Page 17 of Unstoppable You (Sapph in the City #6)

Chapter Seventeen

Delaney

I’d spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in a burger and cookie coma, searching through my Fuckit List to find what items I wanted to check off tonight. I was going to try to go for dancing on the bar. That was one I probably should have waited for Larison to go with me to accomplish, but I was feeling strangely antsy and like I wanted to just… do something .

I searched for the bars in the area, deciding I should hit one that wasn’t one of my regulars, just in case I got kicked out. Searching online for “bars near me that let you dance on them” left me with no ideas, so I just searched articles recommending bars. I might have to try a few places to get this task done.

I dressed in a low-cut top that made my tits look great, and jeans that hugged my ass. Figuring boots would be good for dancing on a bar, I slid into a pair of black heeled ankle boots that weren’t that comfortable but made me feel like a badass. A little pinching was nothing if I could knock off another item on my list.

I was nervous as I got out of the car and said goodnight to the driver. I’d had him drop me off near several bars that I could try.

All I had to do was walk in.

* * *

Turned out dancing on a bar was a lot easier said than done. The first two bars I tried gave me bad vibes and had more of a sportsbro vibe than what I was looking for. I needed someplace different.

I really should have brought Larison and Jo with me. What was that place they were always going to? The lesbian place?

Sapph. Wouldn’t that be the kind of place that would let a woman dance on a bar? I hoped so, setting off in the right direction, wincing a little as my boots pinched my toes.

I stood outside of Sapph for a few minutes before I got up the courage to walk in. This wasn’t the kind of place that I belonged, but I also couldn’t dismiss the idea of being in a room full of mostly women. Plus, they were playing some really good music.

Rolling my shoulders back and marching forward, I presented my ID to the jacked woman on the stool at the door and paid my cover.

Holy crap, this place was jammed with people. There was barely any room to move. My stomach did a little swoop and I almost turned around and went home. I’d never really been in a place like this. Larison had invited me to come out with her before, but I’d never felt comfortable enough.

I looked around, waiting for someone to yell that I was a straight girl who had infiltrated a sacred space and needed to be thrown out onto the sidewalk on my ass.

No one did. But someone did say my name.

“Delaney?”

I turned around to find a very shocked James standing there and staring at me as if she’d never seen me before.

“James? What are you doing here?”

She raised both eyebrows so high they almost disappeared. “What are you doing here? You know this is a lesbian bar, right?” She pointed up at the sign that said Sapph in neon purple.

“Uh, yeah? I know.”

She blinked at me. “Oh, I’m not. Yeah, I’m straight. I just…” I trailed off, pushed from behind by more people trying to get in and make their way to the bar. James had an empty glass in her hand and I really wished it had been full so I could have taken it from her.

Bumping into James was definitely not part of the plan for tonight.

“Can we—” I motioned to moving away from the main crowd.

James nodded, taking my arm and dragging me after her toward the back of the bar where there was a sort of safer corner near the bathrooms. The music wasn’t as loud, and you could hear yourself think.

“Seriously, what are you doing here?” James asked, setting her empty glass down on a high-top table.

“I…um…” How the hell did I explain my Fuckit List to her?

She studied my face for a minute and then leaned forward. “How about I get you a drink and you can tell me?”

That sounded like a fine idea.

“Yeah, sure.”

Delaney patted my arm as if to tell me to stay where I was and veered through the crowd to the bar, getting the attention of one of the bartenders immediately.

I tried to keep her in my sights, but it wasn’t possible. I lost her and then she seemed to appear out of the low light of the bar, carrying two drinks with her lower lip clamped between her teeth in concentration.

She reached my corner without incident and handed me a drink.

“What is it?” I asked.

“It’s called a Heartbreaker,” she said, tapping her glass to mine.

“How appropriate,” I said, my tone dry as I took a sip. It was rich and heady and had a hint of pomegranate that was really nice.

“It’s good,” I told her. She nodded and tossed back half of the drink in one gulp.

“So,” she said, once I’d consumed about a third of the drink. “What the hell are you doing here, Delaney?”

I drank more. I was probably going to need at least two or more of these.

“Do you think they’d let me dance on the bar?” I asked.

“What?”

I repeated what I’d said.

“Dance on the bar? Why?”

Dammit. I wasn’t going to be able to get out of this without explaining the Fuckit List.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. You know? Like that movie.”

She looked at me as if I was speaking another language. “What movie?”

This was going to require more explaining. I pulled up my phone and showed her a clip of the movie I’d watched when I was a kid with my teenage babysitter that had a scene where the women danced on the bar and even set it on fire.

“They’re definitely not going to let you do that here. There are regulations and so forth,” James said. “Plus, there isn’t room.”

The bar here was pretty narrow and lined with people sitting or leaning over to shout their orders. This wasn’t a dancing kind of bar.

“You could sing karaoke. That’s next Thursday,” she said. I shuddered. That wasn’t something on my list.

“No, that’s okay. I was just…never mind.”

James tilted her head, as if waiting for me to go on.

Instead I finished my drink and slammed the glass down, the ice rattling around. “How about another one?”

Once I was midway through my second drink, I felt good enough to try and explain the Fuckit List.

“So, you know how I was a good girlfriend?” I asked her.

“I mean, I’ll take your word for it,” she said, toying with her drink more than consuming it.

“Well I was. I was a fucking amazing girlfriend. And I’m an amazing daughter. And a model student. A good citizen. All that shit. I’ve always been good. Always done what was right. And what did it get me? A guy who fucking cheated on me.”

