The Hookup Pact

9| Evelyn

Atlas Griffin was going to kiss me, and I was going to let him.

I could see it in his eyes that he was barely holding himself together and I also knew that if I leaned in an inch, he would immediately cover the remaining distance. But did I want him to do that?

"Evelyn," Atlas murmured, his voice thick with lust and promises of all things bad. It was a miracle I hadn't folded into half by now.

"Atlas, I—"

"Eve, let's go dance!"

Just like that, Stacy's voice broke the bubble. Before I could say anything, she wrenched me out of his arms and pulled me to the dance floor. Immediately, I was swarmed by the crowd. I blinked a few times, the haze of lust clearing away and my mind finally starting to work normally.

I was about to let Atlas Griffin kiss me. As if that wasn't jarring enough, I was even a bit pissed at Stacy for pulling me away.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

After that incident in the locker room which I refused to analyze or acknowledge for that matter, I did my best to avoid Atlas. Avoiding the coffee shop, brisk walking past the rink and the gym, meeting with the coach and immediately running away from there. That's how I had spent the entirety of my Saturday morning only to run smack into him in the evening with no escape.

No matter how much I tried to ignore and forget about yesterday night, I just couldn't. As much as I wished that it didn't happen and was a figment of my imagination, it did happen. I have had those imaginations before and it always left me feeling ashamed and disgusted by myself once they were over.

How could I even think of a man like that after he had been nothing but an arrogant prick to me? I knew my worth and I would rather die than let Atlas make me another one of his conquests but damn had I wanted him to kiss me yesterday.

Tucked away into the corner of the locker room with him kneeling shirtless at my feet, my mind had run a million miles per minute with every scenario possible. Each one ending with us being naked and tangled together under the sheets. And that's how I knew I needed to stay away from him or else I would be damned.

Even now, when I was dancing with Stacy, my mind kept going back to him. I could feel his heated gaze on me, making shivers crawl down my spine. I shook my head, trying to get rid of all the thoughts related to him. I was here to have fun. I at least deserved one night for myself free from all the stress.

But it was impossible because there he was. Circling around in the room, looking hot as sin in that fitting dark tux of his. Damn him!

Maybe if I just got mixed up in the crowd, I could lose him. And hopefully, he would get bored of looking at me and go find something better to do. With that thought in mind, I shifted further into the crowd as conspicuously as possible. Stacy raised a brow at me but followed nonetheless and soon we were at the other end of the dance floor, a little away from where most of the crowd was.

"What's wrong?" Stacy asked over the loud music.

I shook my head and smiled. "Nothing. It was getting too crowded there."

She looked at me for a beat and I wondered if she had noticed something about the weirdness between Atlas and me but soon she shrugged and continued dancing, throwing her hands around me and moving her hips. I laughed, joining her. The DJ changed the pace and put up more upbeat songs. The crowd cheered with their hands in the air, enjoying to their hearts' content.

I saw a guy approach Stacy and I gestured toward him with my eyes. Stacy looked over her shoulder and smiled at him, clearly interested. But then she turned to me and stepped closer. Sensing the change in her, I shook my head and held her shoulder, leaning in closer so I could speak in her ear. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine!"