Page 34 of Embers of You (Amity #1)

Sutton

“Have you ever been line dancing before?” Bailey asks as we both get into her car to go wherever it is she’s taking me.

“No, I can’t say that I have.”

“I hadn’t either before I came here, but it’s something to do around here that’s actually kind of fun.” Bailey starts driving and she seems like she’s in a pretty good mood.

Something I’ve learned about Bailey is that she’s extremely closed off. She doesn’t show emotion easily, including happiness. She’s nice enough except to Wes, who I have yet to meet. But she hates him.

“Cool, so what is this place?”

“It’s just a bar, but a couple times a week they do this and they’re good with beginners.”

I nod, hoping I don’t regret this; my legs are still sore from the horse riding lesson and then the other kind of riding I participated in afterwards. The spot between my thighs also remembers what happened afterwards.

That part isn’t something I’m going to forget for a long time. Or ever. And I’m fighting every urge telling me to shut down and push him away, to just let things fizzle out. I texted him earlier just because I wanted to. I second guessed myself as I paced around waiting to see what he would say.

And because he’s Jameson Turner, he replied right away.

Every worry I had faded so easily. That’s one of his super powers, I think.

At least when it comes to me. But tonight is about hanging out with my friend.

If I’m going to be better about letting people into my life again, then I should do it with more than just Jameson.

Bailey is more reserved than I am and for some reason that makes me trust her. At least enough not to worry that she would betray me. We end up at the bar at the edge of town and the parking lot is so busy, every single person in Amity must be here. Maybe even from neighboring towns.

“Are you sure this is for beginners?” I ask through a nervous laugh.

“Oh yeah, trust me, you want it to be crowded like this. That’s when you know no one is watching you.”

She has a point.

We get inside and the music is so loud I can feel it vibrating the floor. There’s a large open area ahead of us that’s full of people moving along to the beat. The bar on the left is fairly busy, and on the right there’s an area of tables that are mostly empty.

“Do you want to get a drink first or just dive in?” Bailey asks, leaning close, and speaking loudly so I can hear her over the music.

“Definitely a drink.” I look at the dancing and while it doesn’t seem incredibly difficult, I don’t have very much rhythm so I’m not confident that I’ll be good at this at all.

Liquid courage might help me. It may also make me worse, but hey, if I’m unaware of how bad I am then I can’t be embarrassed about it.

We make our way to the bar, squeezing between people to get a spot and wait for the bartender to get to us. Bailey towers over most people here, she’s probably close to six feet tall and I wonder if she’s ever played basketball.

I order a vodka Red Bull with a splash of cranberry and Bailey gets a cider. We grab a table to get away from the crowd at the bar and I’m watching the people dancing, wondering how I’ll ever manage to do that.

I take a big sip from my drink and Bailey notices. “You nervous?”

I nod. “Is it that obvious?”

“Only a little bit, don’t worry if you don’t want to. You can just watch this time if you want.”

“Did you join in your first time here?”

Bailey shakes her head. “Fuck no. I watched a few times before I finally joined in.”

“What made you decide to finally do it?”

She looks out at the crowd and shrugs. “Sometimes I realize that I have to throw caution to the wind and do something even if it scares me.”

I understand her more than she even knows. It’s exactly how I’m feeling about Jameson. It’s also how I’m feeling about being here as well. I bring my drink to my lips, downing it quickly, reveling as the cold liquid burns slightly as it goes down my throat.

“You may have to show me what to do, but let’s go,” I announce.

We walk out onto the dance floor, and I do my best to follow along with everyone. It’s difficult at first, but several minutes later I’m caring less about getting the moves right and more about having a good time.

I end up ordering two more drinks in between songs, and each one has me caring less and less about looking like an idiot. I’m dancing, laughing and having a great time. Bailey seems to as well, even though she hasn’t gotten any more drinks other than water.

After a while we go back to the table to sit because I need a break. I make sure to get another drink and it’s making my head feel fuzzy, and my filter non existent.

