“Fucker…” Mark mutters under his breath, the wide smile on his face telling me he doesn’t get too riled up about it. “Hey, girls. You all look lovely tonight.”
We thank him, making our way to the table, purposely making it so Ava has to sit next to Trystan, and Mark is across from her. The guys are all chatting about going fishing at a nearby lake on Sunday. Apparently, this place isn’t their usual, so they’re throwing out pros and cons, trying to figure out if it’s where they really want to spend their day. It’s amusing how into it they are. Ava looks enthralled with the banter, and I can’t pin a bead on who I think she might be more interested in. She for sure keeps her cards close to her chest in moments like these.
“It’s my song!” Jane suddenly jumps forward in her seat, shoving her beer down on the table and reaching for my hand. “Floor, now,” she commands, and there’s no escaping it.
Colin’s leaning back in his chair with a thoughtful expression on his face, tracing his bottom lip with his forefinger as Mark rambles. He notices us stand up to go dance, and his eyes gravitate toward mine. He winks at me, and I can tell he’s thinking again about how badly he wants to take me home. He looks down and types something on his phone. Mine dings.
Colin: Give me a show.
I wink back at him, and he bites his bottom lip. I set my things in the chair under Jane’s cardigan before following them out on the floor. Jane’s already grooving her hips to Latto’sBig Big Energy.I grab Ava’s hand, pulling her within ear shot.
“First impression? Trystan or Mark?” I ask, shimmying my hips and shoulders to the beat.
“Mark is soooo pretty. How do I even start a conversation?”
“We’ll figure it out, but first we dance.”
I forgot how much I love dancing. I can’t even remember the last time I really got together with a group of girls like this and just had a blast. We need to do it more often. I look over at Colin sometime during our third or fourth song, and the heat in his eyes has my blood simmering. Our connection is severed when Garrett walks up to the table, clapping Trystan’s back and shaking hands with the other two. He looks out to all of us dancing, eyeing his wife who waves, and smiles back at the guys with that universal grin that says, “Yeah, that’s my girl.”
I wonder if Colin has been able to find out if Mark seems interested in Ava. I’ve caught Mark looking this way a couple of times, but I’m just not sure if it was general perusal or real interest. Trystan is nursing his beer, but he doesn’t seem too keen on chasing tail tonight. Mark, on the other hand, has roaming eyes bouncing all around the room.Bounce back to my friend…Ava needs a confidence boost.
A slow song comes on, and Colin’s eyes crinkle up with his smile. He and Garrett are both making their way out to us, and I suddenly feel panicky for Ava. She starts to make her way back to the table, but my eyes catch Mark getting up.Yes, yes, yes!Mark walks up to Ava and holds out a hand with a charming smile. Ava all but melts like butter in a microwave when his hand closes around hers.
I almost squee with glee when Colin pulls me into his arms, smashing our chests together.
“Mmmm, that’s better,” he hums against my ear.
“Is he interested?” A snort of hilarity sounds near my ear from the man trying to woo me into his bed. I’m a woman on a mission right now, the bed can err…yeah, it can wait.
“It’s a distinct possibility.”
I pull back and eye him with a ‘what the fuck you mean’ look.
“Did he say anything?”
“He said she’s hot.”
“Okay, we can work with that.”
“He said she’s quiet.”
“We need to get her drunk.”
Colin throws back his head, howling out a hearty laugh from his chest.
“My little matchmaker.”
“No, seriously, Eric said she was boring and a prude. She’s neither of those things. That’s all that goes through her head now, and she’s terrified. Get drinks, now.”
Colin’s eyes soften right before anger flashes brightly in response to Eric’s opinion. He’s on board now, determination setting in his jaw. He nods in agreement. The song is ending, so it’s acceptable to walk together to the bar. He orders three margaritas for us girls. When everyone gets back to the table, Ava and Jane both clap with glee. Colin winks at Ava, and she eyes me suspiciously before nodding and picking up her drink.
“Oh, shit. Incoming,” Colin whispers to Mark as a busty blonde walks up, sliding her arm around the back of Mark’s shoulders.
“Hey, Mark. How’s it going?”
Mark rolls his eyes up her torso, unable to miss the giant set of tits next to his face. He blushes a little and meets the girl’s eyes, his teeth flashing with a smile.
“Hi, Mindy. I’m good. How are you?”