The following morning, I dropped her off, walking her to the barn where she was bouncing around with excitement over the fact of this dance. We had been chatting about it until pretty late, and I did lay down some rules, most of which she was okay with.
However, this was a boy around here she liked and she wasn’t spilling who because when I said no kissing, she truly pouted. I had to fight not to laugh.
“Hey Katie,” Zeb said, walking over to me. His hat was low and his hands were in his pockets, and I fought to keep my eyes on his and not trail over his body.
Really, why were cowboys so insanely hot?
“Hey Zeb.” This truce was far better than the fighting. Although, the fighting, sometimes, was nice because it felt more like banter. Okay, only sometimes.
“Tiffany is excited.”
“Yes, this summer dance had her bouncing around like crazy. She even got a new outfit. I’m glad to see the ranch puts it on.”
“We have someone who does it all. Cheyenne is great. Are you going?”
“To the dance? Sure. Lucinda asked me to take some pictures. Are you going?”
“Yeah, making sure these kids don’t get into trouble.”
He cleared his throat and I turned to him, a smile still on my face. “What’s up, Zeb?”
“I was wondering if you would like to go with me to the dance. As my date?”
And my world just tilted on its axis because the answer to that was a loud, huge, yes! And honestly, I didn’t know what to make of it, but I sure didn’t want to turn him to get no big head over the fact that I wanted that far too much.
Chapter 8
Zeb
Itugged on my black vest, feeling like it was two sizes too small when I knew it wasn’t. It was just nerves that were wrecking havoc on my system.
And why shouldn’t they?
When was the last time I asked someone out?
I couldn’t even remember.
Sure, I had my fair share of ladies, I wasn’t celibate, not that I thought that was how this night was going to go. But the last thing I expected was for Katie to say yes to asking her out.
But here we were.
I was at the dance, waiting for her and her daughter to walk through the door. Not that I couldn’t have picked her up, but Katie said it would just be easier to meet here, and I was okay with that.
“You clean up nicely.”
I turned around, my breath catching at the woman before me. She didn’t go to any great lengths to be all dazzled; a new pair of jeans that clung to her like a second skin, a tank top that was shimmering under the lights, new boots, and the lightest of makeup. All which made her look far younger and far sexier than she had a right to.
“Holy shit,” I muttered, making her chuckle. “You look stunning,” I told her, taking her arm and lightly pulling her closer to kiss her cheek. How we went from fighting to this, I wasn’t sure. Maybe overhearing that call and seeing how her asshole of an ex treated her triggered something in me and I didn’t have the heart to keep being that way either. One asshole in her life was enough.
“Thank you,” she said, blushing slightly. “You look quite nice,” she said, running her hand over my vest that was right over my chest and I fought the shiver.
I may not have asked about sex or thought that was how this would go, but the spark between us right now told me it was possible that’s how the night would end.
A throat cleared and I glanced down at Tiffany, who was beaming at the two of us. I took her hand and made her do a twirl, happy to see the decent length on the skirt.
“You look lovely, too. I like the skirt.”
“Thanks. Mom and I picked it up the other day. Can I go hang with my friends now?” she asked, looking at her mom.