James winced. I kept forgetting that the guy who cheated on me was literally her brother.

“No offense.”

“I could spend a lot of time talking shit about my brother, but I’d rather not.” Fair enough.

“Anyway. I always did what was expected, never rebelled. And it didn’t pay off now, did it?” The alcohol was starting to make me feel warm and floaty. It was nice. I couldn’t stop staring at James. She’d worn a cropped T-shirt that showed her belly ring, and low-rise cargo pants that should have looked ridiculous but just looked slouchy and cool on her. She’d left her hair down in messy waves, as if she’d just been running her fingers through it. The combat boots on her feet only added to her look.

She really was different than she was in high school. I don’t know if I would have recognized her if you put her graduation picture next to one taken tonight.

“I’m guessing no is the answer you’re looking for?”

Right. We’d been talking. I’d gotten distracted by staring at her. Back on track. Fuckit List.

“I made a list of all the shit I wanted to do and didn’t do and now I wanna do all of it.” Recklessly, I pulled up the list and slapped my phone into her hand.

Her eyes scanned back and forth, getting wider the longer she read down the list.

“Oh, uhhhh, interesting,” she said once she’d finished looking, immediately grabbing her drink and taking another huge swallow.

“Did you mean to put ‘kiss a girl’ on there?” she asked, her voice suddenly loud as she leaned toward me.

My shoulder bumped into hers, as if I’d been leaning too without being aware of it.

“Oh, yeah. I mean, doesn’t everyone go through that phase when they’re young? I never did any of that. I wish I could drink underage and sneak out of my house, but that doesn’t really work because I’m grown. But I could still kiss a girl for fun, you know? Just to say I’ve done it.”

I was babbling and later I’d blame it on the alcohol.

James gazed at me as if I was a puzzle she could not solve.

“What?” I asked, grabbing my drink and finishing it. Would having a third be a bad idea? Maybe. I was still going to have another one. If I couldn’t dance on the bar, I could at least have a good time while I was here.

“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head.

“Another!” I said, raising my empty glass. “It’s the least you can do because I can’t dance on the bar.”

James gave me another searching look and then shrugged before going to the bar again. This wasn’t working out too badly after all.

* * *

“Whoa, slow down, baby,” James said when she handed me my third drink and I tried to take it all down at once.

“Baby?” I asked after I choked on the first sip.

“Sorry. It slipped out.” She’d gotten herself a glass of clear liquid with ice that might have been water.

One of my favorite songs came on and I couldn’t stand still.

“Oh my god, you have to dance with me,” I said, yanking her hand toward where a group of people were dancing and having a great time. I wanted to join them.

James’s eyes were wide, and she was like a deer in the headlights as I stood in front of her, putting my hands on her shoulders to show her where to stand.

When the hell was the last time I’d danced like this? Not just alone in my room or something?

I couldn’t remember when. And I’d never danced with this much alcohol in my veins. It was fucking awesome.

Tonight was amazing .

I let out a cheer and a few of the women around me joined in. Throwing my hands in the air, I spun in a wobbly circle and didn’t fall, but only because James caught me, pulling me close.

“Be careful. You’ve already had a few.”

“I have! I want another one. Can you get me another one?”

She studied my face. “Maybe in a little bit. And you should have some water too.”

Pft. Water. That sounded responsible. I didn’t want to be responsible. I was always responsible.

“Fuck responsibility!” I yelled.

“Oh Jesus, you’re well on your way to being wasted,” James said, smiling a little.

“I really like your hair,” I yelled over the music. “I’ve been meaning to tell you, but I didn’t want to give you a compliment.”

She burst out laughing. “God, I wish I could save this night. Thank you, Delaney. That’s very nice to hear.”

Another song came on and I started moving with the beat, not caring how I looked. Not caring how anyone saw me. Just moving any way I wanted to.

“Fuck.” Somehow, I heard James’s little exhalation over the cacophony of other sounds.

“What?” I asked, doing another twirl and managing to stay on my feet. It was a near thing.

“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head and weakly bopping to the beat.

“You gotta put your hips into it, James.” I reached out and grabbed her hips, doing my best to make her sway to the beat.

She completely froze, doing the opposite of what I’d intended.

“Move,” I told her, pushing as hard as I could. Finally, she did what I asked. I looked up to find her closer than I’d realized.

Oh .

Her eyes were pools of darkness and I liked the way they flashed at me. I liked the way her hair fell and the way she was breathing hard, even though she was still barely moving.

“Is this what you wanted?” she asked, her voice dipping low in a way that made goosebumps pop up on my skin. The dance floor was a cramped, sweaty place, but I was struck with a strange chill.

“Yes?” It sounded like a question.

My hands were still on her hips. Why were my hands still on her hips? I needed to let go of her.

Why wasn’t I letting go of her?

James moved closer to me, until there was only a whisper between us. Now I was breathing with difficulty.

What was happening ?

“Delaney?” she said, her voice buzzing in that low tone that gave me a second round of goosebumps.

“Yeah?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

She seemed like she was going to say something, but then she changed her mind, stepping back from me and taking hold of my wrists to remove my hands from her hips. Her skin was warm and made me tingle where she touched me.

James was touching me.

“I think I should get you some water,” she said, her voice rough.

“Uh huh.” Brilliant. I was doing a bad job at speaking. Blame the alcohol.

“Go back to the corner and wait for me,” she said, and normally I didn’t like people telling me what to do and would have told her to fuck off in any other circumstance, but I found myself nodding and doing what she asked.

I was also going to blame that on the alcohol.