Noah #2
She turned, waving for us to follow her as she weaved in and out of couples coming off the dance floor or heading onto it. She stopped at a table in the far-left corner that had streaks of water drying on it.
“This work?” she shouted.
Again, Emery and I nodded. I pulled out Emery’s chair and made sure she was situated before I grabbed the chair closest to her and sat down.
I’d wanted to play it safe and take the seat opposite her so there was no chance we were going to brush elbows or knees.
But that would make it impossible to have a conversation.
And the whole point of us going out on this date was so we could get to know each other.
We ordered our drinks—a Coke for me and a Sprite for Emery. Our waitress jotted down our selection and then told us that she would be right back to take our order. Thankfully, there was a break in the music, and she was able to talk to us at a normal volume.
Emery and I sat in silence as we watched the crowd around us. Couples were leaving the dance floor to eat and drink while others were wiping their faces as they claimed their spot before the next song started up.
I glanced over at Emery. Did she want to dance? I’d been getting to know her a little bit every day since becoming her bodyguard. Dancing didn’t seem to be on her list of hobbies, but I could be wrong. She was a private person.
She must have felt my gaze because she looked over at me. Then she quirked an eyebrow.
“What?” she asked, her cheeks turning pink.
I shrugged, frustrated with myself for making her feel uncomfortable.
“Sorry,” I said. And then Abigail’s words cut through my mind. If I didn’t push Emery, who would? I leaned closer to her. “I was just wondering if you wanted to dance.”
Her eyes widened and her lips parted as she stared at me. The next song started up, and the crowd cheered their approval. Emery closed her lips like I wasn’t going to need a response to my question now that the dancing had begun.
If she only knew. It was going to take a lot more than a country song played at an obscene volume to make me retract my invitation. I held out my hand as I gave her an expectant look.
Her gaze drifted down to my hand and then back up to me. I could see the concern in her eyes. I could see the fear. But I forced myself not to take offense. She was scared. She was worried. She struggled with physical intimacy, and I was here to help her move forward.
I leaned in until my lips were inches from her ear. “Come on. Just one dance.”
Her eyes were still just as wide as they had been before my failed attempt at easing her worry. I could see the internal war going on inside of her, so I offered her a soft smile to let her know that I realized how hard this was, but I was here for her.
Finally, she leaned in. “Can we order first?” she asked.
I nodded. “Of course.”
It didn’t take long before the waitress returned with our drinks.
She set them down in front of us and then grabbed her notepad from the front pocket of her apron.
I ordered the original Honky-Tonk hamburger with bacon, a fried egg, and no onions.
Emery ordered the classic hamburger with ketchup only.
The waitress jotted our order down before flipping her notebook closed and hurrying off. With that taken care of, I held out my hand for Emery. She said she’d dance after we ordered, and our order had been placed.
Her eyes were wide once more, but she didn’t fight me. She slipped her hand into mine and let me help her stand. Warmth and electricity rushed across my skin from her touch.
I didn’t let her go this time as we pushed through the different clusters of people to the dance floor. I was tired of letting this woman go, and I didn’t want her to slip away. I was going to dance with Emery, and nothing was going to stop me.
I found an open spot amongst the line dancers for us to join in. Dancing with Emery had seemed like such an innocent idea until I was literally in the middle of it. I had no rhythm, and I could barely keep up with the beat—which was very important when it came to line dancing.
When I turned left, everyone else turned right.
I scrambled to touch my heel and then my knee in time.
Emery made it seem effortless and was attempting to keep me on the right step no matter which direction she was facing.
Thankfully, I didn’t injure anyone, and the music wound down as the DJ congratulated everyone on an awesome dance.
I half-expected him to glare at me to tell me to get the hell off his dance floor because I so obviously didn’t belong, but when I looked over at him, he was busy setting up the next song.
I turned my attention to Emery, hoping that she’d had her fill, but her expression stopped me in my tracks. She looked happy.
Her arms were crossed in front of her like she was giving herself a hug.
She looked small amongst the people around her, who were talking and shifting their weight in anticipation of the next song.
A guy moved backwards, almost knocking her over, and stepped on her foot.
He apologized, and she gave him a soft smile.
Before I could stop myself, I was to her side.
I must have failed at holding my anger in, because as soon as I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, he looked over at me—his eyes wide.
“I’m so sorry,” he said again, but this time his apology was directed at me.
He wanted me to know that it had been a mistake.
It didn’t matter what he wanted, he’d hurt Emery, and I wasn’t going to stand by and let it happen again. I kept my expression stoic as I pulled her close before turning her away so, if it happened again, Emery wouldn’t be in the crosshairs.
“I’m really okay,” Emery said. She allowed me to lead her away, but when we got close to the edge of the dance floor, she slowed her gait.
I glanced down at her and then at her foot. “You sure?”
She nodded before her expression turned shy as she shrugged. “I’m having fun.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Really?”
She nodded again. “Yeah.”
The next song started, but this time it was soft and melodic. It wasn’t the upbeat, twangy music it had been before.
“I thought I’d slow things down just a bit, let y’all take a breath—or a drink,” the DJ announced. A collective cheer sounded as everyone who had a beverage in their hand brought it up. “It’s time to bring your lover—or enemy—to the floor, and let’s get close.”
The couples around us started slow dancing.
Some were moving around the dance floor in a two-step, others had their arms wrapped around each other like they were drowning and the other person was their life raft.
Heat pricked my skin as I turned to look at Emery, wondering what kind of slow dance she was expecting.
Thankfully, she seemed just as startled by the song choice as I was. She’d said she liked dancing, but that was before it required us to put our arms around each other. Was she regretting her insistence that we stay on the dance floor?
Forcing myself to be brave, I raised my arms as I met her gaze. “Shall we?”