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“It’s more fun,” he said. But he took a few steps back toward the crowd anyway, leading her like a dancer might. When they were close enough, he hooked his arms behind her waist and pulled her toward him. For half a second, Davis felt the stares of all her friends on them. But then she noticed his heart beating against her chest. And his hands lightly grazing her bare back. And then his lips pressed against hers softly, his tongue finding its way into her mouth …
    A chorus of laughter brought Davis back to reality. She pulled away and opened her eyes to find herself facing the lens of a video camera. She stumbled backward a little, extending one hand palm facing out to cover the lens. She’d never been a fan of being caught on video; her friends loved it, but she always managed to look awkward on film.
    The guy held on to her waist, almost as if he’d guessed in advance that he’d have to steady her. Then sensation began to filter back, and Davis could feel her feet again. Davis blinked a few times, wanting more. She glanced Vera’s way and was surprised to see her friend looking concerned. But in the space of a second, Vera smiled her familiar, dazzling grin.
    â€œI think I need another drink,” Davis said, moving away from the group before anyone could stop her. Only at the bar could she catch her breath.
    â€œCan I tell you something?” He was next to her then. She was afraid to look at him in case she lost her composure altogether. She didn’t know how he managed to shake her up the way he did. It wasn’t all bad, feeling disarmed.
    â€œWhat?” She tried to sound confident, careless.
    Instead of answering, he took her hands in his for the second time that night and tugged her back toward the hallway, which was empty because no one wanted to leave a party this good, this wild. And then he was cradling her head in his palms and tipping her face up toward his, and Davis found herself wrapping her arms around his waist and touching his back under his shirt with her fingers. It was as if her body already knew how to do all of it without needing any commands from her brain. The only other time she’d ever felt that way was while she was dancing.
    This time the kiss was slower, more passionate, and more intense. Her whole body reacted at once: her heartbeat flooded her veins until it felt like it was hammering against every part of her. Her head was empty. She couldn’t think. It was like her body had choreographed a dance with his, something they were experts at even though neither of them knew what would come next.
    She felt his hands in her hair, then touching the skin on her back, just above her waistband. He crushed her silk dress in his palms as he pulled her hips toward his. But his mouth stayed on hers the whole time, anchoring her to that spot until she no longer cared who he was or why he was there but just wanted the moment to keep going on forever. No one had ever done that to her. No one had ever made her feel so out of control.
    Out of control. She was out of control.
    â€œStop,” she said, placing her hands on his chest to push him away. They were both breathing hard; Davis had the weirdest sensation she was dreaming.
    â€œWhy?” he asked softly, stepping back ever so slightly. “Aren’t you having fun, Davis?”
    She stepped out of reach, shaking her head, unable to answer. “I have to go.”
    She needed Vera. Vera would make her feel better, would laugh off this boy’s weird intensity and make her feel normal again.
    It was only after she’d pushed back into the crowd, back toward the party, into the geometry of moving and swaying bodies, that she thought to wonder how he knew her name.

 
    4
    COLE
    Heat coursed through his body. Music pounded in his ears.
    The kiss wasn’t what Cole had thought it would be. It was way, way better. He’d heard more times than he could remember that Prior girls