Page 80 of Fumbled Beginning

And with those parting words, she slipped into the car and closed the door.

My gut churned when I watched the town car pull away from the curb. There was nothing left for me to do other than wait for her to come back to me.

CHAPTER25

RYLEE

“I thinkI’m going to call it a night,” Miles said, giving everyone a wave. “I’m ready to put all the ‘crap’ from today behind me and go back to my hotel. We all have an early morning flight, so don’t get too crazy.”

Our last meetings of the day were with the Physician Organization of Proctologists, or POOP, as they liked to refer to themselves. After spending the past eight hours listening to terrible butt jokes and puns, my coworkers and I were ready to unwind at a rooftop bar in downtown Nashville.

There was a live band playing countless country hits that were good enough to pull people out on the dance floor. Most of us were already three sheets to the wind. I was tipsy and sweaty, thanks to climbing six flights of stairs to enjoy the rooftop view. I took my phone out of my wristlet to take a picture of Broadway all lit up at night. The streets were packed with tourists moving from bar to bar. Nashville was a fun town, but I was ready to go home tomorrow. I sighed, noticing my battery was teetering on zero, so I quickly snapped a photo and put my phone away.

I walked over to the high-top table near the stage where our group was camped out. As soon as I sat down, a shot glass was placed in front of me. “Happy belated birthday,” Dom said, pushing the tequila closer.

I glanced up, noticing his eyes were glassy. No surprise there. “Tequila?”

“Just remembering it was your favorite.” He smiled sheepishly.

I didn’t want to share a shot with him, but I didn’t want to be rude, either. I managed to avoid him during the entire conference and was running out of excuses. “Thank you.” I raised my drink in the air before throwing it back.

Diego and Noelle, our two coworkers, came over carrying a tray of drinks. I laughed when I spotted Diego’s new cowboy hat and Noelle’s sparkly new boots.

“You guys really went all out in the gift shop, huh?” I teased.

Noelle held out her leg. “Girl, these boots were made for dancing. Let’s go,” she said, disappearing into the crowd. Lucy and Stephanie were going to regret leaving the convention a day early. This was the most fun we’d had since we’d been here.

Diego tipped his hat forward and I had to bite back a laugh. “Dance with me, Rylee.”

“I’m not drunk enough to dance with you.” I shook my head and started backing away.

Diego was probably one of the most attractive men I had ever met besides JP. He was fun and cheerful, with curly dark hair and big brown eyes that reminded me of a golden retriever. And coming from Argentina, he took dancing way too seriously.

“You have to dance with me.” He held up his phone to show me his latest text exchange with his wife. “You are the only woman my Ana trusts me with.”

“What about Noelle?” I pointed to where she was attempting to learn the two-step with a group of guys that looked half her age.

He waved his hands in the air. “She said to stay as far away from her as possible.”

Noelle was known to be a shameless flirt, but she was completely harmless.

“One dance.” I held up my finger and kicked my heels off.

I followed Diego out onto the packed dance floor. The man had moves, that was for sure. My efforts to keep up with his steps were embarrassing, but thankfully, I was too tipsy to care.

Dom stayed back but had the server replace our glasses every time they’d run empty. One song led to two, and after that, I lost count. I caught Dom watching me from the edge of the dance floor, never once making a move to come closer.

“Girl, that man still has it bad for you.” I glanced over to where my ex stared at me with intensity over the rim of his whiskey.

I averted my gaze and focused on the strobe lights illuminating the dance floor. “Do me a favor and do not let him cut in.”

He took my hand and twirled me around. “I got your back,amiga.”

“Where the hell is Noelle, anyway?” I asked, taking another sip of my cosmo because I wasn’t allowing it to go to waste at fourteen dollars a glass. Plus, it was hot and humid, so it was going down pretty easily.

His eyes were twinkling. “Probably getting laid.”

“Go, Noelle.” I raised my drink in the air. After the week I had, I was glad someone was getting some action. I took a hefty sip from my glass, feeling the effects of the alcohol warm my veins. I thought going out with my coworkers would make my shitty mood go away, but I was still feeling down in the dumps.

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