Chapter 17 - Callie
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Callie
Jensen holds out his hand, those stormy eyes churning with intensity. The look he’s giving me is one that makes it very hard to breathe.
My head is swimming and the urge to cry again swells up in my chest. I can’t tell if it’s still anger at that jerk for putting his hands on me or the fact that Jensen is standing in front of me. Either way, it’s overwhelming.
It’s all I can do to nod, to let the smooth, sweet strains of the music make my decision for me.
Just friends, I remind myself, but when I put my hand in his, every cell in my body ignites.
Electricity zips through me when he wraps the other arm around my waist, pulling me close as he leads me to the center of the dance floor, where couples are already swaying and spinning in time with the music.
With his hand pressed into the small of my back and his other clasped warmly around mine, Jensen guides us through the steps, moving expertly to the music. I’m already near breathless, but this realization that Jensen Shepherd can dance robs me of the last bit of oxygen in my lungs.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jensen dips his head, so I can hear his low murmuring voice over the music.
I suck in a ragged breath and nod. The words I want to say sit heavy on my tongue. I’m even better now that you’re here. Instead, I stick to something safer. “You know, I never would’ve taken you for the two-steppin’ type.”
Jensen’s eyebrows lift. “No?”
“I figured you were more the ‘sit at a table and brood with a beer’ type.”
A deep laugh rumbles in his chest. “I do enjoy the occasional brood and beer, but right now, I’m exactly where I want to be.”
Heat rushes into my cheeks at his words, but I don’t know if he means here with me or just here on the dance floor. It’s probably the latter, the voice of reason whispers in my ear. A sinking feeling makes my stomach flip over.
This is what you want, I remind myself. No complications. The words only make the churning in my stomach worse. As much as I’ve been avoiding it, I can’t ignore how this man makes me feel. I’m undeniably attracted to him, and I have been from the moment the blindfold came off at the photoshoot.
And I don’t want to be friends with him. Or at least not just .
The realization has me tripping over my own feet.
Jensen tightens his grip, keeping me from smacking the shiny floor.
“Sorry,” I mutter, embarrassment and frustration swirling in my chest.
“I won’t let you fall.” The certainty in his tone, the sweet reassuring way he’s holding me only makes the tightness in my chest worse.
If he keeps touching me like this, I’m going to completely lose any sense of self composure I have.
I tear my eyes away from his and glance down at the floor, staring at my boots as a means of distraction.
My heart pounds as I focus on the pattern of our steps, anything to keep my mind off how much I like the feel of his hands on my skin and how I desperately want him to pull me even closer.
Instead, my brain chooses this exact moment to supply me with the memory of our kiss from the photoshoot.
Only it doesn’t feel like a memory. Sweet Magnolias, I can practically taste him on my tongue, can feel the desperate press of his fingers into my skin as he held me, the warmth of our bodies pressed together.
“Stop it,” I growl, furious at my own consciousness for being so cruel.
Jensen stops abruptly, halting our slow circle around the dance floor, and I realize, to my absolute horror, that I’ve said the words out loud.
“Callie?” His face is lined with concern.
“I didn’t mean you,” I blurt out. “I just meant . . . ” I have no idea how to explain.
“I just . . . ” My eyes drop back to my boots, and I step out of the circle of his arms. “Sorry, I wasn’t meaning you.
” I’m two seconds away from bolting when Jensen reaches out a hand and gently lifts my chin with a finger.
“Callie.” There’s no question in the word this time, and a warm shiver skips down my back. God, I will never get tired of listening to this man say my name.
“Jensen.”
He studies me for a moment before the corner of his mouth lifts in a half smile that makes my knees wobble. And when he opens his arms, I don’t hesitate to step into them.
He pulls me close, much closer than before, and any lingering bits of embarrassment melt from the radiating warmth of his skin. With one hand pressed into the small of my back and the other holding our entwined fingers against his chest, Jensen moves with the slow, sweet refrain of the music.
My blood sings in my veins as we glide across the smooth polished floor, in and around the other couples.
Quick, quick, slow, slow. Quick, quick, slow, slow.
Jensen finishes the sequence by sliding his hand to my shoulder blade and pushing me gently under his other arm, spinning me. The move is effortless, and my cheeks lift, the colors of the dance hall melting into a glowing kaleidoscope as I spin.
Jensen must see my smile because he immediately spins me again, this one more complicated than the last which only delights me more.
Then it’s just me and him, twirling and spinning beneath the lights, our bodies moving in perfect rhythm, as the music swells.
He dips me low, swinging me back up against his chest, and I feel the steady thrum of his heartbeat beneath my palm.
Face to face now, Jensen’s thumbs move back and forth across my back in a sweet caress that makes my entire body flush. When he dips his head, his lips just skim the shell of my ear as he hums along to the music, holding me tightly against him.
The nearness of him is intoxicating and my chin lifts, my own mouth ghosting across the smooth skin just beneath his jaw.
Jensen lets out a low moan, pulling back just a little so he can look at me, his eyes wild with what I can only describe as the exact same thing that’s pinballing back and forth in my chest.
There’s a single moment that hangs between us, as if time itself has slowed just enough for us to decide, for us to make this choice.
No complications, the voice in my head whispers weakly .
But my heart, my wild chaotic heart, is saying something else entirely.
We move toward one another, slowly, achingly slow, until there’s no more space left between us.
