Page 60 of Wildest Dreams

Caden releases a low pained groan as he drops his head back to her neck, murmuring an endless stream of raspingthank God, thank God’s as he pushes her body up against his chest.

I give Winter a playful roll of my eyes, and decide not to mention the fact that you’re supposed to be twenty-one to be here in the first place.

Without Fallon here, my cheerleader bestie, I feel a whole lot less sure about this than I was two weeks ago, when we first saw the silver pole and I instantly added it to our wild summer to-do list.

I feel a warm arm wrap around my collarbones and glance behind me to see Tristan smiling down.

“You getting up there, cowgirl?” he asks, smiling when I let out a little laugh.

I decide to swallow down my nerves and luxuriate in how comforting he feels – uncomplicated, fun, and friendly.

I also refuse to look over to the other side of the bar, where I know that my brother and his football guys are currently being chatted up by a hen party, wearing pink cowgirl hats and matching sashes.

Seeing as Tanner isn’t over here, I can take a very solid guess as to where he will definitely be instead.

This is why you don’t get attached,I remind myself, hating the idea of Tanner mixing it up with a group of bridesmaids.Attachment is the root of all longing and loss. Just take life for what it is and enjoy the moment.

I push the sting away from my heart and lean back against Tristan’s warm chest.

“Would you like me to?” I ask, giggling up at him as he squeezes my shoulders.

A low rumble spreads through his chest as he grins back at me.

“Hell yeah, I want to see you up there. You weren’t part of the squad that performed for us at the Frozen Four final, and I’ve been dying to see you do your thing.” He leans back so that he can glance down my body and, swiping his tongue over his lower lip, he asks, “You think you’ll be able to do those moves wearing this pretty pair of jeans?”

I grin up at him. “Why, you want me to take them off?”

His pupils dial out as he laughs into my hair, hands sliding down to my hips as we walk body-to-body over to the little red stage. It’s hidden enough that it’s obviously meant to be used amongst friends, without fear of other people leering, and I think that it’s pretty perfect for a night of summer fun.

Tristan clutches me tighter as Winter, Caden, and the other Carter U hockey boys join us inside the sexy red nook.

“Should we get a round?” he asks Austin, shoving one hand in his back pocket so that he can pull out some cash.

Austin pulls an amused, curious expression, eyes flickering down to mine, over to the pole, and back again.

He takes Tristan’s cash and returns thirty seconds later with a tray of whiskey shots. And in the time it’s taken Austin to return from the bar, Tristan, Hughes and Shaw have lavished me with so much undivided attention that my serotonin levels are, like, on the moon.

“You sure about this?” Austin asks, smiling in that kind, big brotherly way of his as he hands me a shot of whiskey.

“I need to have somefun,” I tell him, my voice a little flirty, and I release a surprised laugh when he boops the apple of my cheek with his finger.

He tips back his own drink, eyes on mine the whole time, then he drops the glass on the tray and gives me an unexpected once-over.

My body shivers at the heat of his gaze and his mouth pulls into a smirk as he notices.

“Aisling,” he drawls, “are you sure that you wanna have a little funwithoutyour big bad bodyguard?”

I give him a fake-angry pout before lifting up one of my legs and pressing the heel of my stiletto very gently into the centre of his chest. His lips lift into a full grin as he wraps his hands around my ankle, leans down to kiss the top of my foot, and nods his head in acquiescence.

“Okay, cheerleader,” he concurs, stepping into me with a naughty smile, pushing me up against Tristan and making all three of us laugh out loud. “Do your thing.”

Somehow my thighs end up hitched around Austin’s abdomen, Tristan’s hands holding me from behind as they help me climb my way up the pole.

I bite into my smile, cheeks pink with whiskey heat.

“I haven’t done this before,” I whisper to them, “so if I, like, suck at it–”

Austin shakes his head, leaning back against one of the three encasing walls that are equidistantly positioned barely three feet away from the pole. “No matter what you do up there, we’ll all be dreaming of you tonight.”

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