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“You know, at first I felt out of place in my short little dress and heels around all of those kids, but once the show started I was so into it that I didn’t even think about it. Both of us were wearing our crowns, cheering and banging our cups on the table. I am telling you, we were more into it then half the kids there. It was so much fun! Then today, we took Scarlett out for a drive and then chilled out at the cottage for a while before we headed here.”
I feel the tears coming on as Cami grabs my right hand and Steph my left.
“I don’t want it to end you guys. Why is this happening now? Why did I let myself get emotionally invested? I know it’s been fast, but it’s real and I don’t want real. I don’t need a man. I can do life on my own. I know I can. The problem is now I don’t want to.”
Just as the first tear starts to fall down my cheek, I hear a familiar and very sexy voice on the karaoke mic. I look across the bar and for some reason I see Jonathan, Matt and Devon on the stage.
“What the . . . ?” I say dumbfounded
“Ladies and Gentleman, I want to apologize in advance for what’s about to take place, but there is a special lady out there that loves JT more than anything and so this is dedicated to her.” He finds my eyes from the stage and says, “Hope you like it, baby.”
And . . . swoon . . .
“You weren’t kidding, Em,” Cami says as she wags her finger between Jonathan on the stage and me sitting here with her, “this thing between the two of you is real. I don’t just see it in both of your eyes, I can feel it when you look at each other. Shit.”
“Told you, chica. I am so screwed!”
A second later the music to Sexy Back begins and what happens on that stage is nothing short of astonishing.
At first I just sit there with my mouth hanging open as Jonathan starts shaking his ass to the music. Even though I know this is meant to be funny, that man can shake his ass! He’s revealing skills that I didn’t know he had. He may be up there dressed in his simple gray t-shirt, cargo shorts and flip flops, but he dances like he’s one of those Australian strippers in Vegas. To tell you the truth, I’m shocked that his shirt is still on with the moves he’s busting up on that stage.
When the singing starts, Jonathan is playing the role of JT, Devon the role of Timberland and Matt all other backing vocals. Thank God he’s not a great singer because that would have just been too much to take. At least his poor singing skills balances out his fuck-worthy dancing abilities.
He’s strutting—as much as he can on the tiny little stage—but he never takes his eyes off me unless it’s to look at the guys as they perform. Even though there are women of all ages standing right up in front of him screaming and whistling, he doesn’t seem to notice any of them.
He gets to the chorus again and when he sings the line about letting me whip him if he misbehaves, he turns and sticks his ass out and sings the line over his shoulder at me. I am laughing so hard there is a new kind of tears streaming down my face. Matt may be shy and reserved, but both he and Devon are working it up there just like my Georgia. What is going on? This is too crazy for words but in the best possible way!
“How many shots did they do while they were over there playing pool?” Cami shouts in my ear.
“I was wondering the same thing. This is mind-blowing!” I say laughing and wiping more tears from my eyes with my drink napkin.
“Girl, he’s got it bad if he’s up for public humiliation like this. And let me tell ya, seeing the way he moves, it’s no wonder you’ve got it bad too! Woman, if he moves like that up there I can only imagine what he’s like in bed. You must be having the best vacation ever!” Cami shouts over the music and God-awful singing—if you can even call it that.
“You have no idea,” I reply lifting my hand up for a much deserved high five. We’re laughing so hard though that we miss and that just makes us laugh even harder.
Bringing my attention back to the little stage, that has the man who has torn down my walls and made me feel things I never thought I wanted to feel, I have a brief moment of sadness hit me like a hammer as I realize I have to let him go in two days.
I don’t get to wallow in my sadness for long as Jonathan beckons me from the stage with his finger. As I reach the tiny stage he takes a small hop down, takes my hand and pulls me into him only to push me back out. My short flowing summer dress twirls up and out and I shriek as I use my free hand to avoid exposing too much of myself.
He twirls me back to him and instantly his big hands cup my face and I am given the best kiss I have ever received—and that’s saying a lot after all the kisses this man has given me. I always think no kiss can be better than the one he’s giving me in the moment and then he gives me another one like this. He holds my face while I latch onto his wrist not wanting to ever let go. When the hoots and hollers start he stops the kiss and rests his forehead against mine and says, “Oh the things you make me do, Gracie.”
“I didn’t make you do anything but I sure did like it. Babe, you’ve got some moves! I have got to tell you, that was the silliest but sweetest thing anybody has ever done for me,” I say as I grab his fine ass while pulling myself back in for one more little kiss. “Honestly with those moves, I’m surprised you didn’t come off that stage with dollar bills and phone numbers shoved down your pants. Glad you didn’t though . . . I don’t want to have to cut a bitch up in this place.”
He throws his head back as his sexy as sin laugh envelopes me. God, I love his laugh!
As he brings his face back to mine, still laughing he says, “God, I love you!”
I feel my heart stop and hold my breath as my eyes bulge out of my head. I watch the realization of what he just said hit him.
“Shit! Em, do not freak out!” He says as he pulls me off to the side. Once we’re up against the wall he turns my back to it and starts rubbing my arms up and down to try to calm me. “Babe, I know you don’t want love and I don’t expect it back. It just came out. You make me so fucking happy and I feel so fucking free and able to be myself when I’m with you that I just say whatever comes to mind because I know I can.”
Not knowing how I want him to answer me I take the risk and I ask him. “So, you didn’t mean it then?”
“Hell yes I meant it! How could I not have fallen in love with you? You are everything, Em. I started falling the first moment those beautiful blue eyes of yours crashed into me at Ole’s. I didn’t have a choice in the matter. I know it’s not what you want and that love isn’t in the cards for you, or at least you don’t think it is, but it’s not something I can control. I really wish you would tell me why you can’t give us a chance. You know you can tell me anything . . . anything at all. I won’t push you because I promised from the start that I understood not to expect anything and that I only had until Monday. But baby, please know whatever you tell me won’t change how I feel about you.”
He’s right. I know that I can tell him anything because I have told him everything, well almost everything. Over the past few days we’ve stayed up talking for hours in between the greatest sex of my life. I’ve told him everything about my dad, the badge bunnies, his new family. My broken heart and how I feel about relationships. I’ve told him every story I can think of about my childhood growing up with Cami, Alex and my brother. But I’m still holding back.
I’ve been so sure this entire time that I wasn’t going to continue this after Monday that I have purposely not given him my last name or my phone number. I’ve known from the start that this would hurt when it was over and I didn’t want him to be able to reach out to me and make it that much harder. Now, he loves me and the truth is I am completely in love with him too. I don’t know how it happened or how it happened so fast, but it freaking happened.
