Leah glowered at Calland for a second and then turned her mega-watt smile on Ian. “Well, since we obviously are done watching the fight, whatcha say we move this to the bar? My pre-fight cocktails have worn off and I need a drink.”
I shrugged, looking at Calland since he was our DD. He shrugged and looked at Ian, asking, “You wanna join us? We could head back to Griff’s if you want.”
Ian gave Leah an appraising look and nodded. “Yeah, Griff’s is fine. I’ll meet you there so I have my car.” With that, he winked and headed out the door.
Leah stuck her lip out and pouted. “He didn’t even ask if I wanted a ride!”
“Oh, shut it, Leah. Like I would let you ride with him anyway. You just met the dude and the way you were drooling over him, you’d be spread out in the backseat screaming ‘take me, I’m yours’ in a heartbeat!”
I reached out and smacked Calland’s shoulder, glaring at him while he pretended to shrink away from me. The effect was ruined by his uncontrollable laughter, though. And mine…seriously, the little falsetto voice he just used killed me. Leah just ignored him and shook her head in exasperation. Guess she’s pretty used to him after 25 years.
We left the arena and piled into the truck, me flopping into the backseat while Leah commandeered the front seat and Calland’s radio, much to his dismay.
For the third time, Calland smacked Leah’s hand away when she changed the channel on his satellite radio to the 90’s channel and Aqua’s Barbie Girl began blaring obnoxiously through the car. He growled in disgust and hit a button on the steering wheel, nodding when Enter Sandman by Metallica took over the speakers.
I couldn’t help but bob my head along with the song, mouthing the words and grinning when Calland caught my eye in the review mirror, winking at me with approval. Leah tried to act aggravated with the music, but I saw her hand tapping out the beat, as well. Towards the end of the song, Calland turned it down almost all the way suddenly and yelled out, “GO!” to Leah.
She threw her head back and yelled back, “Enter Sandman, Metallica, Black Label!”
“Yes!” Calland hollered back, turning the radio back up while I looked at them like they were crazy.
Leah took pity on me, turned down the music again, and looked back at me while she explained, “Calland had this thing where he thought it was absolutely imperative that Emma and I know how to identify all the songs, and the albums, of Metallica, which is one of his most favorite bands of all time. And of course, we had to know some Pantera, too, as well as a lot of others. Emma remembers more than I do most of the time, but I don’t do so bad myself after all these years.” She grinned over at her brother with fondness and it made my heart ache a little bit.
Jackson and I were that close once. And then I started hanging out more with my friends, being a typical boy crazy teenager, and we drifted apart. I pulled away a lot more, too, when I started dating Greg. No one knew about him at first…or really even now. God, do I regret so much.
The slamming of the truck door pulled me from my reverie and I looked up to see Calland and Leah staring at me through the window, waving at me to come on. I got out and Leah glanced at me in concern but I just smiled and shrugged her off.
We walked into Griff’s and, miracle of miracles, were able to nab the table dubbed ‘our table’ by our group, which gave us primo positioning. Calland asked what we wanted and bellied up to the bar through the crowd to get us drinks while we scanned the bar for Ian. I noticed him as he just walked through the door and nudged Leah with my elbow, canting my head in his direction and laughing when she squealed under her breath and clutched my thigh under the table.
I winced and pushed her hand away, laughing at her and then raising my hand to catch his attention. He noticed me and smiled, but his face broke into a grin when he saw Leah sitting beside me. He sauntered over and I knew then that I was pretty much losing my best friend for the evening when she bolted from the booth and met him halfway, dragging him onto the dance floor as the band started playing a cover of Angel Eyes by The Jeff Healy Band.
Oh, well, at least Calland would keep me comp- never mind. Looks like I wouldn’t be getting my drink anytime soon either, since he was engrossed in conversation with a pretty redhead at the bar.
I sighed and planted my chin on my hand, swaying to the music as I sat there silently by myself. A shiver went down my spine as a deep, velvet voice filled my ear, lips brushing the delicate skin as they whispered, “Dance with me.”
I turned my head and met the stormy gaze of Brandon. He stood up from where he had leaned down to whisper to me and held out his hand. I took it, letting him pull me onto the dance floor, not far from where Leah was dancing with Ian, both of them grinning at each other as they talked while they danced, their arms wrapped around each other like they’d been together for years.
She glanced my way and I saw her jaw drop and her eyes widen comically as she watched Brandon swing me around and pull me close. I couldn’t do anything but smile wryly and shrug before I wrapped my arms around his neck and moved with him.
We didn’t speak for a bit, just danced together. Finally I pulled slightly away and looked up at him. And when I say looked up, I mean up. At 6’3”, he towered over my measly 5’6”, and…he’s fucking H.O.T. Seriously, sex-on-a-stick, panty-wetting, hell, panty-dropping, fiiiiine. Smokey grey-blue eyes, close cropped dark hair, a smile that drops me to my knees, and tattoos…mmmmm…all over his gorgeous hard body.
“Wanna take a picture, sunshine? It’ll last longer.”
I blinked and ducked my head, flushing once again in embarrassment from being caught staring. Again. Geez.
He chuckled and pulled me a little closer in, still swaying in circles as the music changed, being replaced by another slow song. This time it was With or Without You by U2.
I glanced up at him and looked away, staring out over all the other couples dancing as I asked, “So, what are you doing here?”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “Met a couple friends down here for a beer after we closed up the shop today. What are you doing here? I saw you come in with Leah and Calland. Out having a good time tonight?”
It was my turn to shrug. Our heads were angled close so we could speak over the music as we danced. “I went with them to the UFC fight thingy like Leah asked me to this morning. So you worked today?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I told Luke I would handle everything when I got there since we didn’t have too many booked for the day and T.J. was there with us. So he went home to his crazy woman and the furry fiends.”
I paused. “Who’s T.J.?” I asked.
“He’s a new guy we had come in. Got a helluva portfolio and I met him at the convention out in L.A. We kept in touch and he called a couple weeks ago, said he was needing a change of pace and wanted to come visit. Good guy. Think he’s got some baggage, though.”
He cocked his head. “Wait, I didn’t think the fight was even over yet. Why did you guys leave?”
I rolled my eyes and grinned impishly, lifting one shoulder in a half-shrug of answer.
He sighed and asked, “What happened?”
Before I got a chance to reply, a voice broke in, asking smoothly, “May I cut in?”
I looked over into the grinning face of Ian, who was holding his hand out while standing there half-bent at the waist like an old-fashioned butler. There was something so disarming and genuine about him, I couldn’t help but smile and nod, taking his hand easily and moving away from Brandon, who had gone completely still the minute I let go of him. As soon as I reached up to put my hands on Ian’s shoulders, I saw Leah grab Brandon and try to get him to dance, but it wasn’t happening.
