“Do those exist?” Angelica’s eyes widened, highly considering the field trip.
“Yeah, and the ropes come with fewer strings attached.”
Lulu ignored us as she slammed her car door shut.
“Might as well get this over with.” Angelica shrugged as we exited the car.
My nose wrinkled the second I saw the place. It looked like a barn someone had tried to pass off as a club. Nothing but dark corners and too many exits. I got the rules. The parking lot was in the front, and I could see the bouncers standing nearthe door. However, if you walked around the sides, you could easily disappear into the desert landscape.
“Ladies,” the bouncer said as we approached. He opened the door, not bothering to check our IDs. “Don’t think about taking a souvenir home.”
Angelica smirked before patting the bouncer on the cheek. “You didn’t patch in, so don’t think you get to threaten me.” She wiped her hand on the sleeve of his shirt and then swatted the air, as if he were beneath her. She’d effectively dismissed him, walking through the door like she owned the place.
The music thrummed through the floor, vibrating off the walls, only to fade into the rafters. At least they were playing something I recognized. Darkness settled in every available space until the circulating spotlights hit. There were people everywhere, and I was ready to go home. Plastering a smile on my face, I yelled at the other girls, “We should get a drink!”
We squeezed our way to the front, waiting for a bartender. I was leaning against the bar, watching the dancefloor, when I heard a giggle next to me.Angelica could giggle? Maybe this wastheattention she didn’t get from Scorpion.My head slowly turned to the left. Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, she smiled at whatever the bartender had said.
“He’s cute,” I whispered in her ear as he popped off the beer caps.
“Fun for right now,” she said, “and probably age-appropriate.”
“If you’re going to take him for a test drive in the bathroom, you have to have a chaperone.” I nudged her with my elbow before grabbing my beer. “I’m going to dance.” She nodded, as if she had heard me, shooing me away. Lulu was on my other side, chumming it up with some frat boy. “Want to dance?” I asked her.
The conversation must not have been that exciting because she grabbed her bottle, took one look at Angelica, and followed me. We found a spot near the edge where some of the other girl groups were. There was a bachelorette party going on, and they all wore pink sashes. Waving their hands, they screamed for us to join them, but we waved them off. They were attracting too much attention, and I was still looking only to have fun.
A country song blared from the speakers when Lulu put her hand on my hip, drawing my focus to her. She pressed against my back, but I thought nothing of it. This was Lulu. “You have an admirer,” she whispered in my ear.
Pulling away, we danced, bumping hips and grinding against legs, and anything else we could reach. For someone who wanted to go fishing, Lulu showed more interest in me than she did the men in the room.
“Can I borrow her?”
“You make her uncomfortable, I’ll break your face.” Lulu’s voice snapped me out of my daze.
“That’s fair, Lulu.” A man grabbed my hand, turning me around until I faced his chest. There was a slow song playing, and he gathered me against him. I should have fought or tried to pull away, but it was too smooth. My only choice was to follow along.
His eyes were familiar, a chocolate brown that I couldn’t place. I scanned his face for something identifiable. No broken nose or crooked smile, and when I tried to sniff discreetly, nothing. I was drawing a blank, but he’d called Lulu by name.
“Draw a mustache on me,” he said, chuckling in my ear. He was clean-shaven, and when I squinted, I still couldn’t picture where I knew him from. “Miss Roxy, I’m very disappointed. I thought we had something.”
Doc.The re-enactor was here.Dancing.With me.Of all nights. “You’re fake… It’s fake.” I was talking about the mustache, but nothing was coming out right.
“It gets glued on in the morning.” He was still chuckling at me as we made another turn.
“You should grow one. Unless you can’t.” The words tumbled from my lips, unfiltered. Mortified, I wanted the dance floor to open up and swallow me whole.
A smirk slowly appeared on his lips before he tilted his head back, laughing. He didn’t criticize me. Nor did he mock me to see if he could hurt me. I’d never been in a relationship with laughter, and I was seeing its appeal. I couldn’t help but think that if I found a man like Doc, it would make my life simpler. Comfortable.Except I’d always chosen the dark, not to be seen as long as I stayed out of the spotlight.
“I can grow one,” he said, still trying to catch his breath. “It just doesn’t look as nice as the one the city buys. I’m Kevin.”
“I’ll never call you Kevin, Doc.”
We danced a few songs before I looked for Lulu, feeling like I had abandoned her. Doc found her in the crowd before I did, pointing to where she danced with the actor who played Morgan Earp. It made me feel better, and every time we checked on Angelica, she was fine. She hadn’t moved from her spot at the bar.
Song after song played until my head spun. I wasn’t sure how I was still on my feet. I was dancing, if you could call it that, when Doc put his arm around my back and pulled me close. “Want to tell me why a Saint’s Outlaw is staring at you?”
“Handlebar mustache?” I didn’t need the confirmation. Cactus was here. My stomach dropped, and I almost took off running for the bathroom without a chaperone.
“Yeah, and it twirls at the ends.” Doc frowned, the creases deepening in his forehead. “He claim you? He looks like he wants to kill me, but I’m not the enemy. My boyfriend is visiting his parents this weekend.”
