The Dance

Chapter 49 Home

"Great lunch baby." Kenny playfully  patted Kay on her rear end. "You know tonight there's a bonfire party in town. I thought all of us could go. Lila, you feeling up to it?"

"Sounds like fun. Bam?" Lila looked to him for affirmation.

"I'm up for that."

"Then it's a date. Now what do you two kids have planned for today?"

"I think I'm going to take a cat nap. I didn't get much sleep last night." Lila excused herself and headed for her room. Kay silently motioned to Bam to follow her.

Bam caught the edge of the door before Lila shut it. "Care for some company?"

"Only if you promise me, Mr. Brown, that I can get some sleep." Lila rubbed the side of her head. "I'm really tired baby."

Bam made threw up his hands. "I'll behave. Boy Scouts honor."

Lila dropped her dress as Bam stripped down to his plaid boxers. He crawled into bed and spooned Lila. He exhibited a tremendous amount of self control as she was so warm against his skin. Lila nestled closer into Bam's chest and soon fell fast asleep.

Lila awoke to the sounds of Kay and Kenny getting ready for the bonfire. Bam was still asleep and Lila sat up in bed to watch him. She loved the way his hair hung wildly around his shoulders when he left it unbound. She noticed his gypsy tattoo on his arm as his hand draped over his forehead. But most of all, she liked watching his chest rise and fall with every breath. She slowly straddled him and began placing kisses on his cheeks, and neck and lips. He quickly turned the tables on her flipping her over so now she was under him. He had her wrists pinned to the bed. "Ms. Jenkins, are you trying to take advantage of me while I'm sleeping?"

Innocently, she looked at him and smiled. "Maybe later. We've got to get dressed. Don't want to keep Kay and Kenny waiting."

"I'm going to hold you to that promise."

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As the couples walked to the outskirts of town, the growing bonfire was lighting their way. They could hear the sounds of laughter coming from a large group of party goers while music blared in the background.

Bam usually avoided large crowds. It wasn't that he was antisocial, just a little overly cautious and protective. Having two sisters living in Alaska where the male to female ratio was 10 into 1 made him that way. Often he or Matt would have to run interference for Snowbird or Rain. He felt that same way about Lila. Single women were rare. Single, beautiful women were even rarer. Bam's radar was already up as several men had already given Lila a second look.

Lila was oblivious to the attention. She was happy to be out with Bam and excited to experience some outdoor fun. Kay and Kenny had disappeared into the crowd to speak with some friends leaving Lila and Bam alone.  They found an empty hay bale close to the fire, grabbed a seat,  and watched couples dance by them.

"Let's dance?" Bam pulled Lila from the hay bale slipping his arm around her waist and waltzed her around the fire following the path of the other couples. Her eyes reflected the light from the bonfire and when she threw her head back to laugh and he caught sight of her lovely neck, inappropriate thoughts danced through his mind.

Lila pulled Bam back to their hay bale and complimented him on his dancing skills. Bam thanked her giving credit to his younger sister for teaching him to dance so eloquently. 

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a stranger, clearly intoxicated and infatuated with Lila. He reeked of alcohol and attempted to get her dance with him. Bam immediately blocked his advances towards Lila and told the guy to take a hike.  The drunkard grabbed for Lila's arm. Bam reacted harshly, jumping to his feet and shoving the man on the chest to free Lila from his grasp. Bam moved Lila behind him standing between the surly man and Lila as the stranger taunted Bam calling him names and swinging his fists wildly. Bam pushed Lila further  behind him as the drunk man lunged at the couple knocking them backwards. Bam flew into a rage and reached for his buck knife. Lila grabbed for Bam's arm and lost her footing tumbling to the ground. Onlookers rushed in to restrain the drunk man as Bam threatened to gut him if he touched her again. As the locals escorted the drunk away from Bam, he turned his attention to Lila. She was being helped to her feet by several people. He rushed to her side.

His voice trembled between rage and concern for her. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Lila shook her head no and replied, "I'm okay. My head hurts a little."

Bam quickly looked her over,  checking to see if her old wound had come open. "It looks okay baby. No blood."

"Maybe we should call it a night." Lila suggested.

"Agreed." Bam wrapped an arm around her shoulder holding her tight against him and they walked back to the house. Lila stopped on the porch. The emotions of the evening triggered a slow stream of tears from her eyes. No one had ever protected her like he did.

"If anything ever happened to you, I would just...." Lila placed her fingers to his lips so he couldn't finish the sentence.

In that moment, it didn't matter to Lila if she ever remembered their past. She had everything she ever wanted right in front of her. "Let's go home. Let's go back to Browntown."

"Are you sure that's what you want?" He asked with his eyes steeled to hers. 

"It's what we both want and need right now." She wrapped her arms under his and put her head to his chest listening to the rapid beat of his heart as he stroked her hair. She knew she was safe, and loved, and the feeling that she had for him at that very moment had come full circle.