Page 60 of My Last Dance

“Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby” by Cigarettes After Sex floated through the dark bar.

I looked around for a second, wondering if the DJ was talking about us, but at the same time, I didn’t care.

Richard apparently never cared in the first place, because his eyes were on me, a dazed look on his face.

“This feels like a dream,” he rasped.

I nodded because I knew what he meant. I tried to memorize this moment. The feel of his hands encasing my hips. The way his strong body swayed against mine.

His forehead dropped to mine. “And if it is, I never wanna wake up.”

My heart melted, my eyes roamed his face, and my mind echoed,You. I’m in love with you.

My hand cupped his cheek. I swiped my thumb under his eye, and his eyes fluttered closed. He had such long eyelashes for a guy. And even though we were surrounded by all this chaos in the bar, he looked so peaceful.

I knew he wouldn’t make a move without me initiating. I alreadyturned him down on the ice, and I knew he’d be too afraid of putting himself out there again.

“Kiss me, Richard,” I whispered, and those brown eyes flashed open.

His rough fingertip smoothed my damp hair back until his hand rested at the base of my skull, then he claimed my lips. His tongue teased my lips apart, and his hand roamed down my body as he kissed me deeply, passionately, in the middle of a packed room. I couldn’t care less what anyone else thought. I just wanted him. I wanted closer.

A slow current stirred to life inside of me as my arms tightened around his body, and I knew right then that I was in trouble.

Because I never wanted to dance with anyone else ever again.

That moment on the dance floor truly did feel like the best sort of dream.

But the downside of dreaming…is that you have to eventually wake up.

_______

“Piper!” he screamed across the quad. “Not you,myPiper! Piper the Viper!”

I spun around just in time for Richard to basically body slam into me for a hug, whisking my feet off the cement sidewalk. He spun me around, and I could feel his chest shaking with happy laughter.

“Have you lost your mind?” I asked, giving into my own laughter.

“I got a tryout,” he said in a rush.

My body froze. “What? When?”

He set me down and his eyes darted around, like he couldn’t control his excitement. “It’s tomorrow! It’s…shit.” He shook his head. “Piper, it’s a good team. A really good fucking team.” He laughed incredulously. “They…they wanna see me.” His whole face lit up with happiness and relief.

“Of course they do,” I said with confidence. “Where is it?”

His face slightly faltered. “That’s the thing, it’s uh…” He brushed a hand over his hair. “It’s in Montreal.”

“Oh.” Despite the sudden heaviness crushing my heart, I forced myself to smile. “Tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’m packing up my shit right now,” he rambled on. “Theywant me suiting up for all the games this weekend. They’ve had a ton of injuries this season, so their offense is hurting. I think it’s an unofficial tryout, but maybe…maybe—”

“You know what to do,” I said, cutting him off with a firm nod. “There are no maybes. You play your best, got it? No hesitation.”

He nodded eagerly. “Yeah.” He bit out a humorless chuckle. “Might break my face.”

I reached up and touched his cheek. While I didn’t want that to happen, I knew he wanted this dream. “Well, then I’ll be vain enough for the both of us,” I joked.

He cracked a smile, earning me a flash of those boyish dimples.

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