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Theas I keptit was all perfect Sweat slickedthe neckline I ignored the other people dancing aroundsafe in ivenover h they were uninvited They went no further,a small safe distance between us It was nice Maybe the music had hypnotized ht it Instead I relaxed against hiether,almost all human contact, my body woke The short, soft hair at the back of his neck brushed over ers Smooth, warm skin beneath

God, it was so nice I hadn’t realized how touch-starved I was

I leanedsoftly Too soft for htly prickled the side of ers lightly stroked the sensitive underside of , but he kept his touch light, restrained I wasn’t in the market for a rebound My heart was too bruised for that,ood there

"Evelyn," he said, his lips teasing ht,back at ish on top but cut short at the sides He could probably do a neat Elvis pompadour if the fancy took him A short, dark beard covered his lower face

"Y-you’re here," I stuttered out My tongue felt thick and useless inside my dry mouth Christ, it was really him Here in Portland In the flesh

"Yeah" His blue eyes burned He didn’t say anything else Music kept playing, people keptfor me

"Why?"

"Ev?" Amanda put a hand to ave David a quick glance and then her face screwed up in distaste "What the fuck is he doing here?"

"It’s okay," I said

Her gaze moved between David and h

"Aers, nodded After a moment she turned back to Jo who stared at David with open disbelief And a healthy dose of star-struck His new look uise Unless you kneho you were looking for, of course

I pushed through the crowd, getting the hell out of there I knew he’d follow Of course he would It was no accident he was there, though I had no daet away froht Down the back hallway past the men’s and wo black door opened onto a back alleyway Open night air A few brave stars twinkled high overhead Otherwise it was dark back here, damp from earlier summer rain It was horrible and dirty and hateful An ideal setting

Ia bit dramatic

The door slammed shut behind David He facedand no, not happening I snapped

"Why are you here, David?"

"We need to talk"

"No, we don’t"

He rubbed at his s I have to tell you"

"Too late"

Looking at hi just beneath the skin, waiting to resurface I couldn’t help staring at hiht of him, the sound of hireat himself He looked tired There were shadows beneath his eyes and he sees were one Not that I cared

He rocked back on his heels, eyes watching me desperately "Ji on I had to deal with We had to do therapy together as part of his treatht away"

"I’ a lot better"

"Good That’s good"

Another nod "Ev, about Martha--"

"Whoa" I held up a hand, backing up "Don’t"

His es "We have to talk"