I’m fully aware of what I just said, and I… I don’t want to take it back.
It is crazy. But honestly, what she said a few minutes ago is exactly how I feel.
I’m done having firsts for everything. I know what I want. By the sounds of it, Calla wants the same thing.
Am I going about this wrong? Also yes. But hell, this is how all the great love stories start.
Oh shit, does this make me look desperate?
“Let’s go dancing,” Calla says, waving the bartender down and asking for the check.
“Dancing?”
I grab the check that appears between us, swatting Calla’s hand out of the way.
She studies me for a moment, as if she is trying to decide whether she’s going to argue with me, but then she nods.
“Yes, dancing.”
I drop some cash on the bar top and stand. “Look, Calla, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable with my statement. I apologize if that’s what happened.”
She stands, too, and grabs my hand to pull me behind her.
“I just want to dance, Beck. So let’s do that.”
I follow her out of the bar and into the casino, weaving through the slot machines and pop-up stores until we reach the glass doors that lead back to the Strip.
“Where are we going?” I ask as the cool night air surrounds us.
“Oh, that feels good.” She stops walking, looks up at the sky, and closes her eyes. “It was hot in there.”
“Yeah, maybe too hot.” I grab the back of my neck. I’m not drunk. Not by any means. Buzzed, sure, but not drunk, and Calla… fuck, she looks good. The way her dress hugs her ass makes me feel like it’s illegal to even be looking at her.
She starts to laugh, and the sound makes my dick twitch.
My gaze flashes to hers.
She’s grinning because she caught me. It makes me smile too.
“Now that we’ve had a moment to cool down, do you still think we should get married?” she asks.
“Yes,” I answer without missing a beat.
The answer was a jerk reaction that, oddly, I still stand by.
Yeah, so what if Calla and I have never dated? We have never even kissed or hugged, for that matter.
But I’ve known her since we were kids. It happens when you grow up in the same town. So I feel like I know her well enough to know that, despite our differences, this feels right.
“Okay.”
She starts walking, so I follow.
“We’re doing this, just like that?”
“No.” She laughs. “Let’s see if we can hang out for the night first. You know, make sure we don’t kill each other before the sun comes up. It’s weird, but right now, I think I might like you.”
She trips, so I reach out to grab her hand. She wasn’t going to fall, but hell if this isn’t a smooth move to touch her.
