through the hips and then eases out, draping her legs.
"Hey. Is everything okay?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" she snaps, and I don't miss the snark in her tone.
"Okay, you were just gone a long time."
Lettie scre ws her mouth to the side. "Something spilled on my leg that I needed to take care of."
I choke on my Heineken.
"Don't worry. It didn't stain." Her eyes dance in amusement and a wicked smile pulls at the corners of her mouth. She's touched up her makeup and I want those wicked lips wrapped around me.
"I'm Lettie. I would shake your hand, but I'm all out." She lifts her drink and her clutch. This is the person that I love. Funny, sarcastic. But is she faking it?
I step away from Daphne Ann's side and make a triangle between us. "This is Daphne Ann. She is playing volleyball for the Stallions."
"Actually, I go by Daisy. It's a pleasure to meet you. Love your dress."
"Thank you. Dane picked it out."
Is Lettie marking her territory? If she is, there's no need, I've always belonged to her.