Page 23 of Venus
I blink. “Then why do you keep showing up?”
He shrugs. “Because I want to.”
“But what if it doesn’t turn into anything? What if it stays casual forever and you waste your time?”
He walks around the counter and stands in front of me, just close enough that I have to tilt my head to look him in the eyes.
“One day when you’re ready, we’ll talk about why you feel that way, and we’ll figure out what that means for us. For now, how about we make a deal that whatever this is, it stays real?”
My throat tightens. I want to say something but nothing comes out.
Instead, I nod. He gives me a smile that assures me this is all good enough for him.
For now.
But will it be enough when he finds out how broken I really am?
Chapter 13 | Vulcan
If you had told me six months ago I’d be square dancing in the middle of town in front of half of Terracotta, Georgia while trying not to trip over my own boots, I would’ve said no way in hell.
But Venus loves dancing. It’s how she lured me in that second time at the bar, and when we came back to this place and she saw an opportunity to outdance the entire town, it was on.
“Just follow my lead and they don’t stand a chance,” she says as we write our names on the sign up form. “Don’t embarrass me and maybe you’ll get lucky afterward.”
I smile down at her, but she doesn’t see it, distracted by placing her drink order at the bar.
“I’m already lucky,” I whisper to her back. She looks over her shoulder at me, her eyes peeking out from my cowboy hat that she stole from me. Classic red flannel and criminally short shorts paint the rest of her.
“You nervous, big man?” she asks
“I run into burning buildings for a living, you think I’m scared?” I say to try and hide a gulp.
“You realize dancing requires rhythm, right?”
“I’ve got rhythm. I was born with rhythm.”
She raises an eyebrow that says she’s pressing ‘X’ for doubt, but she raises her drink to mine for a toast.
I spy Jackson and Trevor pointing at the sign-up table, and I know they’ve seen my name on the paper. We meet eyes from across the room and they scramble over to us.
“Cooter!” Trevor yells over the music. “You’re cruel, man, giving your girl secondhand embarrassment from your suck-ass dancing skills.”
“She’s now been seen out in public with the three of us. What could be more embarrassing than that?” I tease down to her. She looks up at me and giggles, sliding under my arm and wrapping hers around my waist.
My hand slips into the back pocket of her shorts and I hold her close as we watch the other entrants hit the dance floor. By the time it’s our turn, we might both be a little bit too drunk to actually make this good.
But I don’t care. Neither does she. She’s bouncing on her toes like she’s having the time of her life.
“You ready?” I ask, holding out my hand.
She looks at it like I’ve handed her something dangerous. “Just don’t step on my foot.”
I give her my most charming smile. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
The music starts, and the room erupts into a huge applause when we end up with the best song of the night:Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy).
Suddenly we’re spinning, stepping, and laughing like we’ve done this a hundred times.
