Page 95 of The Dance

“He won’t tell me for sure, but it seems like it.”

“Is she still a baby?”

“Don’t know.”

Karla ran her long purple colored fingernail along Eddie’s shoulders as she stepped up beside him. Anger coursed through my entire body as I watched the scene unfold. They hugged, they smiled at each other, and at one point, they laughed, and I didn’t like it.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Eddie and Theo returned with our beers. Theo handed Molly hers, and Eddie gave me mine.

“Good conversation with Karla?” I sneered.

He chuckled slightly and rolled his eyes before taking a swallow of his Corona. “Can’t let it go, can you?”

“I was just asking a question.” I took a sip of my beer.

Eddie leaned down and whispered into my ear. “Green doesn’t look good on you.”

I narrowed my gaze as he rose to his full height again. “Did you come here to fight?”

“Absolutely not. You’re hung up on my past, not me.”

“She was touching you,” I seethed.

He lowered his head again and said into my ear, “And I’ll be touching all ofyoutonight, not her. Remember that, sunshine. It’s you I want.”

I looked over at Molly to see if she and Theo were listening. It appeared they weren’t, as they both laughed at something that was said between the two of them.

“Then let’s go back to my place. I’ll have more after-parties, but not more alone time with you for five months.”

“I don’t plan on going that long without seeing or touching you.”

“You don’t?”

“I have a jet and plan to use it.”

My heart swelled, thinking about him coming to shows again and surprising me. “Thank you for coming tonight.”

He took a step forward and lifted my chin, so I was looking up into his brown eyes. “I was already going to fly in, but the shit with Brody ended earlier than expected. Arnold couldn’t have the plane ready sooner, so I decided to drive and get here to catch the show.”

“Did you like it?”

“Good God, baby. You were amazing.”

“Much better than when I was a cheerleader?”

“A hell of a lot better.” Eddie brushed his lips against mine. “I’m getting hard thinking about it right now.”

“Then we better do something about that.”

31

Blake

The plane toucheddown at SFO a little after five California time. What I was doing was crazy, not because I was going to visit my brother in San Francisco, but because I told no one I was coming. I’d told work I was sick and needed to take a few days off, but something was telling me I would be in SF longer than a few days.

I’d always been a fly by the seat of my pants type of guy, and when I saw Stacey living her dream, I booked a flight to leave first thing the following morning before my parents woke. I was a twenty-six-year-old man and could do whatever the fuck I wanted, even though I lived with my folks. I knew they were going to be pissed, but I couldn’t think about that because I’d already flown halfway across the country and needed to find my way to Brandon’s house.

Not realizing how far away from the airport he lived, I pulled up the rideshare app, only to realize it would cost a few hundred bucks to get to his place in Kentfield. It was too late to back out now, so I ordered the car.