I’d been dying to hear those words for weeks. Our mouths met, forced together by the unstoppable release of pent-up desire. He pressed me back against a pillar, using one arm to shade us from anyone who might see. With his other hand, he gripped my hip, digging his fingers into the fabric of my dress while he kissed me long and hard until I was practically moaning for more. I slid my hands down his chest and under his shirt, running my fingers across his bare stomach like I’d fantasized about for weeks. He tugged at my bottom lip with his teeth, driving me crazy, making me forget all the reasons we couldn’t be together. I didn’t know what we were doing or where this would lead, but I didn’t want to stop.

“We should go to the hotel,” I said, breathing heavily.

“I like the sound of that.”

We walked side-by-side, stealing glances and smiles whenever we could. I still found it hard to believe that, out of all the girls he’d flirted with, he’d chosen me. He was just so different from the normal guys I went out with. I usually dated guys like Sean—friendly and nice, safe but not particularly exciting. But I was done with safe.

Suddenly, Jared belted out the chorus to “Bad Romance,” which was still playing on a loop in my head, too. I laughed, and when he continued with the next line, I sang along with him, right there in the middle of the street while cars drove past and people in suits walked by. They probably thought we were crazy or drunk, but whatever. Jared was the first guy who truly got me, who understood that music coursed through my blood and crept into every single thought—because he was exactly the same way.

“Singing Lady Gaga might be the sexiest thing you’ve ever done,” I said.

“Is that so?” He pulled me close, singing the next line of the song against my lips.

I pushed him back with a smile. “Stop or we won’t make it back to the hotel.”

“Is that a promise?” he asked, his arms circling my waist.

We turned the corner and froze when we saw Kyle and Alexis walking out of the hotel, on their way to dinner. We ducked out of sight and broke apart, returning to a friends-only distance. The magic vanished, leaving us with only questions and doubts.

I leaned against the wall and combed my fingers through my hair until my heart slowed down. “What are we going to do? We have to stay single for the show, and the guys will kill us if they find out.”

Jared frowned in the direction of the hotel, rubbing the stubble on his neck. Finally, he sighed. “We’ll have to be careful. Keep this under wraps until the show is over.”