I slowly pushed my way back through the crowd, hoping I wasn't with Joey that long. I forced myself to hold back my smile, and these new things I was feeling. When I approached the table, Dylan and Chris were sitting silently, and the happy couple was about to make an appearance on the dance floor.
"Riley, let's dance," Chris asked.
"I think I'm going to sit this one out. Something turned my stomach," I lied. I didn't feel right about what I just did and dancing with Chris. I felt horrible stringing him along because that wasn't my intention at first.
Chris slid his hand on my waist as I jumped. "You feeling alright, Babe?" His pet name caught me off guard. This wasn't the first time he called me that. Great. He probably told his family he's thinking about marrying me now or something.
Dylan yelled over the table. "Riley, have you seen Joey anywhere?"
I lied. Again. "I think I saw him talking to some girl, but I'm not sure if it was him."
Dylan excused himself to look for his brother. I knew exactly where he was. He was definitely trying to get his anger in check before stepping back out of the bathroom.
"We can leave if you're not feeling well," Chris whispered over my shoulder. I honestly wanted to laugh. He probably thinks I took a shit or something.
I shook my head and asked, "You're not having fun, are you?"
He shrugged. "I'm almost ready to go. These aren't my kinds of events."
Throughout the rest of the night, Sam and Cam stayed on the dance floor, having the time of their lives. At least they made fun of the event, and Sam busted out of her feelings. I spotted Dylan talking to a female he seemed to know, and Joey never came back. This time, I let him have his space. I'll just appear in his room at midnight as he asked me to.
Once they were done dancing, we all agreed it was time to get the hell out of there. I certainly wished the event had turned out differently . . . but that's life. You never know what's going to happen, just like Joey and me. I kept pushing him away, and now I can't seem to resist him.
The four of us headed into the truck and made our way back to the beach house. The ride was silent for the most part, and I continued playing sick. I didn't want Chris to try and ask to stay over, which I felt terrible about.
Chris embraced me in a tight hug and hoped I would feel better. He pushed his lips against my forehead before walking to his parked car. I glanced at the time, seeing I only have less than an hour to meet with Joey.
"Is Joey home? I think I'm going to go talk to him." Sam set her shimmery purse on the counter before walking up the steps.
Cameron laughed. "How do you feel about Chris?"
I thought for a second. "I don't really want anything serious. I'm just going with the flow, Cammy."
"He doesn't really talk much, but he's an okay dude, you know?" Cameron spoke, gripping my shoulder blade. I nodded with a fake smile.
"There's something I have to tell you," he said before Sam cut him off.
"Babe, you coming?" she called from upstairs.
"But—"
He cut me off. "I'll tell you tomorrow. That's my cue!"
~~
It was one minute until midnight, and I quietly stood in front of Joey's door. I felt my pulse quicken as my nerves went into overdrive. Why was I nervous? It's just Joey. My heart melted when I heard the light music playing through his door. It happened to be one of my favorite songs. I gripped my clammy hands on the doorknob and breathed out before pushing my way inside.
Joey turned around when he heard me close the door behind me. He still managed to look incredibly sexy with his sleeves rolled up and his suit jacket off. His hair still laid perfectly on his head. We stood still like we were stuck in a trance for a second. Or at least, I knew I was.
"Say something!" I whisper-yelled, biting on my cheek.
He slowly stepped towards me. "How can I, when you keep taking my breath away?"
My legs always got weak hearing his sweet compliments; I'll never get used to it. I glanced around his dimly lit room and smiled more prominently than I probably have in my life. Joey extended his hand for me to grab, and I did.
When he pulled me close to his chest, I wrapped my arms around his neck and looked genuinely into his eyes. I felt like we were in a movie with no cameras. I felt an electric shock shoot through my body, killing the nervousness generating in the pit of my stomach.
I followed Joey's foot movements as he slowly held my hips. We danced slowly to the music. Joey surprised me by actually knowing how to dance and being good at it. His pace and stance were almost too perfect, and I loved it.
Under heavy skies in the rain
You're dancing in your bare feet
Just like we're in a movie
Grab my hand and we're chasing the train
I catch you looking back at me
Running through a cloud of steam
My dress flowed against the ground and followed my movements. It took me by surprise when he slowly released me to spin me around. Before making a full circle, he pushed my back against him. I rocked my body along with his to the music. We were so close; I felt his heartbeat pulsating against my back.
Oh, turn the lights, turn the lights down low
Yeah, now I'm feeling you breathing slow, oh
'Cause, baby, we're just reckless kids
Trying to find an island in the flood
Oh, turn the lights, turn the lights down low
I turned around to face him and placed my head softly on his chest. Joey held me like he was afraid to touch me in the wrong place. Unlike earlier, he was a lot gentler and patient.
