Page 3 of Beautiful Trauma
“Why does that sound familiar? Is it a song title?” Geoff asked. I just rolled my eyes because some people were clueless when it came to excellent movies. “Sit up straight and look sexy,” Geoff demanded.
“Look what?”
I thought Geoff was just yanking my chain until the man in question moved into my periphery. I turned my head and stared into bottomless dark eyes.Silver fox, indeed.I was thinking of someone older like George Clooney, but the guy smiling at me had the youthful face of someone who’d gone gray early.
“Hello, I’m Ezra.” His voice was smooth, cultured, and sexy. “Want to dance?”
“Yes, he does,” Geoff said, pushing me until I reached the edge of the booth. I had two choices: stand up or fall on my ass at Ezra’s feet.
“Um, hi. I’m Henry.”
“It’s his birthday,” Geoff announced. “Make sure he gets the dance of his lifetime.”
A chuckle rumbled from Ezra’s chest, making the hair stand up all over my body. He gestured to the dance floor, and I headed in that direction. Once I stepped past him, Ezra placed his hand at the small of my back. His hand felt hot like a brand, and I liked it.
“Dance of a lifetime,” I said out loud when we reached the edge of the dance floor. I jerked to a sudden halt when a thought occurred to me, causing Ezra to crash into me. I whipped around and looked up into his eyes. “Dance of a lifetime,” I repeated.
“I’m a bit rusty, but I’ll give it my best,” Ezra said.
“Did Geoff pay you to dance with me?”
A dark, perfectly arched brow shot up. “Excuse me?”
“Did Geoff—”
“I heard what you said. Are you implying I’m a male escort?”
“No! Um, I don’t think so.”
“I’ve never talked to your friend before, and I asked you to dance because I saw the way you unknowingly swayed to the music but never made a move to get out on the dance floor. I asked you to dance because I couldn’t stop staring at you.”
“Oh my God! I messed this up so badly.” I sighed and moved to step around him so I could slink back to the table in shame.
“Not so fast, cutie,” Ezra said, moving over to block my retreat. “I’m not sure if I should be insulted or really sad you think someone requires payment to ask you to dance.”
“Neither sound like a good answer. I’m just going to go. Maybe if I drink enough, I will forget all about this.” Suddenly the idea of not remembering Ezra bothered me more than the humiliation caused by loose lips. “On second thought, why don’t we start again?”
“I like that. Hello, I’m Ezra. Would you like to dance?” Humor sparkled in his dark eyes, captivating me.
Suddenly, it felt like something more significant was occurring than one guy asking another to dance. It could be something truly amazing or something that could set back all my good progress. Did I dare? Ezra’s smile wavered as he waited for me to answer him. I shook off my silliness and returned his smile.
“I’d love to.”
It was just one dance, then we’d part ways when he saw how clumsy I was. I’d never have to see him again. What could it hurt?
Six months later…
BUZZ.BUZZ.BUZZ.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I quietly muttered, “Damn it.” In my nervous rush to arrive on time for my first summer college class, I’d forgotten to silence the damn thing.
“You’re going to want to silence your phone or turn it off,” the cute ginger guy sitting beside me said. “My best friend attended this class earlier today and said the professor is a real no-nonsense fellow. He’s big on discipline, focusing, and listening. My other friend said he’s even grumpier during the evening classes, so we’re in for a real treat. Maybe he needs to start taking daily naps.”
“Good to know,” I absently said while silencing my phone. Since I still had a minute to spare, I tapped the message icon to open the text message from Geoff.
Good luck tonight, buddy. Maybe you can take notes in your human sexuality class and use them to get laid. Dude. Long. Dry. Spell.
I snorted and tapped out a reply.Fuck you.