Free First Dance by Bianca Giovanni Page A

presses me back into his body. I can feel
a growing bulge in his pants and I’m strangely flattered. Marshall
is turned on by me. No boys are ever turned on by me, but this one
is. I feel like Kelsey Vaughn or Becky Callahan or one of the cute,
popular upperclassmen.
    My revelry is short lived because there’s a
tap on my shoulder and Marshall immediately takes a step back from
me. At first, I assume it’s one of the dance chaperones coming to
tell us to take it down a notch, but it’s James. He shoots Marshall
a challenging look and then gives me a big hug. His arms wrap
around the waist of my silky, green dress and he lifts me off the
ground as he kisses my cheek. James is always very physically
affectionate with me, which I assume is because he’s used to being
very affectionate with girls in general, but this is a blatant
display of superiority. He’s showing Marshall that he’s the alpha
male in this situation and he’s trying to exude his ownership over
me. I roll my eyes. He’s so possessive of me sometimes.
    The song ends and Alicia Keys’ “Fallin’”
comes out over the crowded gym. James holds out his hand and gives
me a sweet smile. A slow song. James is going to dance with me to a
slow song, which means that I’ll be getting the stink eye from
Kelsey and her brainless flock of followers the whole time. He’s
refused to dance with her at all tonight and I’m sure she’s mighty
pissed about that. I’m guessing she was hoping to show him off, to
pretend that she’d reformed this bad boy into another popular,
football-playing, Abercrombie-wearing douche bag like the rest of
the boys she hangs out with. Kelsey seems to think James is her
boyfriend, but she doesn’t understand that he’s nobody’s boyfriend.
He’s a free agent and he plays the field. There’s no telling which
girl he’ll be spending the night with on any given evening. If she
thinks dragging him to this dance will mean some kind of commitment
for their relationship, she’s sorely mistaken.
    “Did you enjoy terrifying my date?” I ask
when James scoots in and starts dancing with me. I’m about a foot
shorter than him and, while the height difference is aided by my
heels, I still have to stand on my tip toes to rest my arms over
his shoulders.
    “I did actually,” he grins at me. “I don’t
like guys putting their hands on you like that, Lola.”
    “I know,” I giggle, shaking my head. “You’ve
got to chill out on that, James. Marshall was flirting with me, he
likes me.”
    “Oh, I’m sure he likes you,” James chuckles.
“I’m sure he likes your ass and your tits too, and I’m not down
with that shit, Lo.”
    I laugh. Oh, James! So overprotective.
    “You don’t need some guy grabbing at you like
that, kid. You deserve more respect than he was giving you.” He
smiles sincerely before joking, “you’re a good girl, not just a
pair of perfect tits and a tight ass.”
    I laugh loudly and then rest my head on his
shoulder when he leans down to hold me closer. Even if things
aren’t romantic between us, I do like being in James’ arms like
this. I’ve always found his embrace very calming and comforting. I
remember climbing into his sleeping bag to curl up with him after I
got scared during a camping trip when we were little kids. He’s
been my protector forever, so being around him just makes me feel
safe, I guess.
    “So, how’s your cheerleader?” I ask, my
distaste towards Kelsey practically oozing out of every word.
    “Bitchy,” he chuckles. “She’s been trying to
boss me around all night, trying to get me to dance with her and
hang out with her annoying friends.”
    “That’s gotta be pretty awkward considering
you fucked Becky yesterday,” I smirk.
    “Shush!” He chides me through laughter.
“Kelsey will turn this place into a war zone if she hears that
shit.”
    “Why are you even bothering with Kelsey
anyway?” I roll my eyes. “She’s a bitch, James. She’s been a bitch
forever and