Just as I watch him walk away, there’s a tap on my shoulder. I whirl around to find a man standing there with a beer in one hand and the other in his pocket.
“Hey there,” he says, thick with a southern drawl. “I’m Steve.”
“Um, I’m Lyric.” I smile politely. Steve isn’t a bad-looking guy. I don’t see any tattoos, but he’s pretty tall.
“Would you like to dance?” He pulls his hand from his pocket and gestures toward the floor.
I immediately look at Waylon, though I’m not sure why. Do I expect him to step in? To protest? Judging by the look on his face, neither is about to happen. Though his eyes do lock with mine, and there’s a palpable feeling I can’t place.
I turn back to Steve and nod. “Sure, I’d love to.” It’s not completely a lie. I do like to dance. Hopefully he’s a good dancer. I’d love to check out of reality and get lost in the music for just a few minutes.
Steve discards his drink on the way to the dance floor, then turns toward me. His hands find my waist and I begin to sway. I close my eyes and instantly know these aren’t the hands I want on me.
There is only one man in this entire bar that I want. And I want it all. His hands. His mouth. His heart.
What’s a girl to do when she can’t have what she wants?
Drink more.
CHAPTER 20
WAYLON
I’m not tooproud to admit that I can be a pretty jealous guy sometimes. I’m not saying I hate that about myself, but I sure don’t like it. Like now. I’m jealous as hell. Who the fuck is Steve, and where the fuck did he come from?
I watch from a distance as Lyric sways her hips to the music. Steve’s hand is drifting over her waist, but I gotta tell ya, if it dips any fucking lower, I might accidentally break his fucking hand.
We all have faults, okay? We all have imperfections and things we wish we could change. But jealousy is not high on that list for me. I think a little jealousy is good for a relationship. I know I want a jealous woman. That’s a fact. When I settle down, I want a wife who wants to mark her territory. If it was socially appropriate, we’d pee on each other’s legs in public just so everyone knew we belonged to each other.
Except there’s one fatal flaw in all this. Lyric isn’t my girl. We aren’t in a relationship. So my right to be envious is a gray area.I don’t have a right, not really. But I seem to recall being tongue deep in her pussy a couple nights ago, and that should count for something. Right?
The song ends and I watch Steve lean in to hug Lyric. Her movements seem stiff from my point of view. She’s not relaxed with him. I’ve seen her body relaxed. I’ve seen it twisting and writhing in pleasure. I’ve seen her let go, knowing she could trust me to hold on to her. But that’s not what I see with Steve.
“You okay, man?” Killian asks from behind me.
“What? Yeah, why?” I turn toward him and take a sip of my drink. Damn, I wish that was spiked.
“Because you’ve been staring at her for four full minutes. The entire length of the song. And you’re fighting the urge to look right now.”
“Shut up,” I scoff, fully aware that my eyes keep wondering to the edge of my periphery as I wait to see if she returns to the table. But thirty more seconds go by and nothing. Which means she’s wandered off somewhere with Steve. And I don’t like that.
“What am I even supposed to do about it?” I blurt out the question at Killian and flick the brim of my hat.
“Uh, what exactly are we talking about?”
“Lyric says she doesn’t want to sleep together anymore. And that shouldn’t bother me, but it does.” I take another sip of my soda and flop back against my chair, finally allowing myself to search the crowds for her familiar face. But I don’t see her anywhere.
“Did she say why?”
I shake my head but say nothing, still searching here and there in the drones of people passing by.
“So she breaks things off with you… but she’s out tonight dancing with someone else. Maybe she’s looking for a connection?” Killian says, shrugging.
“What the hell do you mean?” The features on my face twist in annoyance. “We had a connection. We’re great friends. The sex is amazing. What else is there?”
“Well. There’s romantic connection. You know, like love? Something… more.”
“Ah, fuck me.” I let out the longest sigh. “I don’t think so. Not Lyric. And even if it was, why? Why can’t what we had be enough?” I remove my hat and set it on the table in front of me, raking one hand through my hair as I huff my frustration.