"What are you doing to me?" he breathed. "This isn't me."
I stood on my tiptoes to kiss the corner of his jaw. "I'm not doing anything," I said.
Joey gripped his hand on my chin and slowly pushed his lips to mine. It wasn't a kiss that ignited anything sexual; it was actually . . . passionate.
It was over before I knew it, and we were back to dancing to any song that came through the speakers. He seemed to let loose and enjoy himself. I can honestly say, this side of him made me want something other than sex.
After dancing and joking around exhausted us out, we sat on the edge of his bed. "Thanks for making my night memorable." I forced a smile, avoiding eye contact.
"You don't have to thank me. You probably don't even know how much you've made my night better than it should've been. I probably would have done something stupid," he said with a laugh.
I placed my hand on his lap. "Well, I'm happy you didn't."
"Are you really?"
I nodded my head. "Of course. Besides, I don't care what happened in your past. We make decisions for a reason. It's your life to live and your mistakes to learn."
~~
Joey and I laid on his bed for almost two hours, and we just . . . talked. I didn't even think about sleep, and if I did, I forced myself out of it. I enjoy listening to him and hearing about the crazy stories he wanted to share with me: first pets, broken bones, and first kisses. Joey's first pet happened to be a goldfish that grew fat because he overfed it. According to him, you never know when a fish is hungry. His nose got broken when he got into a fight for sticking up for his sister, and his first kiss was just . . . okay.
"What was your first kiss like?" he asked, tracing his fingers over my face as we laid in front of each other.
I laughed. "This guy named Timothy. It was so bad and sloppy; I ended up running away from him afterward. We never spoke about it again, and I was terrified of kissing."
Joey ignored everything I said. "You kissed someone named Timothy?"
I covered my mouth to laugh. "What! I was thirteen." After a moment, I cut back in. "Can I ask you something random?"
"Go for it."
I bit down on my lip. "Aside from you and Dylan sleeping with Sam's old friend, what happened? Or is that it? Seemed to be much more."
Joey paused before parting his lips. I didn't want to overstep my boundaries, but I wanted to know. "If we're getting personal, then I can ask you things too, right?" He said.
"Ask what you want." After all, fair was fair.
He paused before answering my question. "I was drunk one night we had a party, and she kept coming onto me. Without thinking, I just slept with her. I didn't think anything of it, really, but she kept calling and texting me. I could barely remember that night, and I didn't want to hurt Sam, but she wouldn't let it go. She thought she could get to me by sleeping with Dylan, but it didn't bother me. I let it blow over until she told us she was pregnant and didn't know which one of us was the father. I wasn't going to treat my kid how my parents did me, and neither was Dylan. We ended up telling our parents and Sam, and they flipped."
My jaw dropped. "Why?"
"They weren't a fan of bringing a child into our family that couldn't do shit for our family. Dylan and I both didn't accept it even though we didn't like this girl. I would never abandon something I brought into the world, you know? Anyways, we found out the baby wasn't either of ours."
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Well, damn. I guess she really doesn't have any respect for herself." I couldn't believe what he just told me. But I did love the fact that both Dylan and Joey wouldn't abandon their kids even if it were with someone they didn't want to be with.
"My question for you now." I waited for him to speak for a moment. "Why would your ex leave you? I mean, I'm glad he did, but I don't get why?"
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. "I don't know. Maybe he dated me to make his ex jealous? Maybe to say he had me. I don't know. But it was two years, and I really thought he loved me. I sometimes fall too easily, ignoring all the toxic signs."
"What a dumbass. I know for a fact that he's going to regret that. Would you go back to him?" Joey asked, circling his finger on my wrist.
"Never," I answered, and I meant it.
"Do you ever want kids?" I knew it was a risk, but I wanted to know.
He laughed. "If only they don't end up like me. Damn, what if I have a daughter? I might end up in jail if she finds a guy like me. You?" He laughed, narrowing his eyebrows.
With a light giggle, I said, "Oh my God, that's my fear too! Or, like someone bullying her or him, I'd kill someone. And I always dreamed of having a daughter and naming her something cool. Like Lilith or something."
Joey looked at me with a grim look. "Lilith? What's up with you and these terrible names?"
I pushed into his shoulder. "It's like bad-ass."
"Your kid would get made fun of in this generation with a name like Lilith."
Joey laid back on the bed, and I leaned my head on his chest. "Then I'm going to jail."
As he laughed, I felt the ripples in his chest. He palmed the back of my head while I hid my face. We kept joking well until the sun started to rise. I listened to the morning birds chirp while I kept my head on Joey's chest.