Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
It was a huge rectangular space, a former barn on an old dairy farm. The stage took up most of the back wall, and a double row of round tables rimmed the perimeter of the dance floor in front of it. The bar ran almost the entire length of one side, and high-top tables were scattered near the entrance.
“I see a table emptying out!” Veronica shouted, and with the agility and grace of a dancer, she zigzagged, dodged, and ducked her way through the crowd and managed to snatch a round table at the corner of the dance floor. Reaching it just as a group of couples were leaving, she managed to snag a chair and sit down before anyone else could occupy it.
We made our way toward her, and I looked over the room the way I always did. I didn’t see anything alarming—no phones aimed at us, no suspicious eyes glancing our way, no one young enough to be a Hart Throb squealing with excitement. Arriving at the table, I pulled out the chair I wanted Kelly to sit in and took the one next to her. Austin sat between Kelly and Veronica, with Mabel and Ari on Roni’s other side. Devlin grabbed the seat next to me.
The server stopped by, we put in orders for drinks and some snacks, and I began to relax a little. The band was good, the beer was cold, the place was crowded but not out of control, I was surrounded by family, and I’d had sex more times in the last twenty-four hours than I’d had in a year. And there was more to be had when we got home tonight. I wondered how long we had to hang out here before I could suggest that we head back.
Not that I wasn’t having fun. Veronica pulled Austin out onto the dance floor, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching him try to keep up with her. When he begged to sit down, she tugged Devlin’s arm, and he reluctantly let himself be dragged out there. Ari and Mabel got asked to dance by some old friends from high school, and Kelly watched with obvious envy. “I wish I could dance too,” she said loudly, so I could hear her over the music. “They’re having so much fun.”
Putting an arm around the back of her chair, I spoke in her ear. “Probably best if we just stay at the table.”
“One little two-step? Please?” She clasped her hands beneath her chin.
“I don’t think so.”
“Why not? Don’t you know any moves?”
“I know some moves,” I assured her.
Placing a hand on my leg, she leaned toward me, her smile seductive. “I already know you’ve got rhythm. Don’t you want to show it off? I’ll be extra good to you later.”
I couldn’t resist her. “One song.”
“Yay!” She popped to her feet, whipped off my oversized sweatshirt to reveal a fitted white crop top, and slung it over the back of her chair. Then she took me by the hand.
“We’ll be right back,” I said to Austin, who gave me a smug, knowing look.
The singer counted off the next tune, which, lucky for me, turned out to be an up-tempo song I was familiar with. I’d told Kelly I knew some moves, but really I only knew three—I just kept repeating them in different directions. And not only was Kelly a good dancer, she was excellent at following my lead, so sometimes I could even get her to spin twice before switching to go back the other way. It helped that she was so much shorter than me, since she could easily turn under my arm whichever way I led her. When the song ended, she clapped for the band but turned to me with a hopeful smile. “Can I have another one please?”
I squinted at her. “Now you’re pushing your luck.”
The band struck up a ballad, and she gave me the big eyes from beneath the bill of her Two Buckleys cap. “Please?”
Exhaling, I took her in my arms, careful not to hold her too tightly. Without even looking, I knew my siblings were watching us with hawk eyes.
“You leaving room for Jesus, or what?” she said with a laugh.
“Huh?”
“You’re holding me so far away from you! I feel like I’m back in middle school and boys don’t want to touch me.”
“That is not the case tonight, I promise. I just don’t want to raise any eyebrows.” But I pulled her in closer, tightening my hold around her lower back. My forearm rested along the warm, bare strip of skin between her jeans and her top, my fingers curling automatically around her waist. I could smell her perfume, and heat surged through me.
“You think your family would care?”
“Definitely,” I said. “Austin already suspects.”
“He does?” She arched back and looked up at me, pinning her hips against mine.