Lainey slowly looks over at me before rolling her eyes and looking back to the dance floor.
“Peachy,” she says sarcastically, picking at something nonexistent on her dress.
Nodding, I look to where she’s watching. My gaze lands on Gwen and Ryker who have never looked happier. A small smile tugs at my lips at the sight.
“I hate slow songs,” Lainey states, shaking her head and looking back down at her hands in her lap.
Looking back at her, I study her expression. I can’t quite make out what she’s feeling right now. It looks like a mixture of sadness and disgust.
I know she’s happy for her best friend, so she can’t be upset or disgusted with the sight of her friend dancing with her new husband.
“You wanna dance, Barkley?” I ask before I can stop myself. Why the hell I just asked her if she wants to dance is beyond me, but it’s done now. It clearly threw her off guard too, because she looks like I just asked her if she wants to elope.
“With you?” she questions, a comical expression on her face. She looks completely unsure of how she should feel about dancing with me, even though we just saw each other naked hours ago.
Chuckling, I say, “yes, with me.”
Standing from my seat, I extend my hand out for her to take. She stares at me like I have two heads. Like dancing with me is the craziest thing she’ll ever do.
“Come on, Lainey Bug. Let’s dance,” I tell her. She hesitantly lays her small hand in mine, and I tug her up and over to the dance floor.
A new song begins, just as slow as the one before. My hands slowly wrap around her waist, landing on the small of her back. The fact that the dress she’s wearing is backless is not lost on me. My finger slowly traces the edge of the fabric that falls low on her hips.
Lainey’s hands slowly make their way up my arms and around my neck. Having her this close to me again is making my dick twitch in my pants. I have to remind myself where we are before I tear the thin fabric off of her and take her right here and now.
Looking behind her, Lainey searches for something before turning back around to face me.
“They’re watching,” she says softly. I look above her head and find that our friends are all watching us curiously, all except Gwen and Haley. The two of them seem to not find anything odd about the display.
Ellie looks a bit confused but it doesn’t seem to be a major concern at the moment. Thank god, because I don’t think I’d be able to let Lainey go now that she’s in my arms.
Shrugging, I look down at her. “Let them watch,” I say, winking. She knows what I meant, but she rolls her eyes anyway.
“You know I don’t want anyone to know anything. Not yet, at least… not until we know what this is,” Lainey explains. I understand why that’s what she wants, but I don’t care if anyone knows. If anyone has a problem with it, they can kiss my ass.
“It’s just a dance, Barkley,” I tell her, trying to ease some of her worry. She nods and seems to relax into my arms a bit more.
Pulling her a bit tighter to me, I lean down to her ear. “You clean up nice,” I whisper, leaning close enough that I can smell the fresh scent of her coconut shampoo mixed with the champagne she’s been drinking all night.
I can feel the goosebumps that break out over her soft skin, and I smirk.
“Thank you. So do you,” Lainey says, her voice quiet. I pull back a little so I can see her face.
“Wait a minute, was that a compliment, miss Barkley?” I ask in mock shock.
Lainey shakes her head, chuckling softly. “Shut up, or I’ll take it back.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” I tease, and I love the way a smile begins to take over her face. How rare it is to see a genuine smile from this girl, and I’ve been lucky enough to see it multiple times in the last twenty-four hours.
We sway, the bustle of the reception fading into a soft blur around us. Lainey’s head lays on my chest as I hold her close. I could stay like this forever with her.
I wish we never had to go back to Ellington. I wish we could stay here, in this little bubble we’ve created, and never leave.
But in just a couple days, we will have to head back to reality and the truth is, I’m really fucking afraid that Lainey’s going to completely back away and leave everything that happened here in her past.
The problem with that is, I won’t be leaving anything behind.
Chapter 29
