Feeling sassy and almost like I needed to defend myself, I positioned myself in front of him. “I know a lot about you,” I said, resting my arms across my chest.
“Nah. I’m talking facts, not things you’ve seen on social media,” he huffed. “Actually, when was the last time you saw anything new about me in the media at all? Good or bad.”
I racked my brain, trying to remember the latest escapade I’d seen involving him, but shockingly came up empty-handed as all the videos and articles I’d been referring to weren’t recent at all…
“I guess you’re right,” I admitted, feeling the crease in between my eyebrows deepening.
“What was that?” He smirked, holding his hand to his ear and leaning closer, shrinking the distance between us.
“Ha. Ha,” I grumbled. “Hilarious.”
He took another step closer.
“Yes, I’m from a small town just south of Nashville, and yet there ain’t any woman like you where I’m from. That’s for damn sure.”
“Oh?” I inquired, lifting my head to meet his gaze because he stood only a few inches away from me. “And what’s that supposed to mean?” I nervously pushed my sticky hair behind my ear, feeling a few stragglers sticking to the side of my face from the humidity.
The music from the party must’ve been switched from a live band to a playlist because it had gotten substantially louder, drifting into the space around us. Tim McGraw’s version of “When the Stars Go Blue”started playing.
“Wouldn’t you love to know.”
The words left his mouth, but our gazes never went anywhere. The silence between us grew even louder.
I wanted to say something, to break the silence that felt too comfortable for two strangers that had only just met, but every time I went to speak, nothing came out.
Stetson’s voice cut in. “Wanna dance?”
My eyes widened and the beat of my heart tripled, forcing my eyes to look anywhere but at him, almost like I wasn’t sure if he was asking me or the other nonexistent girl in the room.
“Uh, sure,” I mumbled, even though I didn’t think I was sure at all.
It felt wrong. Almost like I was doing something I shouldn’t be doing—let alone deserved to be doing—but I couldn’t fight the pull in the bottom of my belly, shuffling my feet closer to the very handsome but very perplexing man in front of me.
He extended his hand and I hesitated before eagerly reaching for him, my body feeling airy as I awaited his touch. He swiftlypulled me close enough that my feet fell inside of his and our bodies melted together.
I wasn’t quite sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this.
The tension I’d been holding released when I exhaled, but only until his mouth mushed into my ear, the hair of his mustache dancing on my skin rocketing my senses into overdrive. “Everything isn’t always as it seems.”
His words invited my eyes to close, lingering through the air.
I went to respond but was interrupted before I had the chance to.
“Scar, there you are. Oh. Holy shit—” Maggie’s jaw was practically on the floor.
I’d never moved so fast, yanking myself away from Stetson in record time. It was like I was a teenager again and my parents had caught me breaking the rules.
Although, I wasn’t even sure exactly what it was we were doing. Honestly, to Stetson, I didn’t think this was anything other than an attempt to poke another notch in his belt. You know, just another Saturday night.
At least now I could understand why so many girls fell into bed with him, because damn.
“Can you explain to me what I just saw?” Maggie’s voice buzzed through my ears.
I didn’t know if it was the whiskey grenadines or the crunch of the gravel beneath my feet, but either way, I was a little wobbly.
“What do you mean?” I stared forward, playing stupid as I walked toward the Uber that was just pulling up outside the barn. She had to have ordered it a while ago because getting a ride in Quincey Falls on a Friday night was never an easy feat—people were too busy enjoying themselves to want to drive anyone else around.
Granted, I wasn’t complaining, because between my initial conversation with Stetson, his performance, my interaction withDelilah, and whatever the hell that was by the stalls, it was probably best we got the hell out of dodge.
