My Only Exception Read Online Free Page A

out of my stupor were the whistles and jeers coming from the others in the room.
    Blushing furiously, I quickly stood up and moved away from Braden to sit back down on the sofa I’d been sharing with Ryan. I needed space. Because what I really wanted to do was grab Braden’s hand and pull him into the nearest empty room.
    *  *  *
    Of course, Ryan now had a leggy brunette sitting next to him. She was flirting shamelessly, but Ryan looked a little bored with her. I had no idea who she was or where she’d come from. I figured she must have popped up while I was otherwise occupied with Braden.
    Speaking of Braden, I glanced back over at him to see his eyes still on me, a teasing half grin on his face. He knew he was winning me over, slowly but surely. And if the confident look on his face meant anything, he was sure of the victory. Even as my body tingled with anticipation, I was beginning to get the sinking feeling that I’d already gone past the point of no return with him.
    Even though partying wasn’t usually my thing, my nerves over Braden had me drinking way more than I normally would have. And Bree egging me on didn’t help matters any. I think she was so excited to see me actually participating in the partying, that she didn’t stop to think about why I might be acting out of the norm. And then again, she probably would have loved the idea of me throwing caution to the wind and letting Braden catch me for once.
    I left the random guy I’d been chatting up and walked over to where Bree was standing with a group of people, talking animatedly. It took a little effort to walk without stumbling and I was feeling kind of fuzzy. Even my lips were starting to feel numb. I was pretty sure I was drunk, but couldn’t bring myself to care.
    When Bree saw me she called out a little too loudly, “Presley!” She threw her arm around my shoulder, hugging me against her. She was definitely well on her way to drunk. Frankly, I was just relieved to have something to lean against.
    *  *  *
    Ryan, who was standing in the group Bree was talking to, narrowed his eyes at me, watching me carefully for a few seconds before surprise crossed his handsome features and he started laughing. “Presley’s drunk!” he accused.
    “I am not!” I tried to sound indignant, but I burst into a fit of giggles instead.
     Bree joined in laughing and said, “You are too, and I love it! This never happens.”
    A thought occurred to me through my drunken haze and I looked at Bree in horror. “Oh no. Who’s driving us home? I can not drive like this.”
    The band ’s bass guitarist, Jack, had joined the group and gave me a reassuing pat on the back. “Katie’ll drive you guys. Don’t worry. Have fun. Plus, we never get to see you like this. Don’t deny us.”
    Bree chose that moment to pull away from me to get another drink. Unfortunately, I was way too dizzy to compensate. I stumbled to the side and had just resigned myself to falling, when strong arms grabbed me from behind. I was pulled toward a hard body that had the faintly familiar scent of cologne. I looked up to see Braden ’s perfectly sexy face looking down at me. Without my inhibitions to stop me, I brushed my lips against the warm skin of his neck, breathing in his intoxicating scent. He smelled so good I couldn’t help myself.
    The group around us broke into a fit of laughter and Jack called out, “Okay, cut her off. She’s getting ready to jump Braden’s bones right here in front of everyone.”
    I heard the low rumble of Braden ’s laugh from where my head was resting in the crook of his neck.
    Typically, this whole scenario would have been beyond embarrassing to me. But thanks to the nice buzz I had going, I could have cared less.
    Braden dipped his head down to speak softly in my ear. “As much as I love that my dream of you throwing yourself at me just came true, I can’t take advantage of the fact that you’re drunk. When we’re finally together, I want you to