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JAY
Iwas having fun – I had to admit it. Usually, big crowds and loud bars weren’t my thing. A good night for me was hanging out at my place outside of town, sipping a glass of whiskey while some Johnny Cash played, my thoughts unspooling.
However, there, with my brothers and Dream, I was having as good a time as I could imagine. The drinks were flowing, the conversation was great, and when the country music started on the speakers, I knew it was only a matter of time before Evan felt the urge to get up and do what he did best.
A thud sounded out as Evan put his big hands on the table.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m feeling the need to shake my ass.”
Dream laughed. “You want to dance? You guys know I suck at dancing, right?”
“No way,” Duncan said. He leaned back in his seat, a freshly poured beer held in front of his chest. “I refuse to believe a woman like you doesn’t know how to move on the dance floor.”
“A woman like me?” she asked, raising her eyebrows in mock surprise. “Now, what’s that supposed to mean?”
It was hardly the first of such comments that had happened during the conversation. Sure, the guys and I had tried to keep ourselves in check, but once the booze settled there was no holding back the flirting.
“A woman as good-looking as you,” Duncan said, not holding back in the slightest. “What do you think I meant?”
That got a laugh out of Dream. “That’s nice of you to say. But I don’t think there’s any correlation between how good-looking someone may or may not be and how decent they are at dancing.”
Evan sprang out of his seat and hurried over to her. “Those are a lot of words you just spent time saying when you could’ve been dancing. Now, come on!”
Before she had a chance to react, Evan effortlessly scooped Dream out of her seat, a surprised squeal shooting out of her mouth.
“What the hell are you doing, Evan?” she asked with a light-hearted laugh. She was trying to sound indignant, but the smile on her face as Evan threw her over his big shoulder betrayed how much fun she was having. Evan, head and shoulders taller than just about everyone on the dance floor, carried her over and set her down, Dream laughing her head off.
I watched as Clarissa, still dressed in the hippie style clothes she wore back in high school, a few new tattoos on her arms, stepped out of the crowd with a tall, good-looking guy at her side. Soon, they were all dancing together.
“Well,” Duncan said as he polished off his beer. “Be a shame to let Evan have all the fun, right?”
“You get started without me,” I said. “Never been much of a dancer.”
“Oh yeah,” Duncan replied with a grin. “You’re more the flower-in-the-corner type. Almost forgot.”
“Screw you,” I said through a small smile. “Got a little shit to think about. I’ll join you later.”
“You’d better.” Duncan raised his finger to me as he went into the crowd. Duncan, being the social dude he’d always been, was greeted warmly by the dozens of people on the dance floor. No doubt he was friends already with half of them.
I hadn’t been lying when I’d said that I had stuff to think about. Namely, I had the Dream situation to wade through.
She looked good and she was right - she was no longer the gangly kid we had sworn to protect growing up. I’d noticed that we’d dodged some serious topics during our conversation – mainly the ones of how our parents had broken up, and how she and Adam were done.
Made sense to not get into the heavy stuff right away, and I couldn’t help but notice that there had been some major changes in our dynamic since we’d all last seen each other.
Sooner or later, we were going to have to talk about it all.
I sipped my beer, watching my brothers and Dream and Clarissa dance to the music. Evan and Duncan passed Dream back and forth, each of them putting their hands on her hips in a way that was just over the line of what was appropriate. Or maybe I was just jealous.
Right as I hit the halfway point of my beer, I watched as something strange happened. Dream, standing at the bar as some shots were poured for her, slipped her phone out of the back pocket of her tight, short skirt. She had a smile on her face when she checked the screen. But that smile lasted exactly as long as it took to see what was on her phone.
Whatever it was, it caused the color to drain right out of her face. Without even taking the shots, she hurried from the bar and through the crowd. I watched as one of the exits to the back alley opened and her petite figure slipped through.
Something was wrong. Without thinking twice about it, I jumped from my seat and hurried across the place, swiping the shots she’d ordered from the bar as I weaved through the crowd. I wasn’t sure if the guys had seen me, but I didn’t care. All that mattered to me was that something was wrong with Dream, and there wasn’t a chance in hell I’d be letting her go through it alone. As I made my way through Red’s, I felt a wavering that let me know I was a little drunker than I thought.
The shots in hand, I opened the exit with my hip and stepped out into the alley. The air was perfect – just the right amount of cool air, the stars twinkling above, the music and commotion from inside quieting to a low murmur the moment the door clanged shut.
I glanced around. No one was out there but a couple of smokers, both busy with their phones.
