Scrubbing his face with his hand, Luke mumbled “Livy, I-”

“Shhh…”

Olivia softly pressed a finger to Luke’s swollen lips, silencing him mid sentence. She didn’t want to hear his apology. Instead, Olivia rose on her toes, wavering slightly from the alcohol and placed her hands lightly on his brawny shoulders. She could feel the warmth radiating beneath his shirt and then from his palms when he gripped her hips tightly to steady her balance. The heat of his hands seared Olivia’s flesh, his fingers dug into her roughly while a flood of sensations rushed through her body. Olivia hovered closely in front of Luke, her heavily lidded eyes trained on his parted lips as she leaned in closely inhaling the sweet blend of beer and whiskey on his breath. Her heart picked up speed even faster. Olivia met Luke’s rousing gaze for a moment before she closed the distance with her lips and gave the softest kiss imaginable. A valediction kiss.

Groaning in both pleasure and regret, Olivia halfheartedly pulled back and broke the kiss. She licked her lips and opened her eyes to peer up at Luke. Silently they said so much to each other without having to say anything. Desire. Dejected. Adoration. Nothing about the silence felt good. It made her chest twinge with regret just reading his emotions as he squeezed her and stepped back.

It was still there for him.

Walking off the dance floor and past where she’d been sitting earlier, Olivia strode through a clouded mixture of smoke, the husky scent of humidity and the faint scent of aftershave. The cologne stopped Olivia dead in her tracks. That scent…she knew of no other who wore it but Nate. Bringing her hand to the back of her prickly neck, Olivia glanced around the darkly lit bar but was hardly able to get a glimpse of anyone from the mass of people. Nate had said he would be at his mothers, so maybe it was her imagination? Or possibly the amount of drinks she had? As fast as her legs would take her, Olivia high tailed it toward the door and went straight home. Alone.