Chapter 17

The sun had finally set over the party. The lights were brighter, the music louder, and the crowd more wild. Kashi found herself dancing as she always did. She wasn't sure where her sheer cover up had gone. She was jumping and spinning in her little black shorts and bikini top, but she had to admit, it was a look. And it made her a looker. She'd had three guys already or, was it four? They'd all asked to grab a drink with her or dance around with her. She'd declined with the help of Sierra.

"Your makeup is on point today babe." Sierra shouted over the speakers, breathing heavily, but smiling gleefully as they danced. "Did you use the new bronzer palette you bought when we went shopping together?"

"Of course!" Kashi laughed, "I wanted to use it for my first party in months!"

The song wound down and they sat to catch their breath. "It has been a while since we've been together." Sierra watched as the next song spurred a near mosh pit on the patio. "I noticed you looked a little overwhelmed earlier. Are you doing okay now?"

Of course she'd noticed. Kashi wanted to be a little irritated, but she was honestly touched. "Yeah, I forgot how crowded the parties get and how… pushy the guys can be, how the heat rises…" She sighed, looking at the sky, turning dark blue, the lights from the party dimming out most of the stars. "But I'm having a good time now. I always have a good time with you."

Sierra flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Of course you do. It's impossible not to."

Kashi was glad to have such a friend. If she'd asked her to, Sierra would drive her home right now and miss the party scene she loved. Sierra had always been in tune with Kashi too. The girls were practically of one mind it seemed.

"Hey girl, I figured I'd let you know, but Carr showed up a couple minutes ago." Sierra said with a frown, putting her hand on top of Kashi's.

Kashi hadn't talked to Carr since she dropped him off at his apartment nearly a week ago. She'd filled Sierra in on what happened. He'd only wanted a bit of fun. Kashi would have been fine with that if he were someone else maybe. She'd wanted… well she'd wanted a relationship with him. Maybe it wasn't fair of her, so she should just stay away from him in any sense to avoid the unfairness of it.

Even… even if she loved the way his hands raked through her hair as he pressed his lips against hers… the way she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and had hooked her legs around his waist…

She banished the memory with a scowl.

"Come on, I'll help us steer clear of him Kash, there's like a hundred people here." Sierra offered, standing up. "Starting with a drink and another dance."

So Kashi inhaled a deep breath and smiled at her friend. "Yeah. I won't let his presence ruin my fun. It's not like either of us did anything wrong, we just… our wants didn't match up."

"Atta' girl." Sierra winked, and the two girls skipped off to grab another drink. Sierra's packed twice the punch of Kashi's, but she drained it as if it were only a glass of cranberry juice.

The dance floor had twice the number of people as before. She supposed it was the best song to dance to that had been on yet. She let herself be surrounded by the music, blend into the swaying and jumping of the crowd, swept away by the atmosphere. She closed her eyes, twisting around.

The pulse of the beat was practically a part of her. She had missed dancing the most out of everything at the party. Moving her feet and her hands, her hips and her shoulders in complicated patterns. The music itself was the instructions to the way her hips moved in one direction, her feet following, arms moving for an added effect.

She twirled when someone slammed into her, sending her careening. She braced for the fall, but something— no someone— stopped her fall.

She spun to face the person when they stood her upright. "Thank you— Matt?"

He grinned, the pink lights flashing off his blonde hair and his face. "No problem Kash." He winked at her.

Kashi let out a giggle before she could stop herself. "We've got to stop falling around each other. Don't we have better ways to meet people?" She let her feet move again to the music. Sierra was nowhere in sight.

"Hey I don't mind catching you." He chuckled, mimicking her movements. "I was actually on my way over to compliment your dancing. You put everyone to shame out here."

"I just teach them how it's done."

"Trust me, I'm taking notes."

The next song started, the first one never stopping, rather bleeding into the second. Kashi smiled at him, and surprised herself by asking, "Do you— do you want to dance? If you know how."

His answering smirk made her heart leap a little. She'd come to know Matthias pretty well since they worked together. He was a sweet guy. Very flirty. Not that she minded. Honestly they were very similar to one another.

The last time she'd danced with a guy was with Carr. This was a very different dance. Gone were the refined step patterns and leaps and twirls. This wasn't a barn dance type of party. Kashi watched other people pairing off. Definitely the right time to ask him to dance.

So the two of them danced together. He had his arms wrapped around her middle, his fingers cold against her bare skin, the back of her pressed against him, moving along to the sway of the music. Kahsi leaned her head against his shoulder. She could have sworn she felt something when she did so. She winked at a guy that she'd shot down earlier. Cruel? Yes. Satisfying? Absolutely.

"I see you're a seasoned dancer." He said into her ear over the music. "I saw you and Sierra tearing it up earlier."

"Well I've been going to these parties for six years or so. Plus dad made me go to dancing lessons until I was a senior in high school." She chuckled. "He'd be mortified to learn how I'm using those lessons." As if in emphasis, she turned her hips in a slow circle.

"Well I certainly don't mind." Matthias used one of his fingers to draw a circle around her belly button.

Kashi shivered, but a slight laugh escaped her lips. "I'm very ticklish so don't abuse that information."

"Mmm. Good to know." He hummed in a satisfactory way. The deepness of his voice made her stomach tighten a little.

This. This was the kind of fun she liked and was used to. Situations like the one with Carr was why she flirted aimlessly and looked for little fun times. No strings. No promises. It was easier. Relationships led to hurt and pain. They were hard.

So as they moved towards the edge of the dance floor, the song turning into another one, Kashi turned around to face Matthias. "What about you? Are you ticklish?" She smirked, a cute little trick she knew worked well.

"Can't say I am." He seemed reluctant to remove his hands from where they were still touching her waist.

"What a shame." She clucked. The blue lights were flashing, illuminating his features in little bursts of light. They highlighted his strong jawline, his straight nose, and his lips. "I don't know, you could be lying."

Without a warning, she stood on her toes, brushing her lips over his ever so slightly, eliciting a shiver and a ghost of a laugh from Matthias. "So you are a little susceptible to a tickle." she chuckled.

"What a tease," He whispered back, before he leaned down, returning the kiss, this time, not a brush of lips, but a firm press against her.

Kashi couldn't help it as her arms reached up, one against the back of his head, the other gripping his shoulder. She stood up on her toes again to deepen it. His hands were firm on her back, indeed now calloused from work. His lips moved against hers and when he pulled back…

She knew why he looked so familiar and why perhaps she was so attracted to him. Kashi swayed on her feet a little. Maybe it was the alcohol… but he could have been twin to Carr. Her vision blurred, and then blackened as she tipped and fell.