Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 43759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 219(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 219(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
seductively from under her lashes. Mac sm iled and m oved closer. Jez
tore his gaze away, an uneasy feeling lodged like stone in the pit of his
belly.
“Excuse m e.” He spoke into Gabi’s ear so she’d hear him over the
deep bass of the m usic. “I need to pee.”
“Okay.” She carried on dancing, unconcerned.
Jez pushed his way through the bodies until he reached the door at
the back that led to the toilets. There were two sets of doors between the
club and the toilets, and when the inner door swung shut, it was quiet, with
the noise from outside alm ost com pletely gone. Only one other guy was
in there, and Jez j oined him at the urinal. He really did need to go; the
beer was a heavy weight in his bladder. The other guy zipped up and left,
and Jez was aware of som eone else com ing in behind him . A large figure
m oved in close beside him , in clear breach of unspoken urinal etiquette.
When Jez realised it was Mac, he relaxed.
“All right,” Jez greeted him . “Having fun? Gem m a seem s cool.” He
tried to keep his tone casual, but he wasn’t sure if he m anaged it. There
was a tightness in his throat that lent tension to his voice.
“Uh, y eah. She’s great,” Mac replied. Jez tried to squash the
j ealousy that twisted his gut. “What about y ou and Gabi? Are y ou gonna
go for it? I think she’s into y ou.”
Jez glanced sideway s, try ing to gauge Mac’s true feelings, but Mac’s
face gave nothing away as he stared at the tiled wall.
“Yeah, why not?” Jez replied briskly. “It’s about tim e we got som e
action, right?” He tucked him self away and went to wash his hands. He
looked at the reflection of Mac’s back in the m irror. Mac’s broad shoulders
stretched the fabric of his T-shirt, the bunched m uscles visible through the
thin m aterial.
When Mac j oined Jez at the sinks, he was still avoiding Jez’s gaze. Jez
took the opportunity to stare, cataloguing the sharp line of Mac’s j aw, the
shadow of his stubble, and the deep brown pools of his ey es. Jez clenched
his teeth in the uncom fortable silence.
As they went back into the m ain part of the club, the sweaty heat of
dancing bodies, the scent of perfum e vy ing with cologne, and the loud
pulse of m usic assaulted Jez’s senses. He felt dizzy for a m om ent, losing
his footing slightly as he adj usted to the sudden change from the cool
quiet of the toilets. Mac put his hand on Jez’s shoulder, the weight of it
steady ing him .
“You okay, m ate?”
“Yeah. Yeah… j ust a bit too m uch beer. I’m not used to it.”
They found their friends on the dance floor again. Gabi approached
Jez as soon as she saw him , a sm ile on her face and a sway to her hips.
He let her take his hands and pull him close. He m et Mac’s gaze over the
top of her head, though, and they stared at each other for a m om ent
before Mac turned away.
Jez lost him self in the rhy thm of the m usic and the sensation of
Gabi’s body m oving with his. The alcohol had dulled his senses but done
nothing to ease the discom fort that sat heavy in his chest. But Gabi felt
good against him , and even though his heart wasn’t in it, his body
responded. He let him self fall into the well-practised m oves of seduction,
holding her close and stroking her back, leaning down so he could press
his face into her neck. She sm elled as pretty as she looked, floral and
sweet, but it wasn’t what Jez was craving.
When their lips finally m et, it felt inevitable, but all Jez could think
about was what it would be like to kiss Mac instead. To have a body larger
than his own in his arm s, to be leaning up to kiss instead of down. He
closed his ey es and pulled Gabi closer, try ing to blot out his traitorous
thoughts and feeling like an arsehole for not appreciating her.
Jez had no idea how m uch tim e passed as they kissed and danced
and kissed som e m ore—an hour or so, perhaps? Eventually Gabi pulled
his head down and said into his ear, “Do y ou want to get out of here? You
can com e back to m y place.” She drew back and sm iled, hopeful.
Decision time.
Jez scanned the dance floor for Mac and saw him , still dancing with
Gem m a. They weren’t kissing y et, but Jez assum ed it was only a m atter
of tim e.
“Yeah, okay. But I need to go to the toilet again.” He didn’t really.
But he wanted a m om ent to clear his head; to be sure he was m aking the