Page 31 of The Draft

Maybe I was.

“Dash, that feels so…”

Closer. Closer. Closer.

I winced, ready for the inevitable crash, unsure how we would move forward after this.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Dash pulled his hand from my center and smothered my mouth, quieting my moans. I opened my eyes in shock because the bang reverberated through my entire body, dowsing the tension like a fire hose.

“What the hell are you guys doing in there?”

I crushed my eyes shut.

No. No. No.

This couldn’t be happening.

Cade’s voice wasn’t even muffled through the cardboard, and it immediately killed the mood. Any high that I was riding was well and truly gone. Dash had stilled a while ago, but his other hand remained on my nipple because he was too afraid to move it. Hell, there was a very real possibility that Cade would hear the ruffling of my bra if we weren’t careful.

“It sounds like you’re individually plucking each hair out of your ball sack. How many times do I have to tell you? Wax every time, dude. Theladies will thank you.”

I cringed because this couldn’t be happening. Did my brother really just ruin my first sexual encounter? Of course he did. He was the thorn in my side when it came to Dash. He was always going to be right there. Getting in the way.

Dash didn’t respond to Cade. He just stared down at me, his eyes getting wider and breathing heavier by the second. It was as though everything he’d just done had finally hit him. When no one responded, Cade mumbled something before I assumed walking away, leaving Dash and me on the other side of the door, silently staring at each other.

After a good five minutes of what felt like not breathing, Dash finally stepped back, removing his hand and body from me. He was caught up in his own thoughts, and I knew I’d lost him. So close. I was so close to getting what I wanted. My body ached for him, but I couldn’t figure out a way to make this work.

“It was only a kiss.”

“It wasn’t just a kiss, Madison. You know that.” That sentiment was supposed to be in my head, but apparently, he heard it.

The way he said my name, all gloomy and angry, made me feel hot all over again, and it was then that I decided that I might need therapy to discuss this obsession. It wasn’t normal.

“What was it, then?” Yeah, I put it out there because I didn’t want to be caught with the wrong idea again.

“It was everything.”

That was it. His short and sweet answer to our kissing dilemma.

“And…” I closed my eyes because I could feel the weight of his crushing blow about to come down. And it can’t happen again.I was waiting for those words, but he didn’t say anything. I opened one eye just to make sure he hadn’t left the room, and then the other.

Dash was only a few feet away, but it felt like the Grand Canyon was between us. What could I say? I wanted him, that much was obvious, but he wasn’t willing to take the chance to be with me because of my last name, and I couldn’t think of any way around it.

“And?” I prompted, pushing Dash out of his own thoughts.

Dash watched the door in case more noise from the party penetrated intothe room. It was getting late. It would be quiet soon, but that didn’t stop the fact that he’d come to his senses about me. Any sliver of hope that we could be together was blocked by my brother.

He shook his head, taking a step toward me. Placing his hand on my arm, I whimpered because I suspected he was going to take us outside and admit everything to Cade. He was just that kind of guy. Too noble for his own good.

“I can’t talk to you in this room when everyone and their mother can hear,” he grumbled before guiding me into his bathroom, and once we were both in there, he shut the door.

Okay, the bathroom was nice. Clean for a hockey player, but it wasn’t a space for two people to be hanging out in. Especially when you were about to get your heart broken.

Dash’s hands skated over my hips, and he lifted me, perching me on the vanity unit before he dropped the lid of the toilet and took a seat.

I wet my lips, looking anywhere in the room except at Dash. I wasn’t going to speak first because if he didn’t want this, then he was going to have to confirm it himself.