Page 101 of Love is a Dance Step
His gaze lingered on her in a way that was foreign to her. The Asher Stone she knew wouldn’t have looked at her that way. How many nights had she prayed for it to be different?
Her mind drifted back to his words in the dance studio the day she’d left. He’d finally said what she’d waited so long to hear, that he loved her back. Only, it hadn’t been right. She’d seen that, but something told her he hadn’t let go quite yet.
And now, he’d flown to New York for a reason that scared her.
He said he’d read the gossip about her. Did he believe it?
“I need a drink.” She doubted anyone heard her as she slid from her chair and pushed through the crowd to get to the bar.
A group of men stood near the bar arguing over something. Loudly. Lola pushed through them until her chest collided with the rounded wood. A blond man looked up from where he poured beer out of one of the taps and offered her a smile. “I’ll be with you in a moment.”
Lola nodded and turned to look back at the table she’d come from. Asher fit in so well with the dancers. They laughed and drank, and drank and laughed. He turned, his eyes finding hers with an intensity that made her uncomfortable. She pulled on the sleeves of her sweater where they fell halfway down her hands.
Brooke said her outfit was too conservative for a night out, but Lola hadn’t really cared. She’d have rather stayed in anyway.
“What can I get you?”
Lola turned back to the blond bartender. He had a kind face, one she imagined made many customers tell him all their troubles. She, however, wasn’t in a sharing mood. “I’ll just take a club soda please.”
He smiled. “You got it.”
Lola drummed her fingers on the smooth wood of the bar as she tried to quell the nerves inside her. How did standing in a crowded bar affect her more than taking the stage in front of thousands of people?
There was one big difference. On stage, Drew was with her.
Her phone buzzed as the bartender slid a glass in front of her. She didn’t look at the text message because another presence loomed beside her.
“Put her drink on my tab.”
Lola smiled despite her mood. In the short time she’d been on the tour, Noah Clarke felt more like a friend than most of the others. She turned to him. “Should you be here?” She looked around for people staring his way or trying to take pictures, but no one even seemed to notice him.
Noah shrugged. “It’s justJason’s.”That was the name of the bar. “I come here whenever I’m in the city. I think my crew probably told one of Drew’s dancers about it. There’s no better bar. Jason, the owner, has strict rules inside these walls. Celebrities from rock stars to movie stars to professional athletes come here all the time because the bar provides them privacy with their no pictures rule and the media ban.”
“So, you’re saying the patrons are used to you?”
“Well…” He smirked. “I don’t think anyone could get used to me.”
She surveyed him. With his handsome face and adorable accent, she supposed he was right.
Her eyes caught on another face she’d recognize anywhere. Ben Evans. A third man stood with them, but she couldn’t place him.
Noah gestured to them. “Lola, meet Ben and D—Nelson, I mean.”
Lola didn’t understand how Noah almost called the third man by the wrong name, but she didn’t ask.
Ben offered her a kind smile. “We’ve been wanting to meet you.”
“Um, why?” She couldn’t imagine a rock star wanting anything to do with her. Drew and his silence was proof of that.
“No reason.” Ben coughed when Noah elbowed him. “No reason at all.”
An arm wound around her waist, and she looked up to find Asher at her side. “Care to introduce me to your friends?”
A warning rang in his voice and maybe a hint of… jealousy? He had to recognize Noah and Ben—especially because he’d seen Noah in her room as well as in Gulf City, but he showed no signs of it.
His touch burned into her as he pulled her into his side. There was something off about it, something possessive she didn’t like.
“It’s okay, Ash.” She tried to calm him with her voice. “They’re cool.”
