Orienting myself quickly, I crossed the street as Kane fell into step beside me, keeping careful space between us. I ignored the subtle glances he sent my way. If he couldn’t understand my change in mood, that was his problem. I had to go along with this stupid plan, but I was not going to give him an all-access pass to all things Darcy. He didn’t deserve it.
Foot traffic grew heavier the closer we got to the strip of bars two streets over. Pubs, clubs, and watering holes catered to the young and stupid, offering high-priced drinks and low standard dance partners, and in the case of the two-storied monstrosity of a dance club that took up the corner block, any brand of illicits the aforementioned young and dumb population could ask for. I had never been inside, but the establishment’s substance-affected patrons had a way of spilling out from behind those walls. Their antics kept the local police force busy, while the locals used their prejudice to justify tighter security measures.
At the entrance to the Sports Bar, a crush of bodies heaved against the resisting force of two jacked-up security guards. Cameras flashed with a regularity that announced, clearer than the presence of the crowd, that the Boars were in residence.
As I hesitated at the edge of the crowd, another night flashed in my mind’s eye. Heaving bodies, loud dance music, me trying to fit my smaller than average body through the maelstrom. Just like on that night, Kane was the one to protect me from the masses. Stepping in front of me, he guided my hands to his hips and forced his way through. Also like on that night, as people recognized his face, the crowd began to part around him. Especially when a shout went up from inside, and Cody pushed his way toward us. While I clung to Kane’s back, unwilling to risk being swallowed by the crowd, Kane and Cody performed a handshake and hug that set off a new round of flashes. As Cody stepped back and motioned us inside, Kane snaked an arm out, maneuvering until my back was flush with his front. Following Cody, Kane curled his body around me, lowering his lips until they brushed the sensitive shell of my ear, and murmured, “Still not a fan of crowds, huh?”
I pursed my lips but didn’t deign to answer the question, which was more of a statement. I guessed I wasn’t the only one thinking of old times. It was, after all, the night I lost my virginity to him.
Cody led us all the way up to the bar where he ordered a beer and a cola, before looking at me expectantly. “Vodka and soda,” I supplied. There may have been a time when I was younger that I would have ordered a beer, just to make things easier, but honestly? Beer was nasty. And with a pro football contract, Cody could afford the spirits.
Despite the number of patrons, Cody took no time to fetch our drinks, and then we were off again, heading for the back of the bar where a section appeared to have been roped off to keep Cody’s team separate from the masses. The bouncer monitored our approach and opened the way half a second before I was hit by a full-body tackle that smelled like Chanel and was dressed in Dior.
Evie Wighson was a force of nature. Head cheerleader at Fankirth High, and dating the school quarterback for most of the experience, the stereotypical rich girl act ended there. She was genuinely one of the sweetest individuals I had ever met, and during Kane’s and my whirlwind romance, she and I had become fast friends. A part of me could admit I had missed her. We had kept in touch for a while after I left Fankirth High, but in the end, she hadn’t liked hiding things from Cody and I found it difficult being around her, given what she represented to me. In the end, when we headed off to our respective colleges, we had lost touch.
“You came!” she shouted, pulling back from the hug just far enough to look me in the eye.
“I… yeah, I guess I did. How’ve you been?”
“I have to say, I was surprised when Cody said you were coming with Kane. Come, sit and tell me all about it.” Evie’s enthusiasm was so genuine, it was almost enough to cover the deflection. Not my business, I guessed. It had been years since we last spoke, and even then, it was a comparatively small time we were friends in the grand scheme of things. I allowed myself to be led to a booth in the corner that was miraculously vacant.
“Benefits of girlfriend status,” Evie said, noting my raised eyebrows. “I took the table when we first arrived. The guys are really cool. Like one big family, so anyone who tried to sit would have been told to move.”
“That’s… well, that’s something.”
Evie laughed. “Yeah, it gets annoying when you want to keep something secret. They’re worse gossips than anyone I’ve ever met.”
I chuckled, sliding into the seat across from her.
As the conversation died out, we drank in companionable silence, watching the antics of Cody and his team, Kane in the midst of it all with a quiet smirk on his face. It was like old times.
Times I don’t want to think about, I reminded myself firmly. It was too tempting to forget everything that happened after. Too easy to be drawn into his orbit and ignore the one irrefutable thing I knew about Kane Bryson.
He was a liar.
Kane
The drinks flowed freely,Lil Nas X sang about finding someone to love him, and a glance at the corner of the room proved that it had been a good idea to convince Darcy to come out. With a growing pile of glasses between them, she and Evie chatted away like it was old times. I frowned briefly, trying to calculate how much alcohol she had consumed before forcing myself to stop. It was an old habit. Monitoring the consumption of those around me used to be necessary for survival, but had turned into a way to protect my friends from themselves. Not that Darcy wanted me to protect her.
As Lil Nas X transitioned into old school Drake, I caught Darcy’s eye across the room. Holding up a finger, I mouthed,One dance,and grinned as she rolled her eyes at the reference to the song. The smile that tilted her lips was tiny. The swell in my chest as she stood, shaking her head, was so big I could barely contain it.
“Don’t get any ideas,” she yelled as she stepped just inside my personal space and began to swing her hips to the beat.
Between tables covered in beer glasses and people jostling each other as they moved from one conversation to the next, we made our own dance floor. Bodies flowing with a synchronicity I had never found with anyone else. And I had tried. Extensively.
As we danced, whether because of the alcohol or, god willing, she was enjoying my company, her shoulders dropped from around her ears, her face lit up, and a true smile made an appearance in a way that almost brought me to my knees. In this moment when we moved so closely without touching, I realized just how tightly she had been wound since the moment she walked back into my life. I wished I had a right to ask what had happened to her. Wished also that she’d trust me with the answer.
God, I was getting emotional whiplash.
Without missing a beat with the music, I gave myself a mental shake and refocus. Nationals were what mattered. Darcy writing a glowing article on me mattered. Whatever history we had, whatever was causing the hostility and standoffishness? Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Priorities back in line, I danced with Darcy through two more songs before convincing her to help me find Cody. Unsurprisingly, he was chatting up photographers and paparazzi like he was Hollywood’s next big thing.
“Kane!” he called, waving us toward him before turning back to his adoring fans. “My man Kane is going to be the next big thing in swimming.”
It was so like Cody to try to share the limelight. Swimming was not at the same level as football in the eyes of our fair nation, but I did okay for myself.
“Oh, shit! That’s the Bullet!” someone called from further back in the crowd. Cody laughed victoriously and pushed me in front of the cameras.
