I couldn't believe Olivia pulled this shit on me. We had both decided after the disastrous blind date she set me up on two years ago that I would handle my own love life. The guy patted my ass so many times during our date it resembled a bruised eggplant. I finally ended the evening early, believing I was on the verge of drinking a roofie cocktail and not waking up until the next morning. The guy was a creep. Of course, the prospect of Alec touching my ass didn't sound like a bad idea.

Alec refilled our glasses again before heading around the counter to join us. We all clinked them together in the air before downing the contents and slamming the shot glasses on the counter. Everyone except me seemed to be able to handle their liquor like old pros. I remained on the verge of coughing with each drink.

After a couple shots I was already getting used to Alec's presence, which was good because the crowd around us left him no choice but to move in close. Meaning I could literally see the flecks of gold in his eyes and a small dimple in his chin I had previously missed. He stood with his arm draped casually across the back of my seat. With a little effort I could have leaned sideways into his embrace and we would have practically been hugging. The spicy dark aroma of his cologne tickled my senses. Closing my eyes briefly, I inhaled softly, imprinting the scent to my memory. I could definitely work a moment like this into my current book.

"Here's to the loss of the crazy cat lady," Olivia announced, holding up her shot glass. I meant to kick her in the shin, but I missed and nearly fell off my stool before catching myself on the counter. "Whoa, easy, sister. We'll have to get you a seatbelt," she teased. I guess I was more of a lightweight drinker than I thought. My depth perception was a little off. Alec reached around from the back of my chair and handed me my shot glass that had magically been refilled. The move brought us intimately close, just like I had imagined.

I emptied the glass again without hesitation, feeling an increased level of confidence I hadn't possessed when we arrived earlier. Pressed up against the hardness of Alec's body, I had a sudden desire to snuggle in closer. From there I only meant to take a quick whiff of his neck. It was supposed to be harmless. How my mouth became involved was beyond me.

Somehow my lips found the soft warm hollow where his neck met his shoulders. Even my tongue decided to join the action, experiencing the subtle salty taste of his skin.

At first I thought I had imagined the whole thing until Alec's sharp intake of air followed by a reflex tightening of his arm caused me to pull back. My eyes met his as he studied me intently.

I wanted to drop dead. I couldn't believe I'd actually licked him. Olivia and Taylor sat giggling as I twirled away. I grabbed for the first glass I spotted on the counter and gulped it down. My hasty action caused the harsh amber liquid to go down the wrong tube, making me cough. My breath felt like dragon's fire trying to push through my airway. There would be no end to my embarrassment.

Chapter Five

Shockingly, I did not die. That would have been too easy. Instead, I was pounded on the back by my best friend, who eyed me like she was waiting for my head to spin around.

Once I could breathe again, and the black spots disappeared from my vision, Olivia dragged me toward the ladies' room. "Get in here," she said, pulling me into the handicap stall. She closed the door behind us, locking it in place.

"Ah, we've reached a new level in our friendship. You're peeing in front of me."

"Well, don't get used to it. I just don't trust you enough not to slide out the back door," she said, lining the toilet with a couple layers of toilet paper before sitting down.

I shot her a wry look before moving to the mirror. My face was a wreck. Thanks to the tears from my coughing explosion, my black eyeliner had smudged beneath my eyes and my cheeks were flushed. Even the knot I had gathered my hair into was sitting askew on my head. On a positive note, I no longer felt buzzed. Using my finger, I worked to repair my eyeliner so I no longer resembled a demented raccoon. By the time Olivia had finished, I had the knot back in position on my head, looking more presentable.

Olivia washed her hands, turning to me when she was done. I leaned against the stall door with my arms folded across my chest, waiting for some kind of tongue-lashing. I probably deserved whatever she felt she had to say. "In my defense, you said I needed to go wild, and if you remember, all I wanted was a Coke."

Olivia surprised me by grinning gleefully. "That was fucking awesome. I knew you liked him. You wouldn't answer any questions yesterday at lunch, but I knew there was something there. Alec could be the one to take your flower." I clapped a hand across her mouth. The acoustics in the bathroom carried her voice outside the stall where I heard an eruption of giggles. "You go, girl," someone said, rapping on the stall door.

