Pulled onto the dance floor

The living room was the loudest part of the house. Emily barely had time to register the wall of sound before she was swallowed into the throng—bodies pressed shoulder to shoulder, hips grinding, arms raised in drunken rhythm. The bass rattled her chest, lights flashing across sweat-slicked faces.

She tried to cut across, determined to find a quieter hallway, but every step felt like pushing through water. The beat thumped into her bones, tugging at her hips in spite of herself. She bit her lip, cheeks flushing as she ducked sideways, trying to avoid a tangle of swaying limbs.

Then a hand caught her wrist.

“Hey!”

She spun, startled, and found herself yanked into a circle of dancers. A boy with a backwards cap grinned at her, spinning her like she was just another partner. His hands found her waist with brazen familiarity, hot palms through the thin fabric of her tanktop.

Before she could protest, another body closed in behind her. Bigger, firmer. His chest pressed into her back, his hips falling into the rhythm against her ass.

Emily gasped, trying to pull free, but the circle tightened. Cheers erupted around her as if she’d just been chosen for a show.

“Yeah, get it, MILF!” someone shouted.

Her skin prickled with heat. The tanktop she’d been wearing all day was damp now, sticking to her skin. She didn’t need a mirror to know her nipples were hard and visible through the thin cotton.

The boy in front leaned close, his breath hot against her cheek. “Just dance,” he shouted over the music. His hands slid down her sides.

The one behind ground harder against her, his hips rolling to the beat, his grip firm on her waist. The smell of beer and sweat mixed in the air, the lights flashing red and blue across the circle that had formed to watch.

Emily felt herself trapped—pressed between two strangers, the crowd’s energy pouring into her, the rhythm working its way into her body.

The chant grew louder. “Go, go, go!”

Her pulse hammered.