THIS NIGHT HAS been perfect.

There's no other way to describe it.

I danced my heart out with Izzy until my feet felt like they'd fall off, but my eyes kept straying to the side of the dance floor to our table, where Everett sat with his long legs sprawled out in front of him.

He never took his eyes off me. Not once.

After our conversation in the alley, something between us shifted. I can't explain exactly what happened, but it's almost like the connection I've been terrified to acknowledge between us solidified somehow. It set it in stone, making it impossible to ignore, and now, I'm craving to have his arms around me.

But dancing together would mean something more, and am I ready for that? Liam still doesn't know, and Everett and I both have demons we have to work through before committing to this. We've known each other our entire lives, and if we jump right in without being fully prepared, one of us will get hurt, and with us both sharing the same demon, I wouldn't want to cast that pain on anyone.

As the catering staff begins to clean up for the night, I sit at our table, twirling the fancy tablecloth between my fingertips. Most everyone has gone home, but Everett's parents and Izzy still linger to say goodbye to the remaining guests.

I don't want this night to come to an end, and it has nothing to do with living out my Hollywood era but all to do with the man who made it possible. Tonight, I was able to live in an imaginary world where I was his date, and he was mine. Now that it's over, I don't know if we'll get the chance to do it again, and that thought is terrifying.

I take in every last detail of the space, trying to memorize it by heart. The crystal chandeliers, the sparking marble floors, and the bouquets of ivory roses and pearls that take up the entirety of the table. I'm dressed in luxury and feel like a Disney princess, and it's all because of Everett.

Suddenly, Five More Minutes by the Jonas Brothers begins to play softly through the speakers, and when I lift my eyes, seeing Everett standing alone on the dancefloor, his figure becomes blurry from my tears.

"Well?" He extends a hand out toward me. "Are you going to leave me hanging?"

I can't hide my smile as I rush toward him as fast as I can in my heels, flinging my arms around his neck. He chuckles and pulls me flush against him, my head falling on his chest.

"How much did you pay the DJ to stay longer to play this?" I ask.

"Nothing. If he wants a future booking with Cameron Holden, I think it'd be stupid to deny his son of one song request, right?"

I roll my eyes. "You're so arrogant."

"Call me arrogant all you want, but seeing you sit there with that sad pout isn't a way to end the night. I wanted to make you smile again, and I know we're not together Emery, but I care about you, and tonight doesn't have to be the end of us hanging out outside of the house. You know that, right?"

I blink up at him through my tears, my fingertips brushing the back of his neck. "Won't that be weird, though?"

"We're doing it right now. Has tonight been weird?"

No. Tonight has been a dream come true.

"Friends with benefits can also do friends things. Going to a movie or grabbing something to eat doesn't cross a line in my book," he adds.

We're so stupid to agree to this. We both know we crossed that boundary a long ass time ago, and the connection between us is undeniable at this point, but we're too scared to admit our feelings. Our demons are still too big, and until we put the work in to solve them, we'll never be ready for one another.

I don't think I've ever had a stronger fire lit under my ass to better myself than right here in this moment because I want Everett Holden to be mine. Officially mine.

Despite the upbeat tempo, Everett slowly leads us on the dance floor, rocking back and forth with his arms wrapped around me. I've never felt a desire this intense. Just being pressed up against his body is too much for me, and when one of his hands drifts to settle right above my ass, directly above that boundary line, something inside of me snaps.

It's been hard to fight temptation all night, especially when he looks like he stepped out of a GQ magazine shoot. I can feel the rings on his fingers against the thin material of my dress, and my mind strays to what those rings would feel like inside of me.

My nipples are hard like fucking mountain peaks against his thin white dress shirt. Everett glances down, arching a brow, and fucking hell. When he smiles and that fucking gold chain around his neck glimmers from the lights of the dancefloor, I'm a goner.

A total fucking goner.

"Everett?" I ask softly.

He moves his hand lower on my back, knowing what I want. "Hm?"

Everett's family is still here at the back of the room at the bar, watching us dance together, but when my eyes find theirs, they make themselves distracted, scattering apart to try and make it less noticeable.

I lean up on my tiptoes to whisper into his ear, "Can you fuck me in that alley? Right now?" Smiling when his cock grows hard against my stomach, I continue the teasing until I get what I want. "It wouldn't take much to lift my dress and fill me up. In case you forgot, I'm not wearing—"

"I didn't forget," he replies with a strained voice. "I haven't forgotten all night that you're bare underneath this dress."

"What do you say, then? Care to venture to the wild side just this once?"

He turns me around so I'm pressed against him from behind, and with his hands on my hips, he pushes me towards the back entrance, sparing his family from seeing his hard-on. He's too turned on to wait and is kissing my neck before we make it to the door.

"Your family is seeing every second of this," I warn. "What if they come to check on us?"

He chuckles. "Trust me, they won't; if they do, God help them."

As soon as that heavy metal door shuts behind us, Everett pushes my back up against the brick and tugs my dress up. It gets stuck around my thighs, and the sound that comes out of his mouth is primal and hungry. "These fucking thighs," he groans. "God damn, Emery."

With another two attempts, the dress is bunched around my waist, and Everett picks me up to straddle him. I'm still getting used to being treated like a feather, and I scan his eyes to ensure he's comfortable. Aside from the feral look in his gaze, he doesn't seem to be strained by my weight at all, and with one of his hands holding me to him, he uses the free one to tug the zipper of his dress pants down.

