11. CT
11
ct
Bottle Grounds is loud tonight. Everyone and their mamas are out, getting away from the monotony of the workweek, of school, of whatever else was plaguing them.
The dance floor was filled with stomping feet, the band was wild with local musicians, and the drinks were flowing in damn near every hand.
And, in the back corner, was a brand-new dart board with Logan, his brothers, and a few other locals gathered around, already sorting out leagues.
“CT!” Logan greets joyfully, pulling me into the group. This is the Logan we all know and love, the one who doesn’t let stress rule his life. I scan the area but surmise that his daughter isn’t here tonight. It’s a family place, so he sometimes has her come, but she’s probably with his mom tonight. “I’m glad you could join us! ”
I smile at the group and pat him on the back as I take stock of who all is here, but my eyes snag on a blonde with a beer bottle pressed against her lips, her long hair curled and down, her lips painted bright red, her blue eyes shining brightly with laughter at something someone says to her.
Dani West.
I ignore the rest of the group as I march right up to her. She turns as she feels my presence and smiles at me before tamping it down.
“Hey, CT,” she says friendly enough, though I miss the old way she would greet me.
If this was roughly six and a half years ago, her eyes would have lit up, she would have hopped off the stool she was on and thrown her legs around my waist as she rained kisses all over my face while I held her.
My heart rate kicks up as need yearns in my chest. I want that back. More than anything, I want that back. I just have to figure out how to earn it.
“Hey Dani, how are you?” I ask, leaning in close as if the bar is too loud for me to hear her. It’s not, but I’m not above using a few dirty tricks if it means getting close to her.
“I’m okay. I feel we had a good week with Lady,” she answers politely. She’s right. This week we made major progress with Lady. And even though she turned me down for lunch another time, I won’t let that deter me. It bummed me out a bit, but I wasn’t about to give up.
“It was,” I agree and lean closer. “You want to dance?”
Shooting my shot never bothered me with her before. Then again, I was sure that she was the love of my life by the time I was sixteen so that fear of being turned away was never there.
Way to go and ruin what was once a sure thing, CT.
“I don’t know…” She trails off, looking at her group of friends. I recognize Aveline, who owns and runs the local bakery, and I see her sister-in-law and cousin sitting at the table. I had no idea that they were all friends with Dani, but that tells me that there’s a good chance Dani knows Quinn better than I thought.
I nod at them, and they give polite hellos, no indication that they know who I am whatsoever.
“One dance?” I plead again.
Dani purses her lips, and something catches her attention behind me. She smiles and stands, bringing her delicious scent closer to me.
“I’ll tell you what. Let’s play for it.” I smirk and nod at her. “You win. You get a dance.”
“And if you win?”
She contemplates her answer with a tap on her chin. “I’ll let you know.”
I hold out my hand and grasp hers snugly when she fits it into mine. “Deal.”
“Oh!” Logan shouts as Dani hits the rings right around the bull’s-eye…again. The rest of our group cheers her on, laughing and taking drinks in a salute.
I hang my head, a smile tugging at my lips as she raises her hands in the air.
“Ooh, baby! What do you think about that, slick?” She comes toward me, where I’m leaning against a barstool. Her smile illuminates her entire face, and I have a hard time—really hard—not reaching out and grabbing her, pulling her weight between my legs.
“I think you got lucky,” I reply, knowing that’ll rile her up.
She raises an eyebrow, her red lips curving into a disbelieving smile. “Got lucky, huh? Seven times in a row?”
“I still have time to win. ”
Dani nods. “Sure, yup, you do. If you hit the bull’s-eye every turn.”
“I have a great incentive.”
“A dance? That’s your great incentive?”
I cock my head and smile broadly at her. “Honey, a dance with you is all the incentive I need.”
I watch as her eyes soften at my words, and the pulse of energy between us ramps up.
Don’t grab her, don’t you fucking grab her…
“CT! You’re up.” I nod at Stetson and stand, putting myself into Dani’s space as I stare down at her.
Unable to resist, I lean down to her ear and say, “Get ready for that dance.”
“How did you do it? Are you some sort of darts savant?” Dani’s confused and shocked tone makes me laugh as I grasp her hand and pull her to the dance floor like I have done so many times before.
“No, just have lots of practice,” I tell her.
Surely, she remembers how often we played while waiting in between runs at shows. The hours you wait between certain classes of horses and riders must be filled somehow .
“I don’t remember you being that good,” she grumbles, and I laugh as I pull her hand toward mine.
As if on instinct, she immediately twirls under my arm and out, rolling back into me until we’re face to face and gliding into a two-step to “The Fireman” by George Strait. The band was doing covers of old nineties country, and I was more than okay with that.
Dani follows my lead, and like you do when dancing and endorphins are high, she laughs as I twist and twirl her around the floor in some country swing moves.
I grab her hand, flying her under my arm, and her hair swings out as her lips part in a beautiful laugh and the past, the love I felt—no, feel —for this woman, hits me in the gut.
Everything about the night has been this way, throwing nostalgia in my face like it was the night’s purpose.
The band switches to a low-tempo song, and I take a moment to realize it’s “In Case You Didn’t Know” by Brett Young. Fitting song.
I expect her to pull away, to say she fulfilled her duty and the bet, but she doesn’t. Instead, she lets me pull her in, let’s me pull her right hand in close while my left falls to her lower back, her other hand wraps around my shoulders, and we sway to the music.
I spin us in circles, keeping our steps with the beat, giving my brain something to focus on instead of the perfect fucking way she feels in my arms.
My heart pounds in my chest, and I feel hers doing the same, given how close we’re pressed together.
I feel her hand tighten on mine, the grip almost punishing, and I know exactly how she’s fucking feeling. Like the moment the song ends, we end.
The second the tempo changes, we’ll have to pull apart and walk away.
And as scared as she is, as scared as I am, I know that Dani is my soul mate. She is it, no matter how much I fucked up.
And I don’t want to walk away.