Page 28 of Crossing Paths
Chloe spoke into the mic before Norah could respond. It was a ridiculous discussion anyway, but their silly back-and-forth made her heart thump harder. To her surprise, Norah was actually having fun. If someone had told her a few weeks earlier she’d be staking out a skip at Dutch’s and enjoying herself, she never would’ve believed them.
“How’s everyone doing tonight?” The crowd gave a more enthusiastic roar than Norah had expected, and Chloe grinned.“We’re the Lost Marbles.” The band immediately jumped into an upbeat song.
Norah cocked her head, surprised. She hadn’t expected to actuallylikeChloe’s band’s music, but the bouncing beat was irresistible, as was her husky—almost raspy—voice. Norah glanced at Dash to see his fingers tapping the beat onto the tabletop. His obvious enjoyment freed her to move her shoulders and bounce a little as she danced in place, weirdly happy despite being in Dutch’s, normally her least-favorite place to be.
“C’mon.” Dash slid out of the booth and then offered her a hand.
A little confused by what he was planning, she still accepted his hand and allowed him to help her out of the seat. Once she was standing, he didn’t let her go. Instead, he used that firm yet careful grip to tow her through the crowd closer to the stage. Still puzzled, she eyed his back. Was he thinking they’d have a better chance of spotting Leifsen in the crowd? At the thought, she snorted. Maybe Mr. Ginormous had a view over the crowd, but allhershort self managed to see were upshots into the nostrils of the people right next to her.
Dash stopped once he reached a spot close to the band. As he turned toward her, she opened her mouth to ask what the plan was but closed it before she bothered. The music was much too loud for him to hear anything, even if she shouted, and yelling about their plans at the top of her lungs didn’t seem very strategic. Instead, she raised her eyebrows in a silent question.
Bending so his lips were next to her ear, he said loudly, “We’re dancing.”
Although his words were clear, she was pretty sure she’d misunderstood. “Dancing?”
He must’ve read her lips, because he tipped his head in a nod as the corner of his mouth twitched up.
“Nooooo.” Norah drew out the word as the horror of his proposal hit her.Dance? Her? In public?Uh…nope. No way. Not happening.
His small smile just grew in response, which was not boding well for her escaping. He gripped her hips as he started moving to the beat.Yes, he mouthed, still grinning at her.
“I can’t dance,” she said. She wished she could. Dancing with Dash would be incredible.
Dash must’ve managed to read her lips—and her wistful thoughts—because he gave her an encouraging smile before he bent to speak directly into her ear. “Yeah, you can. If you can fight, you can dance.”
“But I don’t really know how to fight yet,” she protested, but he’d already straightened again. From his teasing expression, he wasn’t about to let her wiggle out of it. The song ended, and she hoped for a moment she’d get a reprieve, but then the band immediately dove into the next one, which was sultrier with a slower bass beat. Somehow, the thought of dancing to this song was more intimidating than the previous one.
Without releasing her hips, Dash stepped closer. His clean, spicy scent surrounded her, muting the usual stink of beer and body odor that filled the bar. She met his gaze and then couldn’t look away, the gleam of heat and humor so different from his normal expression…yet much too intriguing. She couldn’tremember any other man ever looking at her with such interest, and she couldn’t wrap her mind around the idea that beautiful, fascinating, talented Dash was the one to finally do so.
“See…easy.” His loud words somehow managed to sound intimate. She realized that without thinking about it, she’d automatically started moving with his hands’ suggestions, swaying her hips back and forth in rhythm with the heavy beat. As soon as she noticed, her muscles locked up, and she went stiff. Dash just gave her that tiny, private smile and kept moving.
Overwhelmed by his intensity, she dropped her gaze from his face, but looking at his body didn’t settle her nerves at all. He moved with an unselfconscious grace despite his heavy muscles, shoulders and hips rolling even as his hands urged her to follow his movement. Letting out a shaky breath, she forced herself to unlock her frozen body. Her side-to-side swaying started out stiffer and less fluid now that she was thinking about what she was doing and how she looked. She closed her eyes, pretending the crowd was gone and she was at home with her sisters, having a dance party to the music on someone’s phone. Her movements smoothed out, became easier, more natural, but something still wasn’t quite right.
