Neither does Cash.
But Cash had something I’d never have enough of. Confidence. It poured off him in buckets. That and alcohol.
“I uh…I don’t dance,” I muttered, fidgeting under her gaze.
Something flickered in her stare, that pout returning. “What’re you talkin’ about?”
Another shrug of my shoulders. “I don’t dance.”
She rolled her eyes, one of her hands drifting to her hips as she jutted it out to the side. Challenge danced in her gaze, in every inch of her petite frame, actually. She was fiery, that one. I fought the ghost of a smile pulling on my mouth.
“You can’t dance or you won’t?”
“Does it matter?”
She huffed. “Of course, it does! One suggests youcanlearn, the other just shows me you’re stubborn and unwillin’ to.”
I chewed my lip a moment before lifting my shoulders into yet another shrug. “You ever seen a frog fly?”
She frowned, rocking back on her heels in confusion. “No.”
My brow quirked up. “Then you got your answer.”
She sucked in a slow, deep breath, that turquoise gaze searing every inch of me. “Well, that’s a damn shame.”
Another shrug. Dear Lord, could I do anything other than that? But it was true. I didn’t think myself a particularly good dancer,and it was too much attention for my liking. Best to just leave the dancing to Ryder and Cash. The two of them loved it.
She blew out the breath she’d been holding and asked, “What about gettin’ a drink then?”
“I don’t drink.”
She groaned, her head tilting back, those long ash blonde ringlets falling down her back and brushing against the curve of her ass. “You’re killin’ me, Maverick. Do you know how to have fun at all?”
I huffed, a low chuckle rumbling out of my chest. “You sound like Cash.”
She rolled her eyes, even though warmth lingered in her features. “Andyoudidn’t answer the question.”
“I’m afraid if you’re lookin’ for fun, I ain’t the one you should be talkin’ to.”
Something shifted on her face. The light remained, but her gaze hardened a bit, the corners of her eyes tightening ever so slightly. She blew out a deep breath through her nose and sighed. “Fine. Be boring then.” And with that, she strode away.
She didn’t even make it ten feet toward the dancefloor before some guy stopped her, asking to dance. Unsurprising. She was like a beacon of light in this den of shadows. A sun among a midnight sky.
I leaned against the table we’d claimed, letting out a sigh as I glanced around the dancefloor. Ryder and Charlie twirled around, both of them smiling and laughing as they tried and failed to workon a new spin. I wasn’t surprised to find Cash by the bar still, two girls on either side of him, eating up every word he said like he’d hung the damn moon.
I swear, if he weren’t family, I’d probably hate him. The ease and confidence with which he held himself. Not that I agreed with nor wanted to flirt with multiple women at one time, but…well, flirting or small talk just never had really been my thing.
Maybe that’s why I’d always hung onto Ashleigh. She was as familiar as my favorite pair of boots. I hadn’t won her over all those years ago with my charm, but from honesty. Before she’d been a lover, she’d been my friend.
The idea of doing what Cash was doing now, of putting myself out there like that…I just couldn’t. It wasn’t me. I didn’t have the charisma, the charm. I wasn’t the type of person for light conversation. Peopling was hard. Words were harder.
My mind drifted back to that first year after the accident. Of the countless doctors’ visits with Bad and Aunt Violet. Of them saying nothing was physically wrong with me, but that sometimes when a person went through a traumatic experience they’d just stop talking altogether.
I pushed the brim of my hat up, rubbing at my forehead before righting it once more.
Why was I even here? I wasn’t good company even on the best of days. But today…?
A bright blur of pink drew my gaze.
