A MY ONE NIGHT Excerpt!
April 15, 2021
How about an exclusive excerpt from My One Night? You can now read and listen to Dillon and Elise’s story worldwide! Have you read their book yet?
“I didn’t think you’d say yes,” I said, blinking down at Elise. Her eyes widened, and she blushed again, that pale, pretty skin turning pink.
“Well, if you don’t want to… I mean, I guess I could find someone else,” she said quickly, and I growled. Actually growled.
“No, you don’t get to find someone else.”
“You got a little possessive and growly right then. I think I kind of liked it. What was in that beer?” Elise asked, looking down at her cup.
“You had four sips. And you watched me pour it. There’s nothing in that beer. And we can pretend we didn’t just say any of that, if you want.”
“Um, that’s not what I’m saying,” she said softly, leaning forward.
“Okay, what were you saying?” I asked, my voice low.
“I’m saying it would be nice to act like a normal college student for once. At least, for the evening.”
“And you think normal college students have one-night stands?” I asked incredulously.
“Maybe? I told you I’m not good at this.”
Though nobody was around, I still looked over my shoulder, making sure.
“You’re not a virgin, are you?” I asked, even if it was invasive. Then again, these were the kinds of questions I needed answers to.
Her eyes widened, and she laughed. “No. I’m not. I’m not as innocent as you may think, Dillon.”
I wasn’t sure about that, but I still smiled. “Really?” I asked. “Not innocent?”
“Okay, maybe in some things. But I’ve had sex before. And not just once.” Her eyes widened again, and she put her hand over her mouth. “I can’t believe I just said that,” she mumbled between her fingers.
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “Come on, let’s get out of the kitchen where anybody can eavesdrop.”
She blushed again, then looked around frantically. “Okay, that sounds like a plan.”
I held out my hand, and she looked down at my palm before slowly sliding her fingers into mine. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. But you intrigue me, Elise. And you make me laugh. I think I could use that.”
“Oh?” she asked, and I shook my head. “Forget I said that. About the needing. Let’s just see what happens tonight and have fun.”
“Deal. Nothing serious. No deep talks. No promises.”
“I can do that,” I said, wondering what the hell I was doing. This wasn’t necessarily unlike me, but I wasn’t usually so upfront about it. Having a conversation about a one-night stand seemed odd.
And yet, with Elise, it made a weird kind of sense.
She needed to be open and honest, and I couldn’t help but be the same way. There were things I didn’t want to talk about, didn’t want to deal with. So, I wouldn’t.
And maybe, just maybe, I could have fun for the evening. Make a connection, ever so brief. It would be nice not to worry about random shit. Not to focus on the things surrounding me and reaching in, not ever letting me go.
“Come on, then,” I said, clearing my throat.
“Where are we going?”
“The only place I know where nobody can overhear.”
We passed Pacey, who seemed to have found Alexa, but I didn’t see any of my other roommates. The place was slowly emptying out, and Pacey gave me a nod and then raised a brow as I passed.
In that gesture, I knew that he would take care of closing up the house, but that raised brow told me that he would ask what the hell was going on later. And I probably would have to tell him, just as soon as I figured out what this night was. We walked up the stairs, Elise’s hand in mine as she followed me.
A couple of people were still on the stairs, just talking, and they didn’t pay us any mind as we made our way up the steps and down the hallway to my room.
I pulled out my keys and unlocked the door. Elise laughed.
“Is that how you keep people off your bed?” she asked and then turned bright red.
“A guy has to be careful. Pacey warned me. He didn’t lock his door once in his old house and walked into the room with the girl he was seeing, only to find somebody already enjoying his bed.”
“Oh, hell,” she said with a laugh.
“Exactly. Anyway, here’s my home.” I shrugged and took a step back. When we had chosen rooms, thanks to Pacey’s Twizzlers, I’d ended up with the master. Each room had its own bathroom and was each a different size. Somehow, I had the largest room in the house with the most massive bathroom—though not the biggest tub. And while I might love it, I still felt terrible that I had all this extra space. I even had a little seating area, one where it was nice to get some work done when I didn’t want to study downstairs with the rest of the guys.
It was like a tiny apartment up here within the big house, and I knew I was blessed. I still paid the same rent as the other guys, even though I didn’t think it was fair, but they had all agreed that it made no sense to go by square footage when the rest of the house was so big. Everybody had the space they needed. Mine just happened to be in my bedroom.
“This is a bigger room than I thought you’d have,” she said, looking around. “It’s like three times the size of mine.”
I chuckled, my shoulders tensing. “It was a big statehouse back in the day. And since this is the master bedroom, I have all the space. I didn’t ask for it,” I said quickly at her look. “I just got lucky when we drew straws. Or Twizzlers, in that case.”
“You drew candy and got the biggest room?” she asked, laughing.