Jensen’s lips brush mine in a sweet, soft touch that feels like both a promise and a question. The featherlight touch makes my knees feel like they’re going to give out on me, and I wobble in his arms.
He tightens his hold on me, as I push upward on my tiptoes, my lips finding his in a tender graze of their own. A reply, a confirmation that I want this to happen, that I want him to kiss me.
He smiles then, only a small, slight curving of his mouth, and there’s nothing but sublime silence in my head as I wait for him to fully claim my lips with his.
But in half a heartbeat, the darkness wrapped around us shifts as colorful bright lights illuminate over our heads. We pull back, blinking and confused, only to realize the song has ended. Couples exit the dance floor as new ones hurry onto the floor, already moving to the faster, more upbeat tune.
Jensen steps backward, putting space between us, though he doesn’t let go of my hand. “Um, should we . . . ” he trails off, throwing a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the table.
Disappointment swims through me, but I manage a smile and nod.
He leads me through the crowd, his hand still tightly wrapped around mine, and it’s the lifeline I need.
Now, that the moment has passed, I’m not sure what to make of what just happened out there.
Already I feel the claws of insecurity threatening to sink into me, but Jensen doesn’t let go of my hand, and I don’t want him to.
Mabel waits by our table, and I’m not surprised at all to see Sutton standing next to her. It isn’t hard to read the expressions on their faces, having witnessed what just passed between Jensen and me on the dance floor, but thankfully, no one comments on it.
“Your turn,” I say as cheerfully as I can to my cousin while giving Sutton a little wave. I gesture to the dance floor. “It’s getting a little crowded out there though.”
“That’s okay,” Mabel replies, swirling her straw around in her cup. “I’m in need of a refill, so I think I’ll sit this one out. You can go again if you want.” She looks from me to Jensen, her expression a little less subtle this time, and I roll my eyes.
Jensen hasn’t said a word. His stiff shoulders match the stern set of his jaw. I have no idea what he’s thinking but he still hasn’t dropped my hand, and for the life of me, all I want is to rewind the clock, to go back to those few seconds before the song ended.
Heat rushes up the back of my neck travelling into my cheeks, and I fan them with my free hand. The dance hall suddenly feels way too small. “Actually, I was thinking of getting some fresh air. It’s a little warm in here. ”
Jensen turns to me, his eyes burning with the same wildfire I observed on the dance floor. “Want some company?”
My answer is immediate. “That’d be nice.”
I see it then, that same small curve of his mouth, the tiniest smile that turns my insides into mush.
“If you’re ready, I could give you a lift home, if you want.”
“Okay,” I tell him and then look to Mabel, who I realize I’m totally abandoning if I leave here with him.
“Oh that’s a great idea,” Mabel quips, giving me a bright smile and pointed look that clearly says, I’ll be totally fine! You should go. “Sutton and I were just talking about getting another round. I can give her a ride home.”
“Yeah,” Sutton pipes up, her smile that of a co-conspirator. She gives Jensen the same look Mabel gave me. “You two go on ahead.”
I reluctantly pull my hand from Jensen’s to hug my cousin. “You sure?” I whisper in her ear.
“Yes, go!” She hisses, giving me an extra squeeze.
Jensen hugs Sutton and gives Mabel a little nod before turning back to me.
“Ready?” he asks, and I nod.
The Thirsty Horse has gotten significantly more crowded, and while Jensen doesn’t take my hand again, he stays close as we weave our way through the crowd, his palm pressed against my lower back as we walk. It’s a small thing, but it feels bigger somehow .
Outside the dance hall, the night air is cool against my flushed skin, and I let out a little sigh as we walk toward Jensen’s truck. We aren’t saying anything, but the air between us is charged, crackling with the same electric energy I know we both felt out on the dance floor.
Jensen pulls the keys from his pocket and opens the passenger door for me. Once I’m safe and secure inside, he walks around and gets behind the wheel, turning the keys to make the truck roar to life.
We pull out of the parking lot and onto the main road while I try for the life of me to think of something to say. Now that we’re no longer touching, the silence of the cab is nearly as loud as the question zipping through my mind. What now?
I sneak a peek at Jensen. He keeps his eyes on the road, but there’s a furrow in his brow as if he’s thinking hard about something. I can’t help but wonder if he’s asking himself the same question.
What now?
What now?
What now?
My knee bounces up and down as heat prickles along my skin.
In the cab, the scent of him—clean and with a hint of something citrusy—floods my senses, dizzying and addictive.
There’s only a few feet between us, and it feels like there’s a crackling current pulling me toward Jensen, daring me to close the gap .
My mind spirals in all directions, replaying the sound of his low, husky voice in my ear— I’ve got you —the fierce almost possessive glare he’d given the drunk guy, and the way his blue eyes turned to liquid fire as we danced, burning underneath the lights as his fingers tugged at my waist, pulling me closer.
And oh sweet magnolias, the brush of his lips against mine and the way he—
Jensen yanks the wheel, snapping me back to reality as he pulls the truck over and onto the shoulder of the road. He’s gripping the wheel so tightly, his knuckles are white.
“Is everything okay?” I ask, looking behind us to see if there was some hazard in the road I missed.
“Yeah.” Jensen eyes find mine in the darkness. “There’s just something I need to do before I take you home.”
My brain barely has time to process the words before he leans into me, his fingers spearing through my hair as he pulls me to him, his lips capturing mine.