CHAPTER TEN

There's a door near the end of the hallway that's open just a peep and if there were people in there, they wouldn't leave the door open for anyone - me - to walk in and catch them.
To double check that no one's inside I knock and receive no response so I take it as being safe to go in. I shove the door open eager to get out of the mass of sweaty humanity - or otherwise in this case - and breathe unpolluted oxygen. My previous suspicion of no one being in here is completely wrong, someone is hunched over the bed with their back to me and their body is rising and relaxing proving that they're still alive. Feeling like a little kid peeping into her parent's bedroom I force myself to retreat but before I move a muscle the being before me turns around and smiles in a way that makes my skin crawl. I recognise that face, its Jack. Afraid of what I might see if I looked at the bed, I turn around and leave running down the stairs passing the kitchen and back outside to the pool.
My breathing isn't heavy thanks to being part of a dance crew that makes you sweat off every gram of fat and the run wasn't long enough to make me appear tired. My subconscious has looked up from her contemplation and looks quizzically at me with her little foot tapping and hands in fists on her hips.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Louis walks up from........where?

"Nothing. Why?" My lying capabilites are going down like the Titanic tonight.

"Your heart is racing"

Darnit! That's the one thing I can't slow down at will.

"Oh yeah, the pizza was hot" Even though its sinking, my lies are just barelling out.

"Really? You ate that?" He clearly doesn't believe me. Oh no.

"Sure, the alcohol made me hungry" I absent-mindedly pat my tummy for emphasise and Louis laughs so hard I think he might fall.

"Calm down. Are you drunk?" I hold his shoulder and try to get him to stop laughing

"No, I'm sure I'm not. I think I'm not. You look really beautiful, you know that?" He steps really close to me and his breath - lacking alcohol and just as sweet - fans my face, my lips part slightly to inhale his scent.

"Um, thank you", it comes out as more of a question than an acceptance,"You're not so bad yourself"

"Aw schucks" He brushes a strand of hair away from my eyes that I hadn't noticed. Our moment is interrupted by Sarah stomping over to us - completely drunk - with a bottle in her hand.

"Hey, Sam. What're you doing here? Let's go finish up the tour" I am about to protest myself when Louis cuts in.

"No! No more tours and bonding moments for Sam. I would like to spend some time with my girlfriend now, please" Louis takes my hand and pulls me over to the side of the area where everyone is dancing, it doesn't really look like a dancefloor though.

"Do you want to dance?" Louis asks

"I don't dance" I nearly burst out laughing myself at that lie

"You're hilarious, now come on" he takes my hand and pulls me - once again - into the very close crowd of people trying to get their groove on.

He turns me around so that my back is pressed against him, his hands are on my hips with the buds of his fingers pressing through the fabric of my jeans and against my skin. His touch seems more intoxicating than the alcohol making me crave more like an alcoholic craves his whiskey, maybe even more than that. Moving to a very loud and thumping beat my hips begin to sway from left to right in a slow - and drunkenly sensual - motion. Louis' head dips to my neck and leaves soft kisses on the surface that escalate to desperate groans and wet kisses. My subconscious gawks at my actions as if she never thought I had it in me.
Louis relents from his attempts to seduce me and spins me around to look him in the eye. His mouth presses against mine hard and passionately, his hands are steel boas around my waist and lower back. His throaty groans are making me want him more but not here.

"I know what you're doing", his lips move against mine,"and it may be working"

"Whatever are you talking about, Louis?" I go for my innocent I-never-left-the-stove-on-and-burnt-the-house-down voice

"You're brave..........and sexy. Let's get outta here" He pulls away and leads me off the dancefloor. Instead of going straight into the house so we can leave he walks over to Harry, Sarah and Niall who are sitting on the couches poolside again.

"Hey, Louis. We were looking for you. Thought you'd already be gone" Niall's voice has surprisingly sobered up. What's happened?

"Why would I be gone?" Louis genuinely doesn't know what Niall is on about

"He's here" Sarah interrupts looking straight and dead-sober at Louis. Am I missing something?

"Who's here?"

"Michael" Harry answers in his stern voice that always frightened me.

Michael? THE Michael? Oh boy.