Chapter 3
COLTON
The silence before Lulu agrees to dance with me is heavy, and I can’t help but feel like I’m back in middle school for a moment. Am I—a thirty-six year-old retired bull rider—actually this nervous asking a girl for a dance? Apparently so.
I’ve never really enjoyed the bar scene, and with how busy I’ve been the last few years, I’ve pretty much avoided it completely. unless it was work related. But tonight? I think it’s safe to say I’m having a really fucking good time, and I don’t want it to end just yet.
Finally, Lulu nods before reaching out to grab my hand, and I let her lead us out to the wooden dance floor.
As soon as her body curves into mine, I immediately know that, at least for tonight, I’m a goner.
The thrill I get wrapping her small body in mine after spending the last hour desperate for a reason to touch her is almost as good as the high I get from riding.
As the music plays in the background, I can’t help but feel like this is the start I need in Mills Corner.
A reminder that, while my riding career is over, that doesn’t mean my life is.
I can find new hobbies and a new purpose—I may just have to look a little first.
“So, Cowboy, now it’s your turn. What’s your story?” Lulu asks, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Well, like I said, I’m kind of in a stage of new beginnings, and I’m trying to decide where I want to go from here. I just bought my first house, and I’m excited to get started working on it. Other than that, I’m just really glad you decided to come sit beside me tonight.”
“Oh yeah? Why's that?” she asks, running her fingers through the back of my hair as we sway to the music.
“Because you’re possibly the hottest girl I’ve ever met, and you’ve managed to make me laugh, despite the fact that it’s been a pretty wild few weeks,” I say honestly, and she leans closer to me until her mouth is hovering just below mine.
“Do you want to talk about it?” she whispers, her breath hot against mine.
“I’d rather do this,” I murmur, pulling her mouth to mine.
The moment our mouths clash, I know this girl is trouble.
She tightens her fingers through my hair, desperate to be as close as she can possibly be, and I reach down to grab her leg and wrap it against me so she can feel how badly I want her in the darkness of the crowded dance floor.
Our tongues tangle, and both of us pull each other closer. As we kiss, I try to remember the last time I was this attracted to a woman, but nothing comes to mind.
I don’t know how long we kiss—both of us lost in the feeling of our mouths on each other after the tension we’ve managed to build over the last hour or two—when the lights come on around us, startling us both.
“All right, y’all. We’re gonna take a quick break, but we’ll be back shortly,” the lead singer announces. Lulu takes a quick look around, blushing when she realizes the eyes of half the bar are on us.
“Fuck, my mama is totally gonna hear about this tomorrow,” she mumbles, and I can’t help but laugh at her outburst.
“Joys of a small town, I guess?” I tease, and she nods.
“God, I love Mills Corner, but there’s a reason I usually make it a point to avoid even a little flirting in this place. If we aren’t careful, Mrs Audrey will have a wedding announcement in next week's edition of The Mills Corner Chronicles.”
I chuckle again, trying to distract myself from how bad I want the girl in front of me. “What made you change your mind tonight, then?” I ask, brushing her hair back from her face.
“Hmm, I’m not sure. Must’ve been the hat,” she teases, reaching up and putting my hat on her head.
“Oh yeah, that must be it,” I agree, shaking my hair a little at the loss of my hat. “You know Darlin’, I really only take that hat off for one thing, and it’s not dancing.”
Lulu’s eyes blaze with desire, and she leans back into me to whisper, “Is that right, Cowboy? Let me guess, you take it off to fuck?”
“Not quite,” I murmur, immediately hard again at the sound of that word coming out of her pretty mouth. She moves closer to hear what I’m gonna say next, before I whisper, “Sometimes I leave it on to fuck, but I always take it off to eat.”
Her eyes flash with confusion, motioning to the bar. “Wait, that can’t be true. We just ate over there a minute ago, and you didn’t take it off.”
“Not the kind of eating I'm talking about, Darlin’,” I whisper, resisting the urge to laugh as her eyes widen in alarm.
“Oh, I—I didn’t realize,” she stammers, and I pull her in to drop a kiss on her lips.
“I’ve gotta say though, it looks sexy as fuck on you,” I murmur, between kisses, causing her to chuckle.
“Okay, seriously, if we don’t get out of here, I’m never gonna hear the end of this,” she tells me, and I look around again to realize how many eyes are still on us.
“That’s all you had to say, Darlin’,” I say. “Let’s go.”