“Give me something to remember,” I say, as he draws closer to me.
His lips barely brush mine, a smile on them before he dives back in. Our motions are slow, savoring each other.
I am so royally fucked.
I’m caught between two worlds: one where I know I’m damaged goods and should probably take some time alone to heal from Rob, and one where I throw all that away and just let myself be happy. It’s hard to do the latter with the former in the way.
The confusion has me pulling away abruptly. Jake doesn’t say anything but his eyes search for an answer. I swallow and force a smile. “See you after while.”
“Be good,” he says again.
“I do what I want,” I taunt. I scoot away from him and slide off the seat and onto the gravel parking lot. “Don’t forget your hat when you come back, cowboy.”
Jake’s dimples flash. “If that’s what you want, boss.”
“Ugh, sickening! Come on!” Bri whines, grabbing my hand and dragging me away from Jake’s truck. Becca holds the door to the bar with the reverence of someone ushering us into a castle.
Term for a paved road rather than a gravel road
TWENTY-FIVE
DARCY
It may not bea castle inside, but I see why Becca loves the Legion Hall all the same.
The scene inside Legion is jumping, full of jostling bodies on the dance floor, people scattered among tables, and a few bellying up to the bar. It smells vaguely of water damage, but the decor is fun enough: twinkle lights strung over the dancefloor, old beer signs lit up behind the bar, a set of barflies hanging around the edges of the bar.
“Hi, baby!” Becca shouts. A short, rail thin, heavily tattooed man behind the bar lights up like a Christmas tree in a very subtle, cool guy way. She loops her arms through mine and Bri’s and pulls us close. “That’s my boyfriend. That’s Stone. Isn’t he cute?”
Stone wears an enamored smirk as he approaches us, his expression and scruff indeed making him cute. “Hey.”
“This is Darcy and this is Brianna. Watch their purses,” she commands him, taking our purses from our hands and slapping them down on the bar top. “We’re going to dance.”
My phone buzzes in my hand with a call from Rob. Bri gives me a wary glance and I lay it facedown on the bar. There’s a pit in my stomach as I say, “Let’s dance.”
She squeezes my hand. “Let’s forget him.”
And dance we do. Becca gives us a refresher on line dancing with the “Watermelon Crawl” and “Any Man of Mine,” and it’s the most fun I’ve had in a while. Brianna pushes a Coors Light into my hand at some point and well, one more beer won’t hurt.
“No more after this. I can’t be sad drunk girl,” I say.
“Fair,” Bri says. “When’s your man getting here?”
I shrug before spinning in a circle with my beer bottle in hand. As I turn, I spot Caleb talking to a couple and looking miserable. He’s got a smile on, but he’s so clearly in pain.
Caleb’s only ever been good to me, so I need to go on a rescue mission.
I yell over Tim McGraw to get Bri and Becca’s attention. “Hey, will you be okay if I go dance with Caleb?”
Becca leans a little harder on Bri, locking their thighs together. “We’ll be fine,” Bri says.
I put my arm around her shoulder so I can speak just to her. “Are you . . . thinking of fulfilling Stone’s fantasies?”
Bri’s eyes dance and she smirks. “He’s pretty cute. She is too.”
“Is it something you want?” I ask.
“Uh, yeah,” she says like it’s obvious. “When else would I get to, no strings?”
