Chapter Four
There’s no reason why I should be pulling Julia onto the dance floor right now. It’s not my problem if she can’t recognize when a guy is trying to flirt with her or that she has zero game when it comes to flirting back, yet I’m making it mine. The further we disappear through the crowd on the dance floor, the tighter her fingers wrap around mine, and tingles cascade up my arm.
I bring us to a stop in the middle of a few people, then tug her into me, making sure to spin her around so that her ass brushes over the front of my pants, and I lower my head enough that my lips brush over her ear. Her shoulders tense at the action, and she sucks in a sharp breath that’s able to be heard over the thumping bass surrounding us.
“What are you doing?”
“Teaching you, Buttercup.” I back my face away from her a few inches and place my hand lightly against her hip. Every muscle in her body is tight with tension, making her seem as though she’s a mannequin rather than a woman standing in the middle of a dancefloor. “Relax. I’ve got you, Julia.”
It takes a few moments of deep breaths before she listens to my words, her shoulders loosening as she releases another breath, and I curl my fingers into her hip with a smile. I don’t know what I expected to find when I walked into the club, but it wasn’t the woman standing in front of me. The first thing I noticed when I stepped into the crowded space was Julia’s blonde hair cascading down her back over the shimmery red top.
I bring my other hand over her bare thigh, which is barely covered by the leather skirt she’s got on, and my cock jumps when she unintentionally shifts her ass against me. “Bring your arms up,” I say loud enough that she can hear me. She’s hesitant but brings them up, and I reach one of my hands up to guide them around the back of my neck. “Follow the beat of the music.”
To show her what I mean, I roll my hips against her as the bass thumps around us, shifting to the other side when it changes, and come to a stop. She keeps her arms fastened around my neck, her hold tightening only for a second before loosening, and I wait with bated breath for her to follow my movements.
She barely moves, and I’m eager to get more of her, but I tamp the emotion down and focus on what she’s doing. Julia shifts awkwardly against me, and I grip her hip, halting her movements, and lean down so I don’t have to talk as loud. “Confidence is key. Believe that you can do it, and your movements will flow much better.”
This is dangerous.
I should’ve ignored everything and gone about my night, letting Julia make a fool of herself without jumping in to save her. Now, I’m the one who needs to be saved because my body is reacting in ways it shouldn’t be with my little sister’s best friend. Fuck, I was getting hard the moment she brushed against me, and I can’t ignore how perfectly my fingers fit over her hips.
Like they were meant to be there.
Without prompting, Julia grinds her hips against me, and this time, it comes through with more confidence than the first time. The new set of confidence is sexy, and it makes me want to show her how much more confident she could be in every setting. I follow her movements with the music, my fingers digging into her skin tighter, but as soon as the song comes to an end, Julia steps away from me breathlessly.
She spins around, her eyes darting over the strangers surrounding us, and shakes her head. “Look, I appreciate the… lesson,” she chokes out, her cheeks heating at the reminder. “I’m not sure it would be the best idea to continue with that.” Before I can respond, Julia hurries back through the crowd where we came from, and I watch her walk away.
I don’t think I’ve ever been put in a position where I’m the one being rejected. It’s normally the other way around, and somehow, that’s sexier than her moment of confidence. Her frame is still visible through the throng of people, and the corner of my mouth lifts as I watch her stumble forward. When she disappears, I run a hand through my hair and make my way over to the bar like I should’ve done when I first got here.
What was I thinking suggesting that she let me help her through the nerves and confidence she’s missing? Anyone can see it from a mile away, and I’m convinced the only reason that stranger came up to her is because her ass was hanging out of her skirt. I shake my head and sigh, then sink into the barstool in front of the counter.
The bartender walks over to me, her hips swaying dramatically with each step she takes, and I pull my eyes away from her movements. If it were any other night, I’d probably give her a second look, but after being so close to Julia my mind is somewhere far away.
“Whatcha drinkin’ tonight, Sugar?”
“The strongest thing you’ve got,” I mutter.
She giggles, then turns away from the counter and heads over to the rows of alcohol before grabbing one to pour into a small glass for me. When she comes back over, instead of walking to the other end of the bar, she leans forward and flashes me a nice eyeful of her breasts. I”m a man, so obviously, I steal a second peak, but they don’t do it for me the way Julia’s body did. “You look like you need some stress relief,” she whispers before bringing a finger up and twirling a strand of her hair around it. “I get out of here in an hour and could use my own.”
