Bryce

“Are you okay, Bryce?”

 

Gale spoke up as he looked over at me with concern. Evan blinked owlishly from within Gale’s hold, his head resting on Gale’s chest. I briefly noticed Oly’s arm was draped behind Gale’s back and his hand softly stroked the hair at the nape of Gale's neck. Normal behavior for these two, but my brain still screamed that I should be understanding something.

 

“Yes. Just a headache.”

 

They let me sit in silence, but 5 minutes later a waiter appeared with a tray holding some aspirin and a bottle of water.

 

“Mr. Price sent this over.”

 

The waiter answered my unspoken question and I glanced up at Dylan. He stared at me intently from a booth across the room. I took the water but refused the aspirin and the waiter left. Not long after, I felt someone pull me up from my seat.

 

I stood face to face with my beloved and his glare made my head throb even more. His eyes softened when he saw my expression.

 

“Do you need to leave?”

 

I shook my head. Dylan led me to the coat room and had me sit down. It was much quieter and there were no blinking lights. Standing between my legs, he placed a pill between my lips. I accepted it and drank from the water bottle. He repeated his actions with the other pill and then stroked my hair. It felt nice. 

 

“Rest here until you are ready to come back to the party. Just let me know if you need to leave.”

 

I nodded obediently and laid down on the bench. My angel looked back at me before exiting and I gave him a small smile.

 

I ended up taking a nap. When I exited the coat room only a few people were left. The agents and a few staff members from the agency were sitting together watching Amy, Oly, Gale, Raya, Evan and Miles, who were all still dancing. Andy had taken over for the DJ whom I saw exiting with his equipment. The music now came from Andy's phone and some portable speakers that he probably kept in his car. 

 

Dylan seemed pretty wasted and I smiled at his bold moves as I sank back into the booth from before. He was such a goofball. A hot goofball. 

The valet entered and handed out keys since his shift was over. He frowned at Dylan and then he approached a man who was standing not too far from me. I realized I knew him. He was the restaurant manager.

 

“What do I do with Mr. Price’s keys? He is not in any condition to drive.”

 

“Let him know we will call a car for him. He can pick his car up in the morning.”

 

“I’ll take them. I’m his designated driver.”

 

The manager knows me, and the valet was obviously a fan, so they both had no problem handing me the keys. At that moment, Gale came over and handed me a cup. I declined, but he insisted, taking a sip from his own cup.

 

“It’s sparkling water. Are you feeling better?”

 

“Yeah. I guess I hit my social limit.”

Gale smiled and then followed my gaze to Dylan.

 

“Dylan will be glad you are still here. He kept asking for you.”

 

“Oh? Maybe he knows I was going to take him home.”

 

Gale tilted his head as he looked up at me, but he decided not to say what was on his mind. 

The song changed and it was a slow love song. Dylan looked over to me suddenly and nearly fell over waving at me excitedly. Gale and I shared an amused glance as he ran over to us.

 

The air was knocked out of me as he plopped into my lap and hugged me tightly. I placed steadying hands on his hips to keep him from falling over.

 

“Dance with me?”

 

I shook my head at him, an irrepressible grin on my face. He didn’t seem disappointed. He also didn’t move from my lap. His face was so close to mine, his dark eyes somehow darker, and his weight was grounding. I felt all the fondness I had for him bubbling in my chest. All I wanted was to kiss him. What I didn’t expect was for him to grant my wish.

 

He cupped my face in his hands and stared at me with that familiar look of wonder, like he was discovering new secrets about the universe.  Then he slowly leaned in and pressed his soft lips to my mouth.

 

At first my mind went blank, and my eyes closed. How could I think when he shifted in my lap so he could deepen the kiss? There was no resistance in my mind when his fingers trailed down to my neck. I could only focus on the tingles that crackled across my skin at every point of contact between us. 

Hot desire coursed through my veins and raced downward as his hands moved lower. Then Dylan pushed away to look into my eyes as if daring me to respond. He silently challenged me with his chest rising and falling rapidly and his cheeks flushed. I couldn’t think so I did the only plausible thing. I kissed him back. 

My heartbeat was like thunder in my ears as I pulled him back in. One hand cradled his head and the other gripped his arm as I caught and returned each of his desperate kisses. It was like the rest of the world had melted away.  I could have happily lived in this space forever. Then I heard a glass break and I crashed back to reality. 

 

"Oh, Amy! I'm so sorry."

 

That was Amber's voice. 

I looked up to see Amy standing still in the middle of the dance floor. Most of our friends gathered around her with various expressions of shock and disapproval. Then I noticed Brian, Amelie, and the staff from the agency. The whole room was frozen as their eyes slid from my face to Dylan in my arms, obliviously kissing my neck.

 

Panic filled my mind. I promptly removed Dylan from my lap a little too harshly and he gave a little squeak as he landed. Ignoring the loss of warmth and other physical responses which fought for dominance against too many emotions, I stood up from the booth and stared at the ground. 

I felt ashamed for taking advantage of my drunk friend. I felt guilty for hurting Amy in front of everyone. I felt humiliated. And then one emotion overtook me. Anger. I glared at my best friend, the secret love of my life, and I was furious. 

 

“Bryce?”

 

Dylan called for me, but I couldn’t respond. I couldn’t look at him anymore. The more I tried to calm down, the angrier I got. With hot tears in my eyes, I walked out of the restaurant, got in my car, and drove away.