“As much as I would love to sit here and kiss you the rest of the night, I had some other things in mind.” I wink.
“Like what?”
I nod my head towards the outdoor porch.
“Dancing.” He groans, but slides out of the booth and offers his hand to me. I take it as butterflies twirl and spin in my stomach. “Hey, what about the wings?”
My stomach growls, and I definitely want to eat them. But I want to dance with Braxton more.
“They’ll be here after a few dances.” He looks longingly at the chicken on the table, but then turns away and leads me toward the dance floor.
“Oh, hold on.” I stop him before we get too far from the table. I pick up a napkin, wet it using the condensation gathered on the glass, and gently wipe my red lipstick from his mouth. “Couldn’t have you going out there with my lipstick on your lips.”
“It’s a privilege to be marked by you.” His smoldering eyes set me aflame.
I think I may very well be the happiest woman alive at this moment.
Chapter Twenty-One
Braxton
“Youbetterdeletethatvideo,” I whisper against Hadley’s ear. “It recorded way more than I’m sure you were anticipating.” I clutch her body tighter to mine as we sway back and forth to “Rumor” by Lee Brice. It’s a fitting song, thinking of all the town’s people back home in Juniper Grove. Every time they spotted Hadley and me together, which was often, a new rumor mill started that we were finally dating. And every time it would be false.
Until now, I hope.
Do we need to have that conversation, or does the way her braced hand is pressed flat against my back and the other fingering the hair stemming from my neck speak for us? And why does that little action of her fingers in my hair make me feel like I am the king of the world?
“It’s a memory now,” she says. “I can watch it over and over, reliving our first kiss.”
Our first kiss.My heart speeds up at her words.
The moment her mouth crashed into mine—and yes, I do mean that first initial moment when she assaulted my face—I knew that would be my last first kiss.
“Watch you crash into my teeth over and over,” I jest. She tugs at my hair, then pulls away from me. Or tries, I should say, because I don’t let her.
My arms are a cage, and Hadley is the bird. She’s never leaving if I have any say.
“I’ll crop that out of the video.” She smiles up at me. Happiness lights her face, reflecting my own feelings. Hadley kissed me. She’s in my arms, dancing with me. I made herthishappy.
I am the happiest man in the world right now.
The song slows to an end and is replaced with an all too familiar opening line: “Turn it up, boys.”
The crowd roars and Hadley jumps backward, covering her mouth with her hands. “It’s ‘Honky Tonk Badonkadonk’ by Trace Adkins!” she screams through her hands. “Dance with me!”
Do I tell her I actually know how to do this dance from years of Brandi and her friends line dancing at the house? I don’tlikedancing, but Ican. In high school, when she dragged me to dances, I didn’t dance because I was a too cool football player. The extent of our dancing was her hands on my shoulders, mine on her waist, swaying back and forth awkwardly like every other teen. When the beat ticked up, it was a mosh pit of jumping up and down and yelling the words to the song.
I err on the side of surprise, throwing my hands up and shaking my head, all while backing away to an open spot on the dance floor.
I take the first step forward and watch Hadley’s eyes triple in size.
A crowd forms around me, everyone finding a place in typical line dance fashion. A redhead sidles up next to me, but before I can move away, Hadley is dancing her way between us.
My feet continue the physical dance, but my eyes emotionally dance with Hadley’s as we move across the floor. We turn, and now she’s behind me. The perfect time to put my own little twist into the dance.
I shake my hips as my feet move to the music, knowing all too well the reactions my sister’s friends had when I finally got the hang of the dance and made it my own.
Hadley whistles behind me. “Looking good, Rawls.”
