“Okay.” I took over, leading him to the edge, near a speaker, and while not hidden, it was a little more out of the way. It had my intended effect as Milo huffed out a breath and relaxed enough to move into a dancing position. We had a bit of a tussle as we sorted out how to stand. Of course, Mr. Ideal Platonic Formal Dance Date assumed he’d lead, but I’d sort of automatically taken that stance too. But we figured it out, and like with kissing, Milo went from instigator to happy follower, letting me direct us as we shuffled and swayed. Dancing with the Stars we were not, but there was music and we were dancing and it was possibly the best moment of my whole life, especially when Milo kept looking at me like he too couldn’t believe we were here.

“This is…”

“Perfect.” I finished the thought for him, because it really was. I could tell he was still a little nervous, and that made it all the sweeter because he was trying. Trying to be here with me. And that mattered.

“Exactly.” He gave me a tentative smile that lit me up from the inside out. A new song started and we kept dancing. “Jasper?”

“Yeah?”

“Tell me we can get out of here soon.” The heat in his gaze made it clear this request was motivated by something other than discomfort, and my body finally caught up to my brain, taking notice of how close we were standing, how delicious he smelled, how good his hand felt in mine.

“Are you in a hurry?” My laugh was strained from holding back the urge to kiss him.

“Yes.” Milo glanced back at the door to the ballroom.

“Good.” I didn’t kiss him, but it was a close call. Instead, I dropped his hands and led the way back to my friends where we made the world’s fastest goodbyes before heading out into the cold and clear night. “You’d better drive. I might be tempted to speed if you keep looking at me like that.”

“Like this?” Milo gave me an exaggerated leer that had me preening.

“It’s a wonder my costume hasn’t spontaneously combusted.”

“It’s a risk.” He gave me a fast kiss right next to my car. The parking structure was otherwise empty, but I still thrilled at the gesture.

“Okay, we really need to get out of here.” Charged energy crackled between us the whole way back to the college. “Hurry.”

Laughing, we raced toward my dorm, but I slowed when Milo pulled up short, grimacing. “Damn it. These sandals. Still not used to them.”

“Sorry. I should have remembered about your leg. Can you do the stairs? I don’t want to make it worse.”

“Oh, I’m doing the stairs.” His mouth was still tight, but the heat was back in his gaze. “Totally worth it.”