Page 46 of One More Shot
‘Traitor,’ I mouth in his direction. My phone vibrates in the pocket of my jeans, but I ignore it.
Sasha and Wes quickly dance their way into the crowd, Sasha’s hips swaying in time with the uptempo beat blaring from the speakers.
‘What was that about?’ Dane asks as he appears in front of me again and hands me my drink. ‘How come they left you?’
‘No idea,’ I lie, before taking a sip from my drink. It’s a sickeningly sweet cocktail and the bubbly warmth sliding down my throat gives me a little boost. ‘And you?’ I nod my head in the direction of the girl who had approached him in the crowd. She’s trying not to make it obvious, but every so often her gaze scans the room and I know she’s on the lookout for Dane. ‘What happened there?’
Dane gives me a mischievous grin over the rim of his glass. ‘Nothing happened. She just had a question for me.’
The crowd shifts us further into the throng on the dance floor, and we both start moving to the beat. I take another swig of my drink.
‘What was the question?’
Dane two steps over to me and slides his free arm around my waist without hesitation. My heart thuds almost painfully against my ribcage as he pulls me flush against him, shifting slightly so my leg can slot gently between his. ‘How’s my dancing?’ he asks, deliberately ignoring my question.
‘A lot better,’ I admit. Two years ago he struggled to catch the beat, but he’s effortlessly keeping up with me now, even taking the lead at some points. ‘Someone’s been practising.’
He beams down at me. ‘For the wedding.’
The song changes to one I’m more familiar with and I join in with the cheer that erupts from the crowd. Out of the corner of my eye I spot Sasha and Wes, so interlinked you can barely tell where one ends and the other begins. Dane pulls me in even closer and, as I instinctively wrap my arms around his neck, I feel a sense of déjà vu. This whole scene is remarkably similar to that night two years ago.
And we both know how that ended.
Another angry vibration from my phone. I move to reach for it, but then Dane discards his drink and both his hands settle on my waist. I try not to think too hard about how nice the touch feels. How right it feels. Like we’re just picking up where we left off and there’s not two years of lost time between us.
‘She wanted to know if I had plans to leave here withanyone tonight,’ Dane says suddenly. His warm brown eyes are fixed on mine, and I can see the beginning flashes of heat sparking in them.
My heart thuds. ‘What’d you say?’
‘No plans just yet.’
Just yet.
He leans in, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear. ‘For the record,’ he murmurs, hands still on my waist, gently guiding me to the beat. A shiver wracks through me, but I’m not cold. I don’t think I’ve ever been so hot. ‘There’s only one person in here I’d be interested in going home with.’
I swallow.
Remember your rule. Remember your rule.
I don’t break eye contact. ‘Point her out,’ I say, my voice no louder than a breathy whisper. It’s a miracle he can even hear me over the blaring music.
The song switches again and Dane lets his hands drop. I fight the urge to pick them back up and put them right back on me.
‘Unfortunately, she’s not down for it.’ He pulls away, putting a fair bit of distance between us.
I swallow again. ‘How very unfortunate.’
He gives me a half smile. ‘Very.’
My phone buzzes furiously one last time and, to give myself an excuse to look away, I pull it out of my pocket.
MISSED CALLS: Nan (12)
My heart leaps into my throat while my stomach plummets.
‘Shit,’ I mutter, immediately pushing through the crowd. ‘Shit. Shit.’
Nan isn’t the kind of person to keep on calling if she doesn’t get a response. Something’s wrong.
