Page 42 of Something Tattered
No. That wasn't right. He'd turned me down for a kiss. About the dance, he'd never answered at all.
Still, I recognized this for what it was – a way to avoid the stripper without hurting anyone's feelings. It was the perfect lifeline, and I was grabbing that sucker while I had the chance.
I gave Joel a vigorous nod and practically leapt out of the booth, only to collide face-first with the chest of the cowboy, who stepped back and said in a big, Texas drawl, "Sorry ma'am."
I stared up at him. "Uh, that's okay."
He gave me a wink and tipped his hat. "So, are you the birthday girl?"
My mouth opened, but before I could say a single word, April's voice, loud and clear, carried across the short distance. "It's me!" she called. "I'mthe birthday girl! Howdy, howdy, howdy!"
I could've kissed her – and the rest of the table, too, when no one spoke up to contradict her.
Escape time.
I grabbed Joel's hand, and practically dragged him out of the booth. Without looking back, I pulled us into the aisle that led to the dance floor. Walking fast, I didn't look back, and I didn't stop until we'd disappeared into the middle of the dancing crowd.
We'd barely stopped when the band transitioned from a familiar rock number to a slow, steady ballad from sometime before I'd been born.
Thankful for the switch, I fell into his arms and buried my face against his chest. Soon, I was laughing with relief, and yeah, more than a little bit embarrassment.
Against his shirt, I said, "Thanks for that."
"For what?"
"For rescuing me, of course." I pulled back and rolled my eyes. "Again."
His eyes filled with humor. "Who says you weren't rescuingme?"
"What? You're not a fan of cowboys?"
"That kind?" He grinned. "No ma'am."
Again, I had to laugh. "Sorry. I guess I panicked back there."
"Ifyoupanicked, imagine how I felt."
It was a nice sentiment, obviously designed to spare my feelings. But it couldn’t be true. I barely knew this guy, but one thing was already obvious. He wasn't the panicking type.
If he'd been truly panicking, he would've taken the quicker way out. He would've simply followed me to the exit and called it a night.
But he hadn't.
So I had to ask him, "Why'd you do it?"
"Do what?"
I glanced around. "This. I mean, you could've just driven me home and called it good."
"Is that what you wanted?"
"No," I admitted. "Not really."
"Well, there you go."
Yup. There I went. And here I was, dancing with the hottest guy in the whole place. And yes, thatdidinclude the cowboy. Sure, the cowboy was undeniably hot, even in that ridiculous outfit, but Joel was something more, and not only because of his beautiful face and rock-hard body.
He was real, and he was solid. And his hands felt amazing, resting on my hips. True, it wasn't skin-to-skin, but I liked the feel of himandthe motions of him, too. But most of all, I liked how thoughtful he'd been in aiding my escape.