Although she could block out the sight of all the strangers surrounding her, the heat and flex of hands on her hips made it impossible to mentally erase Dash. In her mind, her innocent family dance party shifted to something a little more wicked—just the two of them alone in the darkness, music filling the room as they swayed closer and closer together…
The music ended abruptly with a final thump of the bass,and Norah’s eyes flew open as she realized she’d lost track of time. She immediately looked at him, her face heating. Her imaginings had been so vivid, she felt as though he should’ve been able to see what she’d been thinking. The urge to put some space between them—possibly miles—rose up inside her, and she started to take a step back. She needed to think about what had just happened, to repeat the events of this night in her mind until they made sense.
Before she could pull away, Chloe introduced the next song, and the band jumped into one even bouncier than the first. Norah, a little disoriented by the dramatic mood change, looked at Dash. He raised a shoulder in a half shrug and then grabbed her hands and started dancing again. The sight of him bouncing to the perky beat made her stare at him for a long moment before a laugh burst out.
His willingness to look absolutely ridiculous broke down a barrier inside her, and she joined in, bouncing along with him. It was so freeing not to think about how she appeared as she moved, whether she looked sexy or just awkward. Either way, there was no chance she could look sillier than Dash as he bopped to the beat. Raising their clasped hands, she danced right along with him, smiling the entire time.
Even when the next song slowed and Dash gathered her against him, her nerves didn’t return. She just melted into him and swayed, closing her eyes—not to imagine being somewhere else but just to enjoy the feel of him.
They danced until Norah’s throat was dry from exertion and laughter, and she shifted away from Dash. He immediatelyreeled her back in, frowning.
“Water,” she shouted, gesturing toward the bar. Instead of releasing her, he headed that way, keeping hold of her hand so she followed behind in his wake. It woke her up, reminding her that they were at Dutch’s, not a friendly, safe bar where she could wander through the crowd on her own. No matter how much fun she was having, they were there to find Leifsen.
Not a date, not a date, not a date, she repeated in her mind, pressing down all the feelings that dancing with Dash had awoken in her.This is work, this is work, this is work.
Dash wedged his shoulder between two people at the crowded bar, and the redheaded bartender immediately made her way over to him. Watching, Norah was glad she hadn’t tried to get water on her own. It would’ve taken her ages just to get noticed, and she didn’t have Dash’s bulk to be able to push her way through oblivious people like that. The couple to Dash’s right left, and Norah claimed one of the stools while keeping hold of Dash’s hand. Enjoying her slightly elevated position, she looked around the bar. It was even busier than when they’d first arrived, but she still didn’t see any sign of Leifsen. The bouncer was standing inside the entrance now, and he saw her glancing over. He pointed at his eyes and then her in theI’m watching yougesture. Norah ducked her head to hide her smile.
“What?” Dash asked in her ear, leaning in as he handed her a bottle of water. Instead of taking the other open stool, he stood next to her, close enough to brush against her every time he shifted positions.
“The bouncer.” She’d never seen anyone in real life actuallyuse that gesture in a non-joking way. Instead of having to yell the whole explanation, she just waved it off. “I’ll tell you later.”
He gave a nod as she opened her water and took a drink. It tasted amazing, so cold it almost hurt her throat, but she still sucked it down as fast as she could. She’d been having so much fun she hadn’t realized how thirsty she’d gotten. She offered the half-full bottle to Dash, but he shook his head, holding up his own.
Sipping more slowly, she turned back to her appraisal of the crowd. The dim lighting made it difficult to make out people’s features, and she wondered if she’d looked right at Leifsen without realizing it. Coming to the bar while Chloe’s band was playing had seemed like a good idea, but maybe it would be more effective to stake out her apartment building to see if he showed up.
