‘Jason!’ I hear someone yell.
Turning back, I see Austin coming up to me, a big grin on his face. ‘I thought that was you. What are you doing here?’
‘I’m friends with the groom.’ I look at Mia. ‘You okay, or you want to go sit down?’
‘I’m okay.’ She smiles at Austin. ‘I like the band. You guys are really good.’
‘Thanks! I’m Austin, Jason’s cousin. You must be Kasey.’
‘No, this is Mia,’ I rush to say. Kasey was a girl I dated last month, but it didn’t work out. ‘I’m not seeing Kasey anymore.’
‘Oh, shit, sorry,’ Austin says.
‘Jason and I just met,’ Mia says, smiling at me.
‘She was seated next to me at the table.’
‘Austin!’ one of the band guys yells.
‘Yeah, I’m coming!’ Austin yells back. ‘I gotta go,’ he says to us. ‘But hey, hope it works out.’ He takes off.
‘Sorry about that,’ I say to Mia. ‘He didn’t know about Kasey.’
‘Let’s go sit down.’ She takes my hand. ‘I need some water.’
We get to the table and see that Chuck and that woman are gone.
‘Looks like we’ve got the table to ourselves,’ I say, picking up the water pitcher and filling Mia’s glass.
‘Thanks,’ she says, taking a sip of water. ‘I probably should’ve passed on the shots.’
‘Yeah, me too. I’m feeling pretty drunk right now.’
Mia turns to me. ‘Was it serious? You and that girl?’
‘Kasey?’ I chuckle. ‘No, not at all. We only went out a few times. She’s a teacher at the middle school. We chaperoned some school dances and got to be friends.’
‘So you’re definitely single,’ Mia says.
‘Hopefully not for much longer.’ I turn to Mia and look in her eyes. ‘I really like this girl I just met.’
‘I really like this guy I just met.’
I slide my hand though her silky hair and gently pull her toward me. I hear her let out a soft breath before I press my lips to hers. The moment I do, I no longer hear the band playing or people talking or dishes clanking. All my focus is on Mia and how good it feels to kiss her. I can only imagine how good it would feel to do more, but like I told her, I’m not expecting that. I’d be happy just holding her in my arms all night.
‘Let’s go,’ I whisper over her lips.
She nods and slowly backs away.
As we leave the ballroom, we speed up our pace, like we can’t wait a second longer to be alone together.
‘Where’s your room?’ Mia asks as we go down the hallway.
‘First floor, just past the lobby.’
‘Let’s go to yours. Mine’s on the fifth floor and the elevator’s painfully slow.’
‘Are you in a hurry?’ I ask, giving her a smile.
