Wade pov
She's standing in front of me, a smile curving her soft pink lips, and I'm completely useless.
I had something planned.
Something normal.
Something that didn't make me look like I'd just forgotten how to function the second she looked at me.
But now she's here, right in front of me, and every coherent thought I had is gone.
When I saw her at the bar earlier, it hit me so hard it almost knocked the breath out of me.
Not in a subtle way.
Not in a passing, she's pretty kind of way.
It was immediate.
Total.
Like my brain just… stopped.
I stood there like an idiot, staring, unable to look anywhere else, completely aware of how ridiculous I probably looked and still not able to stop.
I couldn't think.
Fuck, I could barely breathe.
Because she wasn't just pretty.
She was—
I don't even have the word for it.
More.
So much more than any girl I had ever been with.
I watched her all night.
I know I shouldn't have.
I know how it must have looked.
But I couldn't stop.
Every time she laughed, my attention snapped straight back to her like something inside me had been wired that way. The sound of it cut through everything else, sharp and addictive, like I needed to hear it again just to feel normal.
And the way she moved—
God.
Not like the other girls here.
Not like she was trying to put on a show.
Her arms lifting without thinking, her body swaying with the music, her hair shifting as she laughed, completely unaware of what she was doing to anyone watching her.
To me.
Her smile is like a drug and I was officially an addict.
Every time it appeared, it hit me the same way. Fast and hard, leaving something tight and restless in my chest.
I needed more of it.
I wasn't going to be able to walk away until I had it directed at me.
"No one in this entire building has anything on you."
The words come out of me before I can stop them, pushed through the pounding of my heart beating loudly in my ears. For a split second I regret it immediately.
Because that was too much.
Too honest.
Too obvious.
She's going to think I'm insane.
But then her cheeks turn the most beautiful shade of pink. And my brain just… short-circuits. Because now all I can think about is what that those rosy cheeks would feel like under my thumb. How soft her skin would be. Whether she'd lean into it or pull away.
She huffs out a soft laugh, eyes flicking away for a second like she doesn't quite know where to put the compliment.
"That's a very dangerous thing to say to a woman on her birthday," she says, glancing back at me. "Compliments become dangerously addictive very quickly."
My mouth curves before I can stop it.
"Good. I like a challenge."
Her eyebrow lifts slightly. Not offended- amused, perhaps.
And that look right there. That hooks into me deeper than anything else.
I swallow hard, forcing myself not to move.
Not to reach for her.
Not to do something that would make this more awkward than it probably already is.
Then she smiles again.
And that's it.
That's all it takes.
I'm done.
Completely gone. This woman could ask me to beg like a dog and I would drop down to my knees and sit like a good boy.
"Can I buy you a drink?" I ask quickly, like if I don't say it now I'm going to lose whatever this is.
She tilts her head slightly, studying me now. Looking me over to see if I might be worth her time.
"Are you even old enough to drink?" she teases, then immediately waves a hand. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just… it would look really strange for you and I to have a drink together."
I drag my hand over the back of my neck, glancing down for a second before meeting her eyes again.
"Strange how?" I ask.
She hesitates. Just a second.
"Like…" she gestures vaguely between us, "people would assume things."
"I'm okay with that," I say easily.
Her eyes narrow slightly, not annoyed—thinking.
"You don't even know what they'd assume. Imagine what they'll say about the little old granny having a drink with the sexy young guy at the bar."
I step a fraction closer, and I see her breath catch.
"Did you just call me sexy?" I ask, looking into her big brown eyes. My voice surprisingly low and I'm pretty sure it came straight from my crotch. She's trying to look away, her eyes bobbing away and back to mine a few times.
"I- uh. Well.." she laughs nervously.
"Besides you don't look a day over twenty-five." I add quickly before she decides to flee.
The blush on her cheeks grow even deeper and fuck me if it isn't the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.
There's a flicker in her eyes again. Interest. Caution. Something caught between the two.
"Why don't we test that theory," I say nodding to the bar, letting the tension ease just enough. "If anyone asks, we can tell them you're my granny."
She breaks into a full laugh this time.
And it hits me straight in the chest.
"What the hell," she says, shaking her head. "It's my birthday, so why not."
My heart kicks hard against my ribs. She said yes. She actually said yes.
"Birthday, huh?" I glance at her. "That explains it."
"Explains what?"
"Why you look like you might get away with anything."
She laughs again, softer this time. "Maybe I am."
"Yeah?" I tilt my head slightly. "What are you getting away with?"
Her eyes meet mine, and there's a pause. She bites her lower lip and I swear I feel it on my own.
Then she shrugs. "Talking to you, apparently."
That should feel like a warning.
Instead it feels like an invitation.
I don't even think before I hold my arm out.
And when she takes it—
Everything in me reacts.
It's just her skin against mine.
Light.
Barely there.
But it feels like her hand is caressing my entire body.
Heat spreads instantly, sharp and immediate, settling low in my body, my jeans pulling tight in a way that makes it harder to focus on anything except the fact that she's touching me.
I have to force myself to breathe normally.
To walk like this isn't affecting me.
To act like I'm not completely thrown off by something so small.
"This is probably a bad idea," she says lightly as we start walking.
"Then why are you still here?"
She glances at me sideways. "I haven't decided yet."
I huff out a quiet laugh. "You always take this long to make decisions?"
"Only the ones that matter."
That lands deeper than it should.
This is insane.
She's confident in a way that makes me feel like I'm constantly a step behind.
She's probably looking at me like I'm just some kid who doesn't know what he's doing.
And maybe she's right.
Because I have absolutely no fucking clue. She's so far out of my league I wouldn't even know where to start to impress her.
"What's your name?" she asks suddenly.
"Wade."
She nods slowly, like she's filing it away somewhere.
"Wade," she repeats, softer.
The way she says it does something to me I'm not prepared for. I want to hear her say it again. Say it while I'm kissing her. Moan it. Scream it. God every possible way a name can be said I want her to say mine.
"I could keep calling you beautiful but you look like the kind of woman who has a name" I ask with way more confidence for how stupid I sound right now.
She huffs a little laugh "Lizzy."
Lizzy. It's absolutely perfect for her. It reminds me of ittle bells ringing on Christmas or that first sip of cold water on a really hot day.
I glance at her as we walk.
At the way she carries herself.
At the way she still looks slightly out of place here, like she doesn't belong to this world and somehow owns it anyway.
And something settles in me.
Not calm. Not even close.
Something heavier.
I don't care how old she is.
I want to know everything about her.
I want to know what that look in her eyes means when she pauses before answering. I want to know what she's thinking when she goes quiet for half a second too long.
I want to know what she's like when she's not surrounded by noise and people and distractions.
I want to know what it would take to make her stay.
"Careful," she says softly, almost like she's reading something on my face.
"What?"
Her fingers shift slightly against my arm. Not pulling away. Just… adjusting.
"People who look at woman like that," she says, "usually end up in trouble."
I meet her eyes.
"Good thing I don't mind trouble."
There's a beat.
Then she smiles.
And it's not the same as the others.
This one is slower.
More deliberate.
Like she knows exactly what she's doing now.
And I'm so far gone.
I would do anything that kept her right here next to me.