Chapter 182
Summer's POV
Kieran caught my hand, his fingers wrapping around mine and holding them flat against his abs where I could feel the hard ridges of muscle flexing under my palm, and the contact sent another wave of heat through me that had nothing to do with the alcohol. "Can't have you thinking I'm only good at physics," he said, and there was a smile in his voice, warm and satisfied and slightly smug in a way I'd never heard from him before. "I'm talented in other areas too."
"Pervert," I accused, but I was smiling, my face buried against his chest to hide how red I must be, and I felt his laugh rumble through his body, felt his arms tighten around me like he never wanted to let go.
"Okay, okay!" Mia's voice cut through the haze, loud and laughing and slightly exasperated in the way only a best friend could be. "We get it! You're in love, it's adorable, we're all very happy for you! But there are other people here, Prince and Princess, and some of us would like to continue the game. Also, I'm starving. Does anyone have snacks? Chips? Anything?"
Logan was laughing so hard he'd actually fallen backward from his spot in the circle, clutching his stomach while tears streamed down his face. "Holy shit, Cross," he managed between gasps, his voice carrying over the general noise of approval and catcalls from the other partygoers. "I mean, I knew you two were together earlier, but damn. That was intense. That was like, 'get a room' levels of intense. I'm impressed and slightly traumatized."
"Shut up, Logan," Kieran said mildly, but he was still holding me, his chin resting on top of my head, and I could feel his heart still racing against my cheek, could feel the way his chest rose and fell with each breath.
"No, seriously though," Mia interjected, standing up and brushing off her jeans with exaggerated motions. "Snacks. Food. Something. I saw some chips in the kitchen earlier. Can we go raid the pantry before I start gnawing on the furniture? Watching you two make out has somehow made me hungrier."
"There are definitely pretzels upstairs," someone else chimed in—I thought it might be one of Logan's teammates, though I couldn't bring myself to look away from Kieran's chest to check. "And probably some of those fancy crackers Mrs. Park always has."
"Perfect," Mia declared. "Kitchen raid. Who's in?"
Slowly, reluctantly, I pulled back from Kieran enough to look up at his face, my hands still resting on his stomach where I could feel the warmth of his skin through the thin fabric of his tank top. His lips were swollen and red, his eyes slightly dazed, his hair messed up where I'd apparently been running my fingers through it without realizing. He looked thoroughly kissed and completely satisfied and so beautiful it hurt to look at him.
"Food sounds good," I managed to say, though my voice came out rough and unsteady, my throat tight with emotions I couldn't quite name. "I could eat."
"Yeah," Kieran agreed, but he was looking at me like he wanted to skip the food and go right back to kissing, and the heat in his gaze made my stomach flip all over again, made me want to pull him into a dark corner somewhere and continue what we'd started. "Food. Right. That's a thing we should do."
Logan groaned dramatically as he hauled himself to his feet, still grinning like an idiot. "You two are disgusting and I love it. Come on, let's go raid Logan's kitchen before they spontaneously combust from sexual tension. I need sustenance and I need it now."
The circle began to break up, people standing and stretching and heading toward the stairs that led up to the main floor, their voices loud and animated as they discussed what they'd just witnessed. I heard someone say "hottest thing I've ever seen" and someone else laugh and agree, and I felt my face heat up all over again.
But Kieran kept his arm around my waist as we followed the group toward the stairs, keeping me close against his side like he was afraid I might disappear if he let go, and I leaned into him, my head resting against his shoulder while my heart still raced and my lips still tingled from the kiss.
"That was..." I started, then trailed off, not sure how to finish the sentence.
"Yeah," Kieran agreed softly, his breath warm against my hair. "It was."
And as we climbed the stairs together, surrounded by our friends and the general chaos of the party continuing around us, I couldn't stop smiling, couldn't stop thinking about how different this night was from my previous life, how much better everything felt with Kieran by my side, how right it felt to be his in front of everyone.
This was real. This was happening. And for the first time in both my lives, I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.