Surrounded

Chapter Eleven

"Me on You" - Muscadine Bloodline

     The heavy double doors swing open, her boots audible on the wood flooring as she steps in. There's something about the neon lights, loud music, and smells of sweat and cigarette smoke that feel like home to her. This little line-dancing bar is the most exciting thing this small town has to do on the weekend; well, besides football of course. She felt good in her skin-tight Wranglers, boots, and baby blue crop top with her hair up under a faded Mossy Oak ballcap, but when she caught sight of Marcus checking her out, she knew she'd chosen the right outfit. Making her way to the bar, she perched on one of the padded stools and made eye contact with him, a blush creeping up her chest when he approached her with a smirk on his lips, "Marcus."

"Laura, your usual?"

"Yes, please."

He slid a Corona in front of her and wedged a slice of lime into the top. She pushed the lime into the golden liquid and tipped the bottle back, effectively sinking the lime and taking a swig simultaneously, "Thank you. What time are you off?"

"I got roped into a double tonight, so I'm here 'til close. I do have a smoke break though in another hour."

She leaned across the bar, grabbing him by the shirt when he was too distracted by the view to react. "Find me when it's time," she nipped his ear and winked as his brain short-circuited, grabbing her beer and practically prancing her way to the dance floor.

Finding an empty table, she propped her boots up in the other chair and just sipped her drink, watching everyone have fun dancing. It isn't until the first notes of the next song came on that she set down her empty bottle. As soon as the glass clinked on the table, she saw a flash of blonde in her periphery before she was pulled toward the floor. He swung her around to face him and wrapped his other hand around to rest on the small of her back. He lead her in a two-step and the second his blue eyes found hers, she was powerless against his smile. Not only was he an excellent dance partner, but his confidence made her heart stutter and it felt like sparks flew from his touch on the bare skin of her back. Not that Laura would ever admit it, but being paraded around the dance floor by Roland made her feel like the only girl in the world and before she knew it, she was throwing her head back with a full-bellied laugh. Being spun around like this made her forget that there are other people even in existence, much less able to see them, so when the song ended and he dipped her before kissing her cheek, and they received whistles and applause, it was like waking from a dream. She jerked herself into a standing position and quickly moved to the door for the smoke pit.