The anticipation was so thick it was like her whole body was vibrating. When they climbed back into the window they immediately kissed, and he fell back onto the bed and pulled her on top of him, he was fumbling with the buttons on her dress, grabbing her thighs. Marina giggled and pulled gently on his hair so she could kiss his neck, and then his collarbone. A warm, fluttery sensation spread through her body as she let her hair cover his face like a curtain. She didn’t even mind when he reached under the hem of her dress and grabbed her dick. She closed her eyes and kissed him harder and considered the sensation for a moment before climbing off him and undoing the fly of his jeans.

This was what she wanted. She drew her tongue, and then her whole mouth, across the taut skin of his glans, then opened her jaw as wide as it would go to take in the rest of it. He whimpered a little bit and pushed her head a little further toward his pelvis with his surprisingly strong hand. Her eyes rolled back into her head.

Before anything else could happen, someone knocked on the door. Both of them jumped back from each other at the sound.

“It’s Aubrey. I think I left my phone in there.”

“Also Perrin,” Perrin’s voice said through the door.

She leaned over and kissed him again.

“We should probably get out of this room,” she said into his ear.

“Probably,” he said without moving.

She loved that he was more embarrassed than she was. They walked past Perrin and Aubrey without saying a word. “It’s fine, I just wish you had asked first,” Marina heard Perrin saying.

They were back in the big room, next to the kitchen. For a moment they avoided looking at each other, and then Marina reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder.

“You’re sweet, Nicki,” she said.

“You’re sweet too,” he said, still not looking at her. All around them people were talking loudly to each other, touching each other.

“I feel like we kinda fucked up,” he said, taking a step back.

“Uh-huh.”

“I should probably apologize to Perrin.”

“Yeah, probably,” she said. “I hope Aubrey edits those pictures. I really want to see them.”

“They will,” he said, and then he walked away in the direction of the rest of the party. Marina looked for Sylvie again, and then left.

♒

When she got home, it was still early. She sat in her chair by the window and drank half a bottle of wine too quickly and barely made it into bed before falling asleep.

The next morning when she checked her phone, she saw that Aubrey had added her and Nico to a group chat with the photos. Marina looked at them while still under the covers. At least she had his number now.