Ruby tripped over her feet, but I held her until she got back in step. “I don’t think I could do this without you,” she muttered.
I wouldn’t want her to. I wanted all her dances. “You’re doing well. Don’t worry about it. I have big feet to trip over.”
She playfully swatted my shoulder. “You do not. I mean, you do, but they’re not the reason for my lack of coordination.”
“As long as you’re having fun, that’s all I care about.”
She yanked her concentration off the ground and what our feet were doing to look at me. “I really believe that.”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
She lifted a shoulder, moving easily with me now that she wasn’t concentrating so hard. “You’re the first guy I’ve met where it’s not all about you.”
I didn’t have enough going on for it to be all about me. “This is your night out.”
“It’s yours too.” She studied me as I spun us around Tate and Scarlett. How could they move when he had her plastered so close to his body? I took notes and held Ruby a little tighter. “Tonight can be about you too.”
If tonight was about me, she’d be in my bed and naked. No, I wasn’t going to be selfish. Nor did I want her to feel used. “I’m having fun too, Ruby. Don’t doubt that.”
She gave me a dubious look.
The song wound down and the first strings of the next thrummed. A whoop went up in the crowd.
“If you want me to make it about me,” I said, leading us out of the section of the street portioned off for the dance, “then it’ll be me sitting out a line dance.”
She laughed, the light sound so damn perfect. “You really were serious. Well, I can’t line dance either, but it’s nice to see that you have one weakness.”
I had a lot more, she just chose to ignore them. It wouldn’t last long before any novelty she saw in me wore off. It always did. Even before Katrina, my relationships had died before takeoff. We’d go out a few times, mess around, and then the plainness ofmy life would hit them, and they’d drift off. Nothing had lasted longer than a couple of months.
I sat at one of the picnic tables that my family had claimed. Ruby slid in on the end, a broad grin on her face. A flush stained her cheeks from dancing and she bumped her heel against the pavement to the beat. The top button of her shirt was undone and it gaped open. My gaze was drawn to it as I kept hoping to catch a glimpse of those plump mounds I’d seen during our board game night.
Cruz danced toward us, his black T-shirt shrink-wrapped to his chest. Like me, he was wearing his good blue jeans, only his were worn at the bottom from his boots. His good jeans got a lot more use than mine.
He held his hand out to Ruby. “A little Tush Push for the lady?”
Her eyes flared wide. “A what?”
“It’s a dance,” I nearly growled. What the hell was Cruz asking her for? He practically had a line of ladies following him around.
Lane popped up behind him. “Come on, Ruby. We’ll teach you the steps.”
She glanced at me. “Oh, no. That’s fine.” Her curious gaze turned toward the three lines of people doing a hip bump.
“Go ahead,” I said. I couldn’t give her this experience. The idea of line dancing crawled under my skin like a thousand different bugs. Mama had taught us to dance, but line dancing in public and becoming a spectacle had to be one of the circles of hell. Yet Ruby was having fun and it wasn’t fair to hold her back from something fun. A skill that she could take on future dates. She deserved someone who wouldn’t duck her phone’s camera, someone who could keep up with her all night.
I ground my teeth together. Fuck those guys. At least I’d get to witness her sway those hips first.
“No. Really, it’s fine.” Her smile was reassuring. “I like hanging out with you.”
Now I felt shittier for holding her back. “And I like watching you shake your ass.”
Cruz held his hands up like he was innocent. “I’ll be teaching, not ogling. Can’t have the old man mad at us.” He shot me a shit-eating grin as Ruby rose.
She leaned over to whisper in my ear. “I’ll give you a few extra shakes.”
I groaned. Lane shook his head and followed his brother and the girl who left me wondering why the hell I couldn’t skip to the good part and leave the fake behind.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
