I gave him a thumbs up as I chugged the water. I had time. I could sober up. And if not…I was pretty good at faking it. Matt sighed. “And here I thought I was gonna have to babysit Griffin.” He jerked his thumb over at his cousin; he didn’t seem nearly as drunk as me. Probably because he was too busy being fawned over by a handful of girls. I smirked at Matt’s comment, then flipped him off.

I looked around for Kiera, but I didn’t see her anywhere. Weird, since it was a zoo in here. Jenny and Kate were both around, hustling to satisfy everybody. Rita was busy at the bar; even with Troy pulling a double shift to stay and help her, it was pretty chaotic up there. So, where the hell was my girlfriend?

My sloppy head twisted toward the direction of the back hallway. Was she waiting somewhere private for me? Did she miss me too? Grinning, I started weaving my way through the crowd for her. I felt some aggressively friendly fingers stroke my body as I walked by, heard murmurs of sexual promises in my ears, and even noticed a few things being shoved into my pockets, but I ignored it all as I continued to the back hallway. I was on a mission, and I was not going to be stopped.

Although, I did pause once I reached a garbage can and emptied my pockets. Even drunk, I knew Kiera finding strange phone numbers in my jeans wouldn’t end well. And I wanted tonight to end…amazing.

Curious if she was in the back room, I slowly opened the door. Ah-ha…she was in here. Seeing her rummaging through a box of condiments made me smile. She hadn’t noticed me, or if she had, she was ignoring me. I wasn’t about to let her ignore me, not tonight, but there was something about secretly watching her work that was seriously turning me on. The loose ponytail, the tight jeans, the way her shirt was just begging for me to untuck it from her pants…it was all working for me. Or maybe it was just this room. A lot had happened in here, some of it painful, some of it…un-fucking-believable. I’d told her I loved her in here. Turning back to the door, I locked it.

Wondering if she’d roleplay a little with me, I strode right up behind her; if she really hadn’t been aware I was here before, she was now. Trapping her against the shelves with my body, I lowered my voice and murmured in her ear, “Don’t turn around.”

She startled, then started turning. Didn’t I just tell you not to do that, Kiera? Grinning, I made her head stay forward, then pressed myself harder into her back. She knew it was me, right? “I said, don’t turn around.”