I miss eating pussy.
The rogue thought jolted me, and I shifted in my seat to get comfortable and tamp down the sudden, unexpected surge of desire. Apparently my dick hadn’t gotten the memo that we were in mourning.
Brody looked down at Kit, annoyance rippling across his features. “A little early for tequila, don’t you think?”
Kit stuck her tongue out at him and turned toward the other woman. “We’re celebrating!” She put her arm behind the woman and shoved her forward. “You remember Clara, right?”
Not like this, I don’t.
Not laughing at a bar, hair loose around her shoulders, eyes clear and bright like the whole fake-wedding disaster had bounced right off her.
Her nose scrunched. “Hi, Wes.”
I pressed my lips together and nodded. “Clara. What are you celebrating?”
Clara’s blue-gray eyes stayed locked on mine, but Kit bumped into her. “Freedom! Liberty! And the pursuit of new dick!”
Clara laughed as Brody pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled. “Jesus fucking Christ. I’m getting a drink.” He turned and headed toward the bar in the back of the Lantern.
The music in the bar shifted to an upbeat country song. The crowd filled the dance floor, and they started moving in choreographed steps.
Kit was pulling Clara toward the dance floor when they stopped.
Clara turned to face me. “Want to dance?”
I stared at her.Me? Dance? What the fuck?
For half a second I almost said yes. My body leaned forward, eager, like it remembered the way hers had felt tucked under my arm at some long-ago family barbecue. Then reality snapped back—metal where flesh should be, a stumble where there used to be a sure step.
Maybe Clara had been gone long enough to not have heard about my accident, but that was unlikely. The way her eyes lacked any sort of pity made her offer very, very tempting. There was curiosity there, sure. A spark of mischief. But none of that soft, careful pity I’d started to hate. It made her offer feel like something dangerously close to normal.
Still, I knew it wasn’t even a consideration, so I shook my head. “Have fun.”
Without a glance back, Clara and Kit were folded into the crowd. Six months ago I might have taken her up on the offer. I’d been a decent dancer and knew my way around a woman. I would have charmed her, made her laugh and helped her forget about whatever dumbass had let her go. I would have respected the boundaries of my friendship with her brother Hayes and not let it go too far, but six months ago, I still would have flirted.
Six months ago I wouldn’t have been thinking about how loving someone always cost a part of yourself.