"Oops." Olivia's eyes danced with mirth as she laughed behind my hand.

"Why do you insist on announcing my virginity to the freaking world?"

"Oh, so what? It's just a roomful of girls. Believe me, we all appreciate the significance of this moment. So, what do you think?"

"God, I don't know. Is this even something we should be talking about? Isn't your first time supposed to be spontaneous and exciting?"

"Not always. Trust me. It's nothing like the romance books you write. Sometimes the first time is wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am, but looking at Alec, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be the case. The important thing is you'll finally have it behind you and it won't be the noose you're always acting like it is."

"You're talking about it like it's a foregone conclusion already. Like all I have to do is tell Alec I'm ready and he'll cooperate. What makes you think he would even want to sleep with me? We've said like five words to each other."

"Please. He's male. Of course he wants to sleep with you."

"That's easy for you to say. You can get any guy you want. Even one as delicious as Alec. Just because he's male doesn't mean he wants to stick it in any girl who throws herself at him."

Olivia placed her hands on my shoulders. "When are you gonna stop that shit? Girls are attractive for different reasons. So, you're not as tall as me. What does that have to do with anything? Your ass is bangin'. And look at these tits," she said, reaching for my bosom until I grabbed her hands.

I couldn't help but laugh even though it was clear people outside the stall were still listening. "Cool it, freako," I whispered.

"Believe me, Nicole. He's interested. I can tell by the way he looks at you. The guy is definitely jonesing for more of that tongue action."

I backed my head against the stall and looked to the ceiling. "I still can't believe I licked him." The past couple of days had become the most embarrassing of my life.

"I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't seen it."

I shook my head. "Like he was some freaking popsicle."

Her laughter bounced off the tiled walls as she doubled over. "Go out there and tell him that and you're golden for sure."

"It's not funny, Liv. I don't know what's happened to me. Never in my life have I felt this way. My entire body reacts to him anytime he's within a ten-foot radius. I feel utterly ridiculous."

"It's called lust, slutbag. Trust me. Good old-fashioned lust is good for you every once in a while. It makes things interesting. Give me lust over love any day."

I debated asking her which one Taylor fit into. Was she in love or lust? I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer. It was a double-edged sword. If her feelings for Taylor were based only on lust, then their relationship was superficial with no substance and would inevitably fizzle out, which had been the case with several of Olivia's relationships in the past. If that was the case, what did it mean I was feeling for Alec? Not that it should matter. How could I even consider being in love with someone I hadn't even had a full conversation with yet? This was just a means to the end of my virginity. Nothing more.

"Are you sure?" I asked as she fooled with my hair for a moment. Glancing in the mirror, I saw she had pulled some of the hair loose so it fell around my face, giving me a softer, sexier look.

"I'm positive." She opened her purse and pulled out a tube of lip gloss.

"I have lip gloss."

"This kind is special. It plumps up your lips. Trust me, guys can't resist it."

She slathered on a liberal amount. A pleasant heat followed by a burning sensation covered my lips. "What the hell, whore? My lips are on fire." I raised my hand to wipe them clean, but she stopped me.

"Don't be a baby. It's got cayenne pepper in it. Sometimes beauty hurts a little."

"You sound like a sick advertisement for some demented horror movie." Thankfully, some of the heat had dispersed and my lips no longer felt like they were melting off my face.

Olivia applied the lip gloss to herself before turning to me. "Let's go get you laid, my trampy whore."

"God help me," I mumbled as she led me from the bathroom toward the opposite side of the club where the lighting was much dimmer.

I leaned in close to speak over the thudding music. "What about the guys?"

"Taylor texted me. They got a booth."

After weaving through a sea of bodies gyrating on the dance floor, we came upon a row of booths tucked into a far corner where Taylor and Alec were sitting. My heart thumped wildly in my chest as we approached. At least Alec hadn't run for the hills. I could take that as a good sign. My hope was that everyone would let my embarrassing move slide and I wouldn't be forced to explain.

Taylor stood from the booth when we arrived, allowing us to slide in to join them. A fresh round of drinks sat on the table and as we got comfortable, a waitress arrived with a plate of appetizers.

