Page 40 of Until the End

When we first arrived at the bar in Westlake, Ginny was confused. It wasn’t until we got inside that she realized where we were. Years ago, Ginny had been home for a short visit, and our friends decided to go out to a bar. Well, the only one we could get into legally was this one…because they were holding dance classes. They had space available, and while it wasn’t a night of drinking and poor decisions, the six of us had a blast learning to two-step.

“All of my concert moves are choreographed, and I practice them religiously,” Ginny argues. “I haven’t done this in years.”

“Then we’ll have to keep practicing.”

“Yeah, we will.” The walk down memory lane opened up the floodgates of things to talk about, and after we got a couple of drinks in our systems, we relaxed into our date.

The music is loud, but it’s not too overwhelming. The bar has a wall of tables that are raised off the ground and set back away from the dance floor. If you can snag one, it’s the best seat in the house. It’s quieter over there, and with high walls separating each table, it feels a little more private.

I shamelessly used Ginny’s celebrity status to have the manager reserve a table for us. I didn’t want her to have to deal with people constantly coming up to her while we were standing around at the bar, and so far, they’ve been pretty respectful. I’m prepared to have Daren come in and act as a wall between us and the other patrons, but it hasn’t been necessary yet.

As the song winds down, I lean in to speak in Ginny’s ear. “Do you want to go sit down for a bit?”

“Yes. I could use some water.”

I hold her hand as I guide us back to the table. As we walk away from the dance floor, the noise dims enough that we won’t have to yell at each other to be heard.

Ginny slides into the wooden booth, and I get in next to her. That way, I can block any overzealous fans. I can’t let myself get too comfortable. While Westlake is also a small town, people here don’t know Ginny the way the folks in Sonoma do. They only see her as their favorite singer, and for whatever reason, people don’t believe that their favorite celebrities have boundaries.

I’ve seen it enough times at this point to know it only takes one fan to ruin the entire night.

I flag down a waitress to order us both water before turning my full attention on the woman I’ve only fallen more in love with tonight. I reach out for her hand. “I hope this was an okay idea for a date.”

“It’s perfect.” She beams at me. “I thought you’d do something fancy based on your outfit, but I’m so glad you brought me here.”

“Full disclosure, I was going to do that, but then this idea hit me across the head, and I canceled our reservation before we left.”

“Ooh. That’s what you were doing?”

“Yep. I had a feeling we’d both be more comfortable here.”

“You were right.”

The waitress sets a couple of glasses down on our table, along with a pitcher. “Do you guys want anything to eat?”

I raise my eyebrows at Ginny.

“Yeah, two cheeseburgers and fries with all the stuff on the side, please.”

The waitress nods. “You got it.”

Ginny looks at me. “I’m starving. How come you didn’t order anything?”

My mouth drops open, but no words come out. Until Ginny snorts and peals of laughter rock her body.

“You little turd.” I jab my fingers into her rib cage to tickle her. She squeals and shoves me away. Instead of going anywhere, I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her close.

She’s pulled her hair up into a long ponytail, and I’ve had fantasies of wrapping my fist around it and kissing the hell out of her.

I won’t in front of all these people, but god, do I want to.

“Thank you for giving me a chance,” I murmur into the little bit of space between us.

“Thank you for giving me the courage to do it.”

Chapter 24

Ginny

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