Dance for Me

Chapter Nineteen

I can't get the strange look Ransom shot me, when I declined his invitation to meet him after class, out of my head. It's almost as if he didn't understand why I might be upset with him. At the very least, he should recognize that walking away from a woman in the middle of a discussion, directly following hot and heavy sex, is definite grounds for a problem. That he doesn't shouldn't be a surprise to me, but it is. I was just starting to get used to New Ransom, and then Old, Callous Ransom reared his head again.

Worst of all, I like both sides of him. I like his overbearing, bullheaded, take-charge attitude just as much as I like the more subdued, almost domestic side of his personality.

That's where I made my first mistake. I allowed myself to get comfortable and forget who he really was. What this really is. Sex. Nothing more than good, casual sex. What happened in the bathroom is the perfect example of what we are. It would be prudent of me to not forget that again.

Over the course of the last week, I have lost my best friend and the boyfriend I thought I had. My world feels like it's imploding. A smart person would point out that I am clearly the problem in at least one of those equations and it's fully within my power to fix it.

I am not a smart person. Clearly. Otherwise, I wouldn't be standing in the middle of a crowded bar on a Friday night ordering another pitcher for the table I am sharing with a guy who I know has feelings for me—the kind I don't return.

My life is like a train speeding down unfinished tracks. One of these days, it will hit the end and plunge into the abyss. I need to stomp on the brakes now, but my common sense has fallen asleep at the wheel.

Brody jumps out of his seat as I walk up with my hands full and takes the pitchers. "I brought two," I state the obvious as I drop into the hardwood chair.

"So we won't run out." Brody taps his temple. "Excellent thinking, J."

I mock bow. Well, as much as I can given my seated position. "As always, I aim to please."

Brody's eyes flicker with appreciation as he scans my appearance. "Have I told you how good you look tonight?"

Topping off my glass, I respond coyly. "Only twenty times or so, but hearing it never gets old. You may refresh my memory."

"You look really good tonight."

I wink at him, and instantly regret it. I'm leading Brody on, giving him false hope. There must be something wrong with me because I can't seem to help myself. I'm a shameless flirt. Maybe that's why Ransom warned me against other men, because he knows it's as much my fault as it is theirs?

"Hey," Brody shouts over the loud pop country music. "You're thinking too hard and it's sucking all the fun from the room."

Standing, he reaches for my hand. I'm given no time to prepare an argument as he whisks me onto the dance floor.

"I don't know this song," I shout. I feel like I've just entered a Footloose audition and forgot to study. Everyone, and I mean everyone, seems to have attended some dance class I wasn't privy to. They're all partnered up, performing the same moves at the same time.

Brody pulls me against his chest, his eyes glued to what's happening around us. "You don't have to know it," he replies distractedly. "You just have to have fun."

A startled scream bursts past my lips and I suddenly find myself being spun around and around the dance floor, weaving in and out of other couples' paths.

And then the most wonderful thing happens.

I'm laughing. I don't know when I started, but I'm having fun, and when I look around, everyone else is, too. Brody's smile is wider than I've ever seen it. Clasping my hand, he holds it against his chest, and my grip on his shoulder tightens as we pick up the pace to match the beat of the music.