“This is so fun. Thank you for bringing me here,” I tell my new friend.

“I’m glad you like it. Sometimes we need to get out of our own heads and just…live.”

I raise my glass in her direction. “You got that right. You come here to escape a shitty situation, too?”

She snorts. “You have no idea.”

“To shitty people,” I announce, and she clinks her glass of water against mine in a cheer.

Mid sip my gaze locks on a familiar figure standing by the bar and I fight choking on my drink.

“What’s he doing here?”

Bailey follows where I’m looking, and turns back to me with a smirk. “Your stalker strikes again, huh?”

I make a dramatic noise. “Hardly my stalker at this point.”

“Why’s that?”

I mumble, “I may have slept with him…multiple times.”

Bailey chuckles. “Ah, yeah. Well, he’s coming this way.”

Sure enough he approaches the table and as I look up at him, I feel the way my gaze softens and my entire body gravitates toward him instantly. “What’re you doing here?”

“I obviously came for the line dancing.” He gestures toward the dancefloor.

“Wait, how’d you know I was here?”

“Baby, this is where anyone comes in this town.”

Him calling me baby right now is not something I can handle. The only other time he’s said that is when he’s inside me, and it brings me right back to how that feels. Add in the alcohol running through my system and I feel like I’m going to end up back in his bed tonight.

Or the tractor again. Or his truck, or even the bar bathroom if I can’t control myself.

I need to calm down.

“Bailey, nice to see you again,” Jameson greets my friend, and it distracts me from the dirty place my mind went.

“You too. Hope you’re being nice to my friend.”

I smile at her referring to me as her friend, and it seems silly, but everything is heightened right now apparently.

“Are you telling stories about me?” Jameson teases.

“No,” I deny easily.

“Good, have you done any dancing?”

“Oh yeah. Bailey has basically turned me into a pro.”

“That so? You going to show me the ropes then?”

I look at Bailey, not wanting to ditch her again just because Jameson showed up. She looks behind us and her face that was smiling and light drops into a frown. “No, you go ahead, this place just got less fun.”

I turn to see what she’s looking at and see Wes standing at the bar. I can’t contain the laughter bursting out of me. “Maybe you two need to do something to clear the air.”

She looks at me deadpan. “The only thing I’m going to do is disconnect his engine so he can’t wake up the entire neighborhood.”

I don’t dare tell her I think she’s being a bit dramatic. I still think there’s more to that story than she’s saying, but my tongue feels heavy in my mouth and my body is reacting to the man standing in such close proximity.

“I think I’m going to head home anyway; I’m tired. Do you want a ride, or are you good?” she asks.

I should probably go home with her and turn in for the night. But Jameson’s hand is on my arm, and I lose all the reasons why I should go and decide to stay. Him and I end up on the dancefloor, but the line dancing is over and he pulls me against him so our bodies move together.

My arms drape around his shoulders as we sway and I feel myself sinking into him more. My walls are breaking down and I want to let him in even just a little more.

“I don’t want to get close to anyone again,” I murmur.

“Why not?” he asks gently.

“Because the people closest to me betrayed me.”

He leans back slightly to look at me. We aren’t moving anymore and his eyes search mine.

I shouldn’t have said anything. The alcohol running through my veins is making me less reserved and I regret it.

He doesn’t need to know what happened. Maybe my reaction was dramatic, maybe I’m ridiculous.

It was a betrayal from my parents and one of my best friends, but telling him won’t change anything because it still happened and I still ran from it.

“Tell me what you mean, baby. Who hurt you?”

I shake my head. “It’s not what you think. Forget I said anything. Just dance with me.”

He doesn’t ask me anything else, just pulls me closer as we start swaying again.

I close my eyes, blocking out everything else and just being here in this moment with him.

He’s the only one I’m paying attention to.

The only one I’m feeling. He might as well be the only other person in this whole place with me.

And when his lips find mine as we dance, I lose every other sense I have. His tongue finds mine and I’m completely lost. No one else exists around me anymore.

It’s just us.