"You're so fucking beautiful," he says. "You're not real."

"Kiss me," I beg. I've waited patiently all night. "Please."

When his lips meet mine, my body melts against his. I wrap my fingers in his hair, messing up the finely-gelled curls, and our kiss grows stronger and faster, and my skin is on fire from how badly I need him.

He groans when he rubs the velvet crown of his cock against my wetness, and then he darts his tongue into my mouth, which I catch with my own mouth to suck on, swirling my tongue around his piercing. He chuckles and pulls back, completely breathless, when he says, "You're lucky we're in an alley, Emery. Otherwise, I'd make you drop to your knees and do that to my cock."

Without wasting another second, he sinks into me. "Oh, fuck," his gravely voice rumbles with pleasure. I'm wincing from how deep it is this way, my fingers digging into his neck with such force I'm certain they'll leave marks. "Good fucking girl, Em. I want you to watch as you take my cock like this."

I've refrained from fucking in the light until Everett, so watching any part of my body during sex is daunting. He can see the doubt in my eyes, and I love that even when he's dominant and taking control, he still considers my feelings in every action he makes. "You're so sexy, baby, and I want you to see how much I enjoy it."

With a shuddered breath, I tentatively glance down, and Everett makes space, moving my dress out of the way until his cock is clearly in view. I'm in a trance as I watch him begin to move—the veins of his shaft glisten from my wetness as he picks up his pace. I can feel myself get wetter with each passing second, and it's a major fucking turn-on to watch his dick get wetter, too.

"That's so fucking hot," Everett seethes. His thrusts become lethal, and I feel my inner muscles begin to quiver around him as he watches my pussy take his cock. "Rub your clit, Em. Rub it for me."

I'm incapable of refusing him, not when he's grunting and sinking his nails into my ass as he holds me up against this brick wall. We both watch as I begin to circle the sensitive bud of nerves, and then Everett lets spit drop from his mouth, landing a perfect target on my fingers for me to use.

"Such a pretty pussy," he praises.

This man....

I'm never going to make it.

I forgo touching myself entirely and pull him closer, closing the gap between us, and I attach my lips to his neck when he begins to pound into me. One hand of his is braced on the brick wall above my head, the other supporting me as if I weigh nothing.

I'm holding onto his gold chain as it dangles in front of me for dear life, and I sink my teeth into his skin, sucking hard.

"Fuck yeah," he hisses from the pain, wincing slightly, but when I pull away, he shakes his head until I continue. "Fucking mark me, Emery. Show everyone that I'm—" He pauses, and even though he doesn't finish his sentence, I know what he was going to say, and it doesn't stop me from leaving a hickey. I lick and suck and bite all over his fucking neck as he rails me against this wall because he's mine.

Mine.

Mine.

Mine.

I release a cry as he stills inside of me, and for the first time, we come together. My legs are shaking around him as he continues to hold me up, his forehead against my shoulder as he tries to calm down his erratic breathing.

His skin is red and purple already, with three large marks along the column of his neck. I brush my finger over them, giggling softly. "Sorry," I whisper.

"Never apologize for that, baby. You can bite and suck me as much as you fucking please."

"Even if it leaves a mark?"

"Even then."

He releases me from the wall, and my legs are wobbly in my heels as I try to adjust my dress back into place. Everett kneels to ensure it's perfect, pulling the ruching to emphasize my hips again before we head back inside the venue to leave.

"Hungry?" He asks.

My stomach grumbles in response, and I eagerly nod my head. "How'd you know?"

"What? The three bites of food we had didn't fill you up?"

I'm too busy laughing as we round the corner of the ballroom, but we both freeze dead in our tracks when Izzy and Mason are waiting by the coat check. Everett is currently sporting an abused neck with his curls disheveled and his lips still wet, and I can't imagine what my lipstick and hair look like.

I thought everyone would be gone by now.

Izzy's lips tug into a mischievous smile. "Is it safe to say the dress worked?"

Now would be a great time to tell her we're just friends to try and reiterate to myself how not serious this is between us, but truthfully, I'm tired of lying, and just once, I want to live in this fairytale world where I don't have a fear of commitment, and Everett and I can actually be together.

"It worked wonders," I reply smugly.

"So, does that mean our family will see you at Everett's birthday dinner in a few weeks? My mom told me she invited you."

"Izzy," Everett warns, but I place a hand on his chest to silence him.

"I'll be there," I say.

Before Everett can reply, Mason returns with Izzy's coat, holding it out for her to slip her arms into. When his eyes slide to Everett's neck, he lets out a howl of laughter. "Jesus, could you be any less discreet?"

Everett shrugs, his arm going around my waist and brushing his knuckles against my side. "Thought everyone would be gone by now. We stayed late the same reason you both probably did if I know you well enough, which I'm pretty sure I do."

Izzy's cheeks turn a bright pink, running a hand up to her frizzy curls. "At least we know how to hide it. Clearly, you need practice."

Everett points to Mason's dress shirt. "Is that why he missed a middle button?" With a string of cuss words, Mason turns around to fix his shirt. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we're about to head home and order a pizza."

With his hand still on the small of my back, he leads me toward the front doors as Izzy shouts, "You won't be able to keep her away from us for long! I will get to know her, Everett! Starting at your birthday dinner!"

Author's Note:

THAT'S NOT EVEN THE DIRTIEST CHAPTER LMAO

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