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When the music shifted to a new track, I yanked myself away from him. “I—I need to take a breather,” I said, hoping my voice sounded reasonably normal.
Disappointment flickered across my stepbrother’s face and then vanished with his nod. “I’ll be right here if you want to pick up where we left off,” he said, and there was no denying the promise in those words.
I walked away from him on wobbly legs and made my way over to the bar. As I emerged from the crowd, I spotted Dexter perched on one of the stools on his own. He was leaning back against the counter with a soda by his propped elbow, scanning the crowd with a casually thoughtful air. When he noticed me coming over, he dipped his head to me with a slight creasing of his forehead that suggested he was concerned.
Guilt pinched my stomach. Had he really come along expecting to just sit on the sidelines while his friends danced with me? He’d always been there when I’d needed him, watching over me along with the others in his more subdued but no less dedicated way.
And even though his green eyes veered away from me after the first moment, even though I knew he’d have tensed up if I’d so much as touched his arm, I couldn’t deny the spark of attraction that flared in me seeing his glossy dark curls and his pale face lit up by the shifting club lights. He might not have been as buff as Logan or Slade, but the lean muscles that flexed in his forearms beneath the rolled-up sleeves of his shirt showed he wasn’t any slouch either.
He fought alongside his friends. He took on all the same bad guys. He’d stood up for me and defended me, even to Logan.
I didn’t like seeing him left on his own as if he wasn’t as important as them.
Without letting myself reconsider the impulse, I walked right up to him and rested my hand next to his arm without touching it. “It’s your turn.”
Dexter blinked, his eyes darting back to meet mine. “What?”
“To dance.” I motioned him toward the dance floor. “Come on. I’m sure you can manage at least a few moves.”
His mouth slanted crookedly. “I’m not really much of a dancer.”
I gave him a reassuring smile. “Hey, neither am I, so I won’t be judging. But we might as well make full use of the club while we’re here, right?”
He held my gaze for a few beats longer than usual, as if trying to read my intentions through my eyes. Something shifted in his expression, and for a second I thought he was going to refuse me. Then he put on a determined face and pushed himself to his feet.
“Yeah. Sure. I can do that.”
He sounded like he was psyching himself up as much as agreeing with me, but he did walk with me into the crowd. I stopped in a fairly open patch of floor and shimmied with the music as Dexter joined me. He positioned himself across from me and bobbed with the music, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and swaying his arms to the beat.
I resisted the urge to give him a playful swat, knowing he probably wouldn’t appreciate the physical contact. “Look at you. You’ve got this. As soon as you’re warmed up, you’ll be putting me to shame.”
He caught my gaze just for an instant. “I saw you with Slade. I don’t think anyone would be criticizing your abilities. I’ll just stick to the basic school-dance shuffle.”
I raised my eyebrows at him. “I don’t remember seeing you at the dances back in high school.”
“I stayed near the back,” he said, his tone even but dry. “One of the biggest puzzles I’ve ever encountered is why anyone wants to go to those things.”
A laugh tumbled out of me. “I guess we were all pretty awkward back then. But if you’ve got awkward people all around you, then it doesn’t matter so much.” On the other hand, it must have been particularly uncomfortable for a guy who didn’t like being touched having his classmates bumping into him all over the place in the crowded gymnasium.
Maybe I shouldn’t have dragged him over here. I opened my mouth, about to thank him for humoring me and tell him he could go back to the bar if he wanted, but Dexter cocked his head, glancing at something beyond me.
“It could be the biggest mystery is why drinking and dancing go together so often when the former seems to make the latter a lot more difficult.”
I followed his gaze to see a gaggle of college girls stumbling and colliding with each other as they tried to keep up a rhythm while clutching their mostly empty glasses. He did have a point.
“I guess it’s about finding the right balance where you’re relaxed enough to be less nervous without outright losing your balance,” I suggested.
Dexter’s mouth twitched with a quiet smile. His gaze veered in another direction, toward a couple who were groping each other more than they were doing anything that could be called dancing. His voice came out totally deadpan. “Although it does seem like in some cases, ending up tipped over is the goal.”
I couldn’t hold back a snort of amusement even as my cheeks flushed at his insinuation. Somehow I hadn’t really thought that Dexter would pay much attention to people’s sexual exploits, but it wasn’t as if that couple was difficult to notice. And just because he was awkward didn’t mean he had no inclinations of his own. I hadn’t realized he could be this much fun just to talk with either.
Were there any circumstances when he didn’t mind physical contact? What would it be like to kiss that smart mouth and feel him respond not by recoiling but with equal desire?
Unexpected heat rushed through my veins at the thought. I wanted to discover the answer to that question more than I’d have imagined.
A second later, I could have smacked myself. What was going on with me that I was fantasizing about yet another guy, as if three potential boyfriends wasn’t enough? I couldn’t even blame it on a dry spell, considering I’d gotten it on with Slade in epic fashion less than a week ago.
I’d hoped that letting loose here at the club would help me get away from my problems, and instead I was just making new ones for myself.
