“No, I want to go.” I sat up with a groan. My body felt wonderfully sore. After the most perfect day on the Riverwalk and declaring our almost-love for each other, we came back here and made love. That sounds dramatic, but there were no other words to do it justice. Dylan kissed and caressed every inch of my body, then made sweet, slow, passionate love to me, gazing into my eyes and murmuring the most beautiful declarations of love without actually saying the word. We slept naked, wrapped in each other’s arms.
Now, here we were, getting ready to wrap up our weekend together with an evening at a bar downtown with Dylan’s friends and a couple of girls Cole was bringing. Honestly, I didn’t really want to go. Having this time with only Dylan had been amazing, and I wasn’t ready for the outside world to interfere, but I knew how important Dylan’s friends were to him, so it was important for us that I could hang out with them too.
“Are you sure, baby?” Dylan looked at me with enough doubt and compassion that I could tell he knew I wasn’t being quite truthful and that he truly would be okay with it if I declined. And that’s exactly what made me want to go.
“I’m sure. I’ll go shower and get ready.”
My heart sank as soonas we opened the door to the bar. I tightened my grip on Dylan’s hand and he squeezed me back. There was a live band playing, and it was loud and crowded with people dancing everywhere. I instantly regretted coming.
Dylan pulled his hand out of mine and slid his arm around my waist, pulling me close. “Just say the word and we’ll leave,” he whispered into my ear.
I nodded and felt him sigh. I felt our mutual disappointment in me down to my bones. We both knew I wouldn’t be talking tonight.
Dylan led me to a table and gestured for me to sit before joining me. I was relieved to see Liam on the other side of me. He seemed easy to be around. He kissed my cheek and flashed me a relaxed smile. I smiled back at him and waved to Ethan, who was sitting next to him. I smiled and waved across the table to Cole, two girls, and a guy who seemed to be with the other girl. I wondered if Ryan and Brady were coming. From the stories Dylan told me, the guys usually came as a package deal. I didn’t ask, though.
Cole introduced the others, but I couldn’t hear their names over the music. I forced a bigger smile and nodded.
“I’m sorry, baby, I didn’t know it would be so loud. We’ll have one drink and leave,” Dylan whispered, his breath hot against my neck. I nodded and pulled away. I fought the urge to rub my neck where it still felt hot and moist. My whole body was on such high alert that even his touch made my skin crawl, and his arm around my shoulders felt sweaty and heavy.
I tuned out the conversation and the people around me and focused on the band. They were young and looked thrilled to be up on stage. The crowd dancing in front of the small stage was enthusiastic, and I was happy for the guys in the band.
A few songs later, Liam touched my knee. I jolted from my thoughts and snapped my eyes to his. He nodded slightly towards the girls across the table, who were watching me. I looked back at him questioningly.
“They asked you something about watching a show. Sorry, I don’t know exactly what it was.”
I smiled nervously back at him, then looked towards the girls whose names I still didn’t know. I smiled, shrugged, and nodded my head, probably looking like one of those puppets on strings being controlled by an old lady with tremors.
They said something else, and I responded in the same spastic way. They beamed back at me. Shit, what did I say yes to?
19
Dylan
Iwas talking to Cole, but with one eye on Juliette. She was quiet, as expected. Between the band playing loudly and having all of us here, I knew she wouldn’t talk much. She seemed to be enjoying herself, though, as she watched the band. She was cute, bouncing her leg and tapping her hand against her knee, completely out of sync with the music. It was almost like there was a completely different song in her head. A song without any rhythm. I hid my smile, not wanting her to take it the wrong way.
I liked having my arm around her shoulders, my fingers caressing the soft skin of her neck. As long as she was happy, I didn’t care how quiet she wanted to be. I loved that I could hang out with my buddies and have my woman by my side. I’d sat around at bars with these guys too many times to count, but it had never felt as good as it did tonight.
Cole’s eyes flicked to Juliette who was staring at the girls across the table, then back to me. Shit. Just as we can predict each other’s needs and moves in the field, I heard his warning as loudly as if he’d screamed it.
I gently squeezed the back of Juliette’s neck. She looked over at me, the sparkle in her eyes dimmed with worry. “You okay?”
She nodded, but I could see she wasn’t.
“Let’s go,” I said.
The girls approached our side of the table and stood behind her, beckoning her to follow. Her eyes flitted back and forth between me and them, and I felt her stiffen further.
“Come on, Juliette,” one of the girls said.
I leaned in close and whispered in her ear. “Your choice, baby. Want to go dance with them, or I’ll make an excuse for us to leave?”
Then the guy came over, the one with Cole’s date’s friend. He put himself in the middle of the girls and started dancing.Fuck no.With him standing and Juliette sitting, he was gyrating his junk practically in her face.
Juliette’s face flamed, and she looked anywhere but at him. She looked at the girls who were swaying and dancing, and she rocked slightly in her seat, awkwardly trying to move to the music.
“Excuse us, we need to go,” I said, grabbing Juliette’s hand and pulling her from her seat, forcing the pushy jackass to move out of our way. I hurried to make our exit before the tears pooling in her eyes spilled over.
Ethan and Liam were talking to the girls now, although both men were eying us. I tilted my head in thanks for distracting them before they could further embarrass Juliette. I was fortunate to have these men at my back. Observant and thoughtful as hell.