Phantom Touches (4)

Nova

The house felt too big without my mother’s humming or the clatter of her keys. It was a hollow shell, filled only with the ticking of the hallway clock and the thrum of my own pulse.

I stood in front of my full-length mirror, the red dress fitting me as if it had been made specifically for my body.

Amy had been right about everything—the color, the cut, the way it somehow transformed me from invisible to visible with nothing but fabric and confidence.

I looked like a different person, someone who belonged at parties and deserved to be seen.

But they won’t be there, I reminded myself; the thought settling like disappointment in my chest. Amy said she didn’t invite them.

I touched my neck, right where I’d imagined Finn’s mouth in the shower, and my skin felt electric. I was a fool. I was dressing up for a memory.

I grabbed my small purse, checked my phone one more time, and headed out to catch the bus to Amy’s house.

The music thumped as I approached Amy’s house; the bass reverberated through the sidewalk and up into my chest. The house was brightly lit, with shadows of people dancing inside visible through the glowing windows.

I hesitated on the front walk, suddenly terrified.

What if I walked in and nobody noticed me, anyway? What if the dress didn’t matter, and I was still just invisible Nova underneath?

You can do this, I told myself firmly. Just walk in. Find Amy. Stay for an hour. You don’t have to be the life of the party—you just have to show up.

I pushed open the front door.

The noise and heat and smell of too many people in one space washed over me immediately. The living room was packed—dancing, laughing, drinking, shouting, and having conversations over the music.

I recognized most of the faces from school, people from our grade and the year above us, and a few I didn’t know at all.

I stepped inside, scanning the room for Amy—

And the strangest thing happened.

Conversations faltered. Heads turned. People I’d gone to school with for years suddenly looked at me like they’d never seen me before.

“Nova!”

Amy appeared through the crowd, her face lighting up with pure joy. She was wearing a gorgeous gold dress that made her look like she’d stepped out of a fashion magazine.

“You’re here!” She threw her arms around me in a hug. “And oh my God, you look absolutely incredible. I told you that dress was perfect!”

“Happy birthday, Amy,” I said, hugging her back and feeling some of the tension ease from my shoulders. “You look amazing too.”

“Thank you! But seriously, everyone’s going to be staring at you all night. You’re easily the hottest person here.”

She grabbed my hand and pulled me deeper into the party. “Come on, let me introduce you to some people. My cousins are here, and there’s this guy from—”

She kept talking, but I’d stopped listening.

Because I caught a scent of woodsmoke and leather, something distinctly him. When I turned my head, I saw him.

Finn.

He was leaning against the far wall near the kitchen, half-hidden in shadow, not holding a drink, not talking to anyone. Just watching me with those dark, intense eyes, tracing the line of my dress with a slow, predatory intensity that made my knees go weak.

He hadn’t been invited. But he was here.

My heart kicked into overdrive, my breath catching in my throat.

“Nova?” Amy was looking at me with concern. “Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I’m fine,” I managed, forcing myself to look away from Finn and focus on Amy. “Just a little overwhelmed. It’s a lot of people.”

“I know, right? Way more showed up than I expected. Mom’s going to kill me when she sees the house tomorrow.” Amy grinned. “But that’s tomorrow’s problem. Tonight is for celebrating!” I handed her a wrapped box I’d brought. “Is this for me?”

“Of course.”

She tore into it immediately, gasping when she saw the vintage camera inside. Amy loved photography and was always talking about wanting better equipment.

“Nova! This is perfect! Oh my God, thank you!” Another hug, this one tighter. “You’re the best friend ever. I’m going to use this to take so many pictures tonight. Starting with you in that dress—”

“Amy, no—”

But she was already pulling me toward better lighting, chattering about angles and filters. I let her drag me along, hyperaware the entire time of Finn’s presence somewhere behind me, his eyes still on me even though I couldn’t see him.

After Amy finally released me with promises to find me later, I stood awkwardly near the makeshift bar someone had set up in the dining room, trying to figure out what to do with myself.

“Want a drink?”

I turned to find Liam—the guy who’d made fun of my clothes last year, who’d laughed when I tripped in the hallway, who’d never once looked at me like I was a person—suddenly standing very close with a red cup extended toward me.

“No, thank you,” I said, taking a step back.

“Come on. Just one.” His eyes moved down my body and back up in a way that made my skin crawl. “I can’t believe you’ve been hiding that body under hoodies all this time. You look seriously hot, Nova.”

“I said no thank you.” I tried to move past him, scanning the crowd for Amy or literally anyone else.

“Hey, don’t be like that.” He touched my arm. “I’m just trying to be friendly. We should dance or something—”

I ignored him and walked away, heading outside to look for Finn because he was no longer where he had been.

“Looking for someone?” His husky voice cut through me, freezing me in place. That voice—those wicked, delicious words I’d been imagining for over a week—made my pulse spike and my body betray me.

“Yes…” I stammered. “I mean no.”

“Come with me.” He grabbed my hand before I could respond and dragged me to only God knows where.

“What are you doing?” I breathed when he finally stopped. My eyes scanned the place he’d dragged me to—isolated, hushed, the air thick with secrecy, like the world had forgotten it existed. “Why did you bring me here?”

“I felt it,” Finn murmured, his hand tightening around my waist. “That hunger in your eyes every time you look at me—you don’t even try to hide it.”

“What are you talking about?” I tried to push his hand from my waist, but it wouldn’t budge. A shiver betrayed me, and my body was already reacting to his touch, no matter how hard I tried to resist.

“You looked at me like something sinful you couldn’t wait to taste,” he whispered against my ear. A broken moan slipped from my lips when his teeth grazed the delicate tip, sending a sharp pulse of heat through me.

“Pl—please stop,” I managed to say.

“Nova,” he murmured. “I didn’t do anything.” He stepped back like he was innocent, like his touch hadn’t just set my skin on fire. I stood frozen while his gaze dragged slowly over my body, unashamed. “You look hot. Damn it.”

Then, in a heartbeat, his hand was at the back of my neck, and his mouth crashed into mine. I tried to resist, tried to gather what little control I had left, but heat pooled low in my body and stole the fight from me.

A soft moan melted into the kiss as Finn consumed me, and when he finally pulled away, I was left breathless, my skin burning. He lifted me effortlessly, and I wrapped myself around his waist, my thoughts dissolving into a hazy rush of want.

“I can’t control myself,” Finn whispered. “You’re driving me insane, Nova.” Heat rushed to my cheeks at his confession. He leaned in to kiss me again—and then someone chimed in.

“What a beautiful show.”