Page 69 of Embers of You
She just smiles, and I continue to leave to find my dad, hoping that this isn’t going to lead to a fight with him. I just want to make Ma happy, and I hope he wants the same, at least before it’s too late.
CHAPTER 33
Sutton
“Haveyou ever been line dancing before?” Bailey asks as we both get into her car to go wherever it is she’s taking me.
“No, I can’t say that I have.”
“I hadn’t either before I came here, but it’s something to do around here that’s actually kind of fun.” Bailey starts driving and she seems like she’s in a pretty good mood.
Something I’ve learned about Bailey is that she’s extremely closed off. She doesn’t show emotion easily, including happiness. She’s nice enough except to Wes, who I have yet to meet. But she hates him.
“Cool, so what is this place?”
“It’s just a bar, but a couple times a week they do this and they’re good with beginners.”
I nod, hoping I don’t regret this; my legs are still sore from the horse riding lesson and then the other kind of riding I participated in afterwards. The spot between my thighs also remembers what happened afterwards.
That part isn’t something I’m going to forget for a long time. Or ever. And I’m fighting every urge telling me to shut down and push him away, to just let things fizzle out. I texted him earlier just because I wanted to. I second guessed myself as I paced around waiting to see what he would say.
And because he’s Jameson Turner, he replied right away. Every worry I had faded so easily. That’s one of his super powers, I think. At least when it comes to me. But tonight is about hanging out with my friend. If I’m going to be better about letting people into my life again, then I should do it with more than just Jameson.
Bailey is more reserved than I am and for some reason that makes me trust her. At least enough not to worry that she would betray me. We end up at the bar at the edge of town and the parking lot is so busy, every single person in Amity must be here. Maybe even from neighboring towns.
“Are you sure this is for beginners?” I ask through a nervous laugh.
“Oh yeah, trust me, you want it to be crowded like this. That’s when you know no one is watching you.”
She has a point.
We get inside and the music is so loud I can feel it vibrating the floor. There’s a large open area ahead of us that’s full of people moving along to the beat. The bar on the left is fairly busy, and on the right there’s an area of tables that are mostly empty.
“Do you want to get a drink first or just dive in?” Bailey asks, leaning close, and speaking loudly so I can hear her over the music.
“Definitely a drink.” I look at the dancing and while it doesn’t seem incredibly difficult, I don’t have very much rhythm so I’m not confident that I’ll be good at this at all. Liquid courage might help me. It may also make me worse, but hey, if I’m unaware of how bad I am then I can’t be embarrassed about it.
We make our way to the bar, squeezing between people to get a spot and wait for the bartender to get to us. Bailey towers over most people here, she’s probably close to six feet tall and I wonder if she’s ever played basketball.
I order a vodka Red Bull with a splash of cranberry and Bailey gets a cider. We grab a table to get away from the crowd at the bar and I’m watching the people dancing, wondering how I’ll ever manage to do that.
I take a big sip from my drink and Bailey notices. “You nervous?”
I nod. “Is it that obvious?”
“Only a little bit, don’t worry if you don’t want to. You can just watch this time if you want.”
“Did you join in your first time here?”
Bailey shakes her head. “Fuck no. I watched a few times before I finally joined in.”
“What made you decide to finally do it?”
She looks out at the crowd and shrugs. “Sometimes I realize that I have to throw caution to the wind and do something even if it scares me.”
I understand her more than she even knows. It’s exactly how I’m feeling about Jameson. It’s also how I’m feeling about beinghere as well. I bring my drink to my lips, downing it quickly, reveling as the cold liquid burns slightly as it goes down my throat.
“You may have to show me what to do, but let’s go,” I announce.
