The next hour of my life was as close as I’d ever been to happy. Dancing, sweating, enjoying the attention of other dancers, and losing myself to music with my best friend right next to me. It was like a bubble of perfect, thoughtless sensation. When the band stopped playing, that bubble burst, and I wanted to burst with it, sure I would never feel that good ever again.
Ade’s arms came around my waist and she rested her sweaty head against my chest. I hugged her close and kissed her hair.
“I gotta pee.” I pushed her away and shoved a ten-dollar bill in her hand. “Go get us a couple bottled waters? Make sure they’re sealed.”
She nodded, a blissed-out look on her face, and made her way to the bar.
The line for the single-stall restroom was shorter than it would have been earlier in the show; a lot of the people who were there to hear the Glitter Guerrillas had gone, leaving only the people who were there to drink. My ears felt like they were full of cotton, and I could barely hear anything as I waited.
A man came and stood behind me, but I didn’t look up from my examination of my cuticles. He smelled good, though, good enough to make me inhale deeply, appreciating the scents of sweat and cologne. I closed my eyes and swayed a little on my feet.
“Steady there.” A voice murmured in my ear and a hand fell to my waist.
I jolted at the contact and turned around, ready to shove the guy into the next century, but my indignation died in my throat. A dark-haired, loose-limbed God in a leather jacket and ripped jeans. Up close, I could see all the little details I couldn’t see when he was on stage: a freckle just under his clavicle and the sharp slants of his cheekbones. His eyes were the color of chocolate and his lips curved up in a wicked smile.
“You looked like you were about to pass out,” he said, loud enough for me to hear him over the cotton ears, and his hand tightened on my waist. “Are you all right?”
I swallowed hard, nodding. “Your set was incredible.”
His smile softened, and he laughed. “Thank you. I’m going to let go of you now.”
“I wish you wouldn’t,” I blurted. I was sure I sounded like an idiot, my face flushing red.
“Is that so?” His gaze dropped to my lips, and he bit his own. “I’m Ritchie.”
“Jacks.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” He leaned in close, and my heart started racing. His nose brushed the side of my face, and his lips grazed my ear, sending shivers down my spine. “Do you live nearby?”
Danger! Red Alert! My brain threw up all kinds of signals and warnings, but my body was still thrumming with the energy of the music and the intoxicating nearness of him. Ritchie.
He backed me up against the wall, right there in the hallway to the restroom, and kissed me. It wasn’t how I thought my first kiss would be. It was better.
His lips were firm but gentle, and his stubble scraped my chin. I opened my lips and his tongue slid against mine, triggering something wild in me. I felt, rather than heard the moan that rose from my chest as the hand on my waist slid down to my ass and pulled me against him.
His other hand held my jaw—it was half caress, half restraint, and it made me dizzy with wanting. When he pulled back from the kiss his other hand slid up my chest and cupped the other side of my face. “Oh, sweet Jesus. Please tell me you live nearby,” he whispered, his thumbs rubbing circles on the hollows under my cheekbones.
I shook my head, not sure what to say. I didn’t want to tell him I was only sixteen and had snuck out of my parents’ house to see his show, but I didn’t want to lie to him either.
“Jackson!” Ade’s panicked voice filled my ears and my head whipped up. She was only a few feet away from us, holding her phone in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. Her eyes were wide, and two splotches of color sat high on her cheeks. She looked like she was about to cry. “It’s your dad.”