“Hey, Addison. Are you dancing tonight?”
I shrug. “I haven’t decided. Dancing in front of a crowd really isn’t my thing.”
“Well, I hope you do. Clint’s wife, Dawn, always picks the best songs.” She turns to Shiloh and nudges her with her elbow. “Think Cillian will finally ask you to dance?”
Shiloh rolls her eyes. “I don’t know how many times I’ve gotta tell you Cillian isn’t interested in me. Besides, he’s too analytical for something as trivial as dancing.”
“I still think you’re wrong about him being into you. But what do I know? Let me order my drink, and we can sit down. Cillian said Bea reached out, and I want to hear about it.”
Shiloh heads back to the table while Juniper tells the bartender to make her usual. While he does, I catch her giving me a once-over. I’m not wearing anything fancy, just a pair of my nicer jeans and a short-sleeve white button-up I don’t remember packing. I kept my hair down tonight, which I don’t usually do. I don’t know why I thought of Juniper when I undid the braids, but I sure like the look she’s giving me.
“You look good tonight,” she whispers, licking her lips.
I take a sip of my drink, letting the alcohol burn my tongue. “So do you.”
More than good. Downright edible.
“Thank you. I figured tonight was as good a time as any to break it out since I don’t go out much.”
I’ll take you out. Wherever you want to go.
Though the thought may be true, I don’t vocalize it. Fuck buddies don’t go on dates. That's relationship stuff, and Juniper and I can’t be in a relationship.
Clint gives her a fruity drink, and she heads toward her table of friends. She stops, turns to me, and motions for me to follow her, so I do. I was planning on sitting with Briggs and Rusty and keeping to myself, watching Juniper dance, then going home with her and giving her some orgasms, but I guess I can socialize with her friends for a little bit.
We end up next to each other, and after she formally introduces me to Cillian and Clayton—who I recognize from last week—Clayton’s brother Jaxon, and Cillian’s older sister, Arianna, Shiloh starts in on an update about their friend, Bea. From what I can gather, Bea hasn’t come home to visit in over two years, and now she’s all but cut everyone off. Juniper’s lips tip down into a frown the more Shiloh divulges, and I barely resist holding her hand under the table.
“She says she’s fine, but I don’t know,” Shiloh says, sounding defeated. “I have a gut feeling, you know? Mama Hayes feels the same way, but Bea barely talks to her.”
“Do we need to drive down to Austin to see her for ourselves?” Juniper shocks me with the resolve in her tone.
This woman, who hates leaving the ranch, is offering to drive across the country to check on her friend? What would having the full force of Juniper’s love directed at me feel like?
Cillian shakes his head. “I think we wait it out. Clay will be in San Antonio for the rodeo in the fall. He can check on her then. Feel things out.”
“If she’ll see me,” Clayton mumbles.
Cillian claps him on the shoulder, which seems to shake him out of whatever stupor he’s in.
The announcement about the start of line dancing seems to end the conversation about Bea. “Lucky” by Megan Maroney starts playing, and Cillian and Clayton groan.
“Looks like Dawn is on her modern hits kick,” Arianna says. “You coming, ladies?”
Juniper and Shiloh follow Arianna to the dance floor, and from my seat, I have the perfect vantage point to watch Juniper kick and shuffle and shake her hips across the floor. The smile of pure elation on her face as she spins and claps, giggling when she makes a wrong move and crashes into Shiloh, makes something hot poke at my chest.
The lights in the bar are already dim, but they may as well be off because Juniper Calhoun is the brightest thing in this place. I can’t take my eyes off her the entire time. When the song ends and she strikes a pose, I’m tempted to join her just to be close to her.
I don’t want to dampen her fun, though. I have two left feet.
Jaxon approaches her when “Firecracker” by Josh Turner starts playing. I may have two left feet, but I recognize the swing dancing song. They move together like they’ve done this a million times before, their bodies in perfect sync.
It never occurred to me that Juniper would be dancingwithsomeone, pressed against them. His hands find her hips to help her move, and he lifts her with ease before helping her dip to the ground.
A green orb of jealousy floats around in my vision. Jaxon’s not a bad-looking guy. He’s well-built and conventionally attractive with his shaggy lightbrown hair, pearly white teeth, and glasses. He’s got an easy-going vibe to him, and Juniper seems so at ease with him in a way she isn’t with me. It would make total sense for her to be attracted to him.
I hate this feeling.
My jealousy intensifies as Jaxon spins her out, then pulls her back in, whispering something in her ear that has her blushing, even as she giggles. She shakes her head and rolls her eyes, and they get right back in the groove of the song.
