Page 71

Headlights skitter across the driveway as the others pull out, but we’re lost in a moment. Together, secured in the darkness of the shadows. I swallow over a familiar tightness in my throat. “What are you thinking?”
His brow dips, his tongue darting out across his lower lip. “That I want to lay you out on this bench seat and take this dress off you.”
The slight heat in my cheeks turns into a tidal wave through my entire body. I swear even my toes turn pink. “What’s stopping you?” Holy crap, why’d I say that?
Rough laughter escapes his lips and he steps back a foot. “Because I probably wouldn’t stop there.”
I smile, unable to reply.
With a heavy sigh, he winks at me. “Let’s go before I see what I can get away with.”
What he can get away with?
I watch him close the door, walk around the front of the truck and get into the driver seat. There’s a memory that flashes through my head. One of Shane doing that same thing and I’m grateful it’s not no fear I have for the one beside me now. It’s… lust, an emotion I thought had been buried a long time ago.
34
EVIE
As soon as we walk into the bar, it feels right. The bass vibrates through me with the country music blaring.
Frankie leads the way to the far-right corner where we usually sit. We’ve been sitting in the same booth since we convinced Quinten, the owner, to let us in The Point when we were thirteen.
I usually like to get a drink in me, and people watch before dancing. But when you’re with Frankie, that’s usually not possible. She’s shaking her ass the moment she enters the bar.
Between lingering stares of those around me and feeling like I shouldn’t be here, I stay close to both Frankie and Kelly when the guys disappear.
Once we’re seated, Summer, one of the bartenders, takes our orders.
Not wanting any hard alcohol, I order a Coors Light. Kelly gets a rum and Coke, and Frankie a Long Island iced tea. She loves those things and I can’t stand them. They taste like a garbage dump of different alcohols together.
I scan the bar, looking for Grayson. I haven’t seen him since we walked in. Heat courses through me at the thought of his words in the truck and his hand he had on my legthe entire drive here. Not only is it hot in the bar, but I think my body is begging for more from him. Mentally, I’m not ready for anything, but physically, that’s another story.
Near the door, the owner, Quinten, opens the folding wall that leads to the stage, providing a cool blast of summer night air into the bar.
Breathing easier, our drinks arrive and I’m so thirsty I down the beer in two minutes.
Kelly laughs. “Thirsty?”
“It’s really hot in here,” I yell over the music.
“Yeah, I know. Now, where did the boys go?” Kelly asks, looking around.
“Right here.” Josh slides into the booth next to Kelly.
Through the break in the crowd, I spot Grayson and Ethan leaning against the bar, talking with Quinten now, more than likely warning him about Shane.
I’m on my second beer when I gain enough courage to attempt dancing.
“Oh, I love this song!” Kelly screams when “Down On The Farm” comes on.
I let her lead me to the dance floor, swaying my hips when I feel two hands on my waist.
I knew it wouldn’t take him long. My eyes flutter closed when he turns me, his left hand on my hip, the other in my right hand. Grayson knows how to dance, product of two older sisters and a mom who insisted he know how to treat a lady.
Leading me effortlessly, his smile is a tad crooked.
He takes a firm grip on my waist as the song picks up speed. We laugh and before I know it, the song ends. I rise up on my tippy-toes, my mouth at his ear. “You haven’t lost your touch, have you?”