Her mouth fell open and her boots skidded to a stop.
“I’m just kidding. Yes. I’m very grateful. Obviously. Just trying to take it all in, ya know? This is the first time I’ve been out in public as a single girl in literal years.”
The wordsinglefelt weird as it rolled off my tongue. It pinged my heart at first, like a BB gun had been shot right at it, but then there was something else… A similar feeling I’d had earlier that drew my attention away from the pain.
“I guess I didn’t really think about that. Shit, Scar. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” I said, shaking my head. “It was going to happen eventually, and if I’m being honest, I needed you to be here when it did. So now that that’s over, let’s quit bringing the mood down and dance.”
Maggie reached for my hands and twirled us in a circle. “I love you. It’s all going to work out. Mark my words.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” I said with a smile.
The nighttime air snuck in through the open doors and windows, colliding with the rhythm of the music and sending sparks through my body. I threw my head back, closed my eyes, and found myself back in college, Maggie and I savoring every last song on the dirt-packed dance floor at our favorite little country bar, The Ranch. We’d sing at the top of our lungs until the night ended and then stumble home, giggling until our faces hurt.
Tonight might not be as carefree as those nights, but it wasn’t horrible either.
Here I was, thirty years old, single and dancing the night away as if my world wasn’t floating around me in a thousand pieces. But for whatever reason, at that moment, the thought of the future didn’t feel so scary. Instead, a glimmer of hope seemed to have latched on to me, spinning me around and around.
If you would’ve told me six months ago that I’d be here, not in Chicago with my should-be husband but instead left at the altar and surrounded by all familiar faces, I would’ve laughed in yourface and told you that you were crazy. But now, months after Zane called off the wedding, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere but in Quincey Falls.
The rhythm slowed and the words of Morgan Wallen’s “Spin You Around” buzzed through the air. Everyone, or at least what felt like everyone, shuffled their feet closer to their dancing partner.
“Oof. Might have got ahead of myself there,” I muttered.
“Huh?”
“I think I need some fresh air,” I blurted out.
“Want me to come with you?” Maggie asked.
I almost responded, but Booker’s voice beat me to it.
“Hey, ladies. How’s it going?”
“Good. We’re loving the band!” Maggie’s enthusiasm and doll-like smile had him in a trance.
“If you like them, then just wait until later.” He grinned as his eyes danced over to meet mine. “What are the chances I can steal her for a dance?”
“Go for it. I was actually just about to grab some air,” I said, pointing toward the barn’s open doors.
Thank you, Maggie mouthed before twirling her body into Booker’s.
“Can I get another whiskey on the rocks with a splash of grenadine?” I asked the bald bartender who was leaning against the wooden wall next to the bar.
“A whiskey with grenadine? Did I hear that right?”
“Yes, please!”
“All right, well, that’s a first. Coming right up.”
The buzz from the first drink had made its way to my head, and apparently for the rest of the partygoers too, because the dance floor had filled in quickly and everyone was dancing in rhythm.
And inpairs.
Dropping a few dollars in the tip jar, I swiped my drink from the bar and snuck outside. The night air clung to my nostrils as I inhaled a massive breath.
“Didn’t think about the whole no dance partner thing…” I quietly admitted to myself.