As tempting as that sounds, my eyes fall over the partygoers still spilling through the large space, and I find Julia talking animatedly with Mallory across the room. Mallory’s hands are flying through the air, while Julia has a frown on her face that changes into a fake smile every time Mallory turns back toward her, and I wonder what could be wrong.
The bartender clears her throat, pulling my attention back to her, and I clear my throat. “Sorry, but I think I’m going to head out after this drink.”
She rolls her eyes. “Your loss.” With that rejection, she pushes away from the counter and walks toward a new customer.
When I turn back around to focus on Julia, the table they were occupying is now empty, and I dart my gaze around the rest of the space. There’s no way I’d be able to miss that red top, but as I look over each person there’s no sign of her anywhere. Maybe they went back to their suite, which gives me a good reason to swallow what’s in my cup and push away from the bar.
It would probably be a good idea to sleep this night away, get my thoughts under control, and think about the possible mistake I made by suggesting to Julia that I be, essentially, her teacher.
God, it makes me sound pathetic.
Here I am, going through one of the worst scandals I’ve been involved in, and I do the dumbest thing by offering my flirting expertise to a woman. The guys will have a field day with this shit when I tell them.
Maybe I shouldn’t. Julia said no, so there’s no reason to let anyone know.
It could be our little secret.
I groan loudly the next morning when my phone rings, the sun shining down brightly on me as I lounge along the pool, and I answer it without looking at the caller ID. “What’s up?”
“How’s the trip going?” Ryker asks on the other end of the line.
“Dude, I just got here yesterday. Maybe give me another day or two before asking.” My fingers are cramping around the pen I’m holding over the notebook in front of me and I look over the words I’ve written, a tune echoing in my mind as I do, and I shake my head.
I could mention the song to Ryker, and get his opinion on it, but something about the lyrics isn’t sitting right with me, and I need to get that figured out before saying anything about them. I drop the pen onto the lined paper and clear my throat… “Anything new?”
Ryker sighs. “Not exactly. Mack is trying to get things figured out but hasn’t had any luck so far.”
“Are there any other stories I should know about?” Mack insisted that I take a new phone on the trip with me. That way, I could still reach everyone but not have access to my social media or any other news pertaining to me. I tested it out this morning, fearful that someone may have gotten photos of me from last night while I was dancing with Julia, and I couldn’t find a single piece of information about myself.
“No.”
I raise an eyebrow at the quickness he answered me but choose to let it go when I spot Julia stepping out of the large double doors with Mallory, and her eyes lock on mine briefly. A warm feeling spreads through me, and I mutter, “Shit.”
“You good, man?”
“Uh, yeah. Look, I gotta go.” He starts to say something, but I don’t give him the chance to finish before I hang up and rise from the Adirondack chair.
Mallory says something to Julia, then pushes away from her and heads toward the small tiki bar that’s situated in the far corner. I quicken my steps, hoping I can make it over and have a conversation before my sister comes back, and come to a stop in front of Julia.
“I’ll do it,” Julia says abruptly as she straightens her shoulders and looks over at me. There’s something fierce in her eyes that catches my attention, but she looks back in the direction Mallory went with a frown. “Mallory can’t know. She would never let me live it down if she knew I was learning how to flirt from her older brother.”
I’m surprised that she’s changed her mind, but it’s an exciting twist. Judging by the pink tint to her cheeks, I’d say this is going to be an interesting couple of weeks, and I can’t wait to bring her out of the shell she’s hidden herself in.
“Brent, seriously?” Mallory mutters, her eyes narrowed on me as she makes her way toward the two of us with their drinks. “I asked you to make yourself scarce, not show up everywhere we are.” She rolls her eyes and hands Julia her red drink, nudging her friend. “He bothering you?”
Julia snorts and fidgets in place, making Mallory give her a weird look.
I throw my hands up in the air and smile. “Was just seeing how the trip was going, that’s all. I’ll leave you ladies to it.”
“Great,” Mallory says cheerfully, then hurries over to the edge of the pool away from Julia.
This gives me the opening I need, and I lean forward, but not so close that it raises suspicion. “Be at my room tonight at eight.” I trail my gaze down the length of her body, which is barely covered, and wink at her. “And wear something nice, Buttercup.”