“Nah, there’s only one hot babe I want to see.” He took a drink of beer.

“Do I need to take your car keys?”

“I’m only having one beer,” he said. “I’ll have soda for the rest of the night.”

“Suit yourself.”

“Here, let me take your jacket. I’ll be back down in a minute.” He took her jacket and headed upstairs, adding to the pile on the bed. After making his way back down, he didn’t find her in the kitchen. He walked outside to where she stood at the edge of the pool, drinking a beer. John was talking to her.

Closing the distance, he smiled at John, who smirked at him. “What are we all talking about?” he asked.

“Nothing,” John and Leah said in unison.

“I need to use the bathroom.” She put her beer down and as she walked away, he picked it up so no one could mess with it.

Leah was new to the party scene and he had to keep her safe.

“Dude, you’ve got it bad.”

“Do you want to tell me what you two were talking about?” he asked.

“Sure, we were talking about a science paper because we had nothing else to discuss. This is all awkward for everyone, her included. I get that she means a lot to you, man, but you’ve got to give up, or show her you mean business.”

“What do you mean?”

“Go kiss her. Stop looking for excuses. What the fuck was it this week at lunch? I got the text where you wanted me to randomly dare her to kiss you.” John shook his head. “You need to get your head out of your ass. Bullying her was bullshit, but playing this part is even more so, and it’s so damn weird to watch. You’re a grown-ass man. You can be a gentleman and get your point across without being a dick. If you excuse me, I need a drink.”

Blake still held Leah’s drink.

Seconds later, she came out. Her long hair cascaded all around her face and her cheeks were a little flushed. She had a brand-new drink and she smiled when she saw him holding the same one in his hands.

“You’re so sweet.”

He had to make a choice. He’d been trying all week to figure out how to get her to kiss him, when the truth was he had to stop making up excuses. Closing the distance between them, he cupped her face.

“Blake, what are you doing?”

In answer, he slammed his lips down on hers, kissing her. He pressed their bodies close together, making her spill her drink, which wasn’t his intention, but it happened. Her hands went to his arms, and he paused for a split second to see if she was pushing him away.

She wasn’t. Sinking his fingers into her hair, he tugged on the strands and she gasped, arching up.

That was all it took for him to plunge his tongue into her mouth, tasting her. She met her tongue against his.

She was everything he knew she’d be and even more.

Nipping at her lips, he pulled away. Her eyes were a little closed, but he became aware of their audience.

She opened her eyes, her cheeks going beet red. There was a slight frown on her face and he hoped she wasn’t thinking about the times he’d been a complete and total ass to her.

“Let’s get out of here.” He took her hand, ignoring the spilled beer. Someone else could clean it up, and it wasn’t like it would be the worst mess to happen.