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“You having fun?” With a nod behind me, she added, “You’ve been dancing since I got here.”
“I am. You?”
“Not too bad. Mitch is being kind of a buzzkill. He doesn’t want to dance as much, so don’t mind me if I join you the next time you’re out there.”
“Deal.” Waving at her, I unscrewed the top and drank a good third of it before pivoting to head to the table. My mouth was a little too dry. The water tasted more like tap than bottle, but whatever. Probably too warm. The guys weren’t alone, but I recognized a couple of the football players who had dropped in and dragged Jake and Ian into a conversation.
Archie and Coop looked more amused than anything as I circled the table and downed another couple of gulps of the water. It was great on my throat and at least I’d managed to cool off some while talking to Cheryl, Skylar, and Rachel.
“That’s Rachel’s date?” Archie asked as I sat.
“Yep, she was nice.”
He slid another bottle of water in front of me and a soda.
“Thank you.” The fresh water bottle had condensation on it, and I screwed on the cap of the first one and popped open the second. Oh. Colder. So much better.
“You’ve been working it out there,” Coop said. “I forgot how much you like to dance.”
“Me, too,” I admitted. “And it’s good music tonight.”
“I don’t disagree.” Archie said, bumping my shoulder. “Next slow song, it’s my turn.”
Coop snickered, and the brush of his pinky against mine sent a little thrill through me. I tapped my foot in time to the music; I liked the new song the DJ put on. Seriously—he had great taste.
“Where did they find this guy?”
Archie shrugged. “Bubba might know, but…” He motioned to where he and Jake were talking. Jake caught my glance and winked once. I grinned. Gaze snagged on Ian’s, I swore I could feel his sigh.
“You want to get back out there?” Coop asked. I took another couple of gulps from the cold water, then stole a drink from the soda.
The sugar and caffeine were almost as welcome as the cold.
“Yes,” I said, grinning. “Do you mind?”
“Nah,” Coop said as he shoved his chair back and stood. “C’mon.”
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Archie told us as he drained the last swallow in the first water bottle, then grimaced and washed it down with the soda. My thoughts exactly, however, I didn’t say anything.
“Hey,” Jake called as Coop and I circled the table. “Where you going?”
“To dance,” I said with a finger wave, then motioned to the table and all of us. “We can talk anytime. This DJ is awesome!”
The corners of his eyes crinkled as he grinned. “I’ll catch up in a sec.”
Giving him a thumbs up, I caught Coop’s hand and we slid out onto the dance floor just as “Happy” started to play and I laughed. That was perfect. Arms up in the air, I twisted and danced to the beat. It didn’t take long for others to pour onto the dance floor, all of us clapping our hands. Well, I was.
Rachel and Skylar appeared in my periphery, and I bumped hips with Rachel once. Cheryl hopped toward me, and Coop rolled his eyes as I made room for her in the little circle we were making.
Archie slid up behind me, and we swayed together, hips rocking from side to side in tandem. Jake weaved through the girls, and they expanded a little and then he chuckled as he caught my hands and spun me into him and then out. I stumbled a half-step, but Ian was right there, and he steadied me. I slowed for a beat, then shook it off. We were all dancing, and it was the first time he’d gotten out here all night that I’d noticed.
Flushed and overheating, I didn’t care as “Happy” segued right into “Last Friday Night.” Cheryl leaned in, lip-syncing, and then Rachel and I were singing it, too. Coop was laughing and clapping. Jake wrapped his arms around me from behind, and we swayed together as the crush on the dance floor increased.
But it was the dance version and the techno beat and chanting had us all screaming. Best. Night. Ever.
I lost track of the songs and who was really dancing with who. It didn’t matter, we were all out there. When the song switched again, I tapped Jake to wave him closer. “I’ll be right back. I gotta pee,” I told him in his ear, and he chuckled.
“Okay,” he answered, and it was more a matter of reading his lips than actually hearing him.