"Wow, talk about good timing," Olivia said, snuggling close to Taylor.

Alec answered, winking at me. "It's all about who you know."

I crossed my legs under the table, willing my body to behave. If I was going to have any shot at even starting a relationship with Alec, I would have to learn how to handle the winking that turned my insides to mush. "Perks of the job, huh?" I asked.

"Most definitely." He slid his arm along the back of the booth where I was sitting, angling his body toward me so we could chat over the music. "So, Olivia tells me you wrote your first book when you were a freshman. That's pretty awesome."

These were normally the types of situations when I looked to Olivia to rescue me, but she and Taylor were wrapped up in their own little private world. Sink or swim. If I wanted Alec, I would have to jump into the deep end myself.

"Uh, yeah," I answered reaching for one of the glasses of water the hostess had brought out with the food. I took a quick sip to gather my jumbled thoughts. Come on, Nicole. Pull your head out of your ass. "It started as an assignment for my creative writing class. My professor asked for a ten thousand-word short story, but once I started writing, I couldn't shut the story up. Before I knew it, I had seventy thousand words written."

"That's seriously impressive. Would you judge me if I admitted I struggle with three thousand-word thesis papers?" His eyes lit up when he laughed, giving him a different dimension of charm.

"Not at all."

"What if I told you on one paper I resorted to lots of quotes and narrowed the margins slightly in order to hit the ten-page requirement?"

I laughed. "Been there, done that."

"Really? I thought writing came naturally to you."

"Oh, hell no. I love to write, but about something I'm passionate about. Ask me to write a ten-page microeconomics paper and you might as well be asking me to have my teeth pulled."

"That's funny. You're passionate about love stories, I guess?" He moved his hand from the booth behind me and began lightly stroking the back of my neck. Luckily I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, hiding the goosebumps that I felt covering my arms. His touch felt warm and inviting, tempting me to roll my head forward to give him more access. I resisted the urge, not wanting to embarrass myself more than I already had.

"I'm a sucker for romance," I answered.

"Me too." His arm continued forward past my neck before settling across my shoulders. He gently nudged me toward him. I took the hint, sliding along the booth until I was tucked against his body.

"Is this okay?" His breath tickled the inside of my ear.

I merely nodded, not wanting to take the chance that my tongue would refuse to cooperate. This was more than okay. This was exactly where I wanted to be.

"Are you coming out to the shoot tomorrow?" Alec asked, distracting me from my runaway thoughts.

"I'm not sure." Normally I stayed away from Olivia's photo shoots unless she asked me to be there. Creatively, we both had different styles, and I had grudgingly learned that Olivia's eye for good covers surpassed mine. Occasionally, like yesterday, she would get me to come by to approve something, but beyond that, I trusted her judgment.

"That's too bad. It would have been nice to see you again," Alec said, lacing his fingers through my left hand and placing them on his thigh.

If it were possible for a person to spontaneously combust, it would have happened to me the moment my hand touched his leg. "Are you going somewhere now?" I worked to maintain my composure, splaying out my fingers to feel the muscles beneath his jeans.

"Not unless you want me to leave," he murmured, tracing his fingers over the back of my hand.

"Good, then stay," I said bravely. Olivia was right. All the signs were pointing in the right direction. Unless I was completely misreading things, tonight could be the night if I wanted it to be.

"Would you like to dance?" He stood from the booth and extended his hand.

I looked warily at the dance floor. Everyone seemed to move effortlessly in sync with the music. I learned early in life that I was rhythmically challenged. When I was six my short stint in ballet ended when Mom and Dad figured out I had no balance. After that, they put me in jazz/tap classes, which also came to a screeching halt when my instructor informed them that I must be tone deaf. She claimed I couldn't find the beat if my life depended on it. I really wasn't devastated since I preferred to spend my spare time reading anyway. Zachary and Tony, who had been blessed with natural athletic ability, still liked to tease me mercilessly about how uncoordinated I was anytime the opportunity arose.

Despite my lack of dancing prowess, I didn't want to reject Alec's invitation. I felt I should warn him though. At least so he would know his toes were in danger. I needed a warning label on my forehead that read: May cause bodily harm when dancing within close proximity.