“What the fuck is she thinking?” I spoke out loud without realizing it.
“What’d you say?” Shayna stood on her toes and shouted over the classic Garth Brooks song playing.
“Nothing. Sorry.” I wracked my brain for any kind of conversation I could possibly have with the girl in my arms. “So, uh, you still live in Burton?”
“Oh, yeah.” She nodded. “I work at the Piggly Wiggly. You left town for a while, didn’t you?”
For a while. Like, nine years.“Yeah, I did. I’m a photojournalist.” I didn’t play the status card often, if ever, but what the hell. I wasn’t sure this chick even knew what a photojournalist was.
“A photowhat?” Her pretty brow wrinkled in confusion.
Nailed it.“Photojournalist. Ah, I take pictures of news stories for different magazines and newspapers. A few TV news shows, too, now and then.”
“Oh, awesome! So do you, like, cover the People’s Choice? Do you get to take pictures of all the celebrities?”
I lowered my hands to her ass, just to remind myself that conversation wasn’t all she had to offer. “Uh, no. I don’t cover any of the award shows. Mostly I do political news.”
“Oh.” Clearly I was a disappointment. “Are you living back here now?”
“For a while. Hey, do you know that guy over there?” The crowd had parted enough that we had a perfect view of Ali and company. Shayna followed my gaze.
“Oh, yeah. Trent. He was in your class, wasn’t he?”
“Mmmhmm. Haven’t seen him since I’ve been back in town. What’s he up to?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Not much. He’s here every weekend, picking up a different girl. Works out on the Benningers’ farm during the week.”
“Huh. Doesn’t sound like you think much of him.”
“Well, he’s hot, no question, but he’s dumb as a box of rocks.”
I bit in the inside of my lips to keep from laughing.Takes one to know one.And then I felt guilty, because I didn’t know this girl. She might’ve been perfectly nice. A perfectly nice girl who picked up guys in bars.
“I was so excited to see you here tonight.” She gazed up at me through her lashes. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I had the biggest crush on you when we were in high school.”
“You did?” Now I felt even worse that I couldn’t remember her at all.
“Yup. Not that I ever did anything about it, because you didn’t see any other girl but . . . what was her name? Amy? Addy? It was like the rest of us were invisible.”
“Ali.” I said her name softly, but almost as though she could hear me over the ear-splitting volume of the music, her eyes met mine across the dance floor. They flickered to Shayna’s face, down to my hands on the other girl’s ass and then back to me. Although she was still smiling at Trent, it didn’t reach her eyes, which were solemn and almost sad.
“That’s right. She got married right after graduation, didn’t she? To some other guy in your class. I remember we were all shocked. Like, we all totally thought you guys were going to end up together, and then you’re gone and she’s married to someone else. Funny how life turns out, isn’t it?”
Truer words.“Yeah, it is. Hey, you want another drink? All this dancing’s making me thirsty.”
Shayna beamed up at me. “I’d love that.” She clung to my arm as we pushed back toward the bar. “This is just a dream come true. It’s like in a book, you know? When the girl finally gets to hook up with the guy she’s crushed on for years?”
Shit.I plunged ahead, my focus on the bar. Once we reached it, I ordered Shayna another beer. “And another double of tequila for me.” I searched for any sign of Alex, guilty that I’d abandoned him. Finally I spied him at a table with Meghan and Sam. Well, at least he wasn’t alone. They seemed to be absorbed in their conversation, though I noticed Sam never looked away from his sister, who was still dancing with Trent.
Shayna maneuvered herself to stand between my knees, and halfway through her beer, she tilted her face to mine, clearly waiting for me to kiss her. I closed my eyes and sighed.
“Shayna, look. You’re a nice person, and really pretty, but I’m just not in a place where I can, uh, pursue anything with you. I’m sorry. But I had a good time dancing.” It was the classic rejection sandwich my dad had taught me: let girls down easy by hiding it between two sets of compliments.
Apparently, though, it was too complicated for this girl. She frowned as though trying to figure out what I meant.
“You don’t have to pursue me. I’m right here.” She moved in a second time for a kiss.
I gently pushed her back. “No, what I meant was—well, I have a daughter, and right now, she’s got to be my priority. I came out tonight just to hang with my friend.” Alex, bless his perceptive heart, was wending his way back toward me. “And here he comes, so I’d better say good night and let you go have fun with someone who can really appreciate you.”
