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Kyle laughed, tossed his coat on the bench, and with another press of a button, motioned her from the booth. As they headed back down the stairs, he nudged her elbow with his. “So what do you think of my baby?”
“I think it probably cost you a lot more than the Aventador.”
“Ha! True that.” They strolled onto the dance floor just as Eddie fired up a poppy Latin track Andy had never heard before.
The opening lyrics — something about a person who’d once hated the ocean but was surfing now — had her cracking a grin.
“Camila Cabello’s ‘Bam Bam’.” Kyle extended his hand. “For my guest of honor who rode her first wave this morning. Care to dance?”
Oh, god, she really didn’t.
Andy’s nervous gaze swept to the floor, where the other VIPs were already swooping in, many with fancy dancing shoes that looked a lot nicer than the sparkly white Chucks she’d borrowed from her roommate.
Andy’s palms began to sweat. She only knew three dance moves. Some of these people looked like they could try out forDancing with the Stars.Hell, one of them looked like she’d been on the dang show.
“I’m going to crush your toes.”
Kyle waggled his brows. “As long as you don’t crush my spirit,” he drawled theatrically. This right before launching into the lyrics of the song with enough enthusiasm to have her slapping her hand into his just to shut him up.
Unbothered by her sweaty palm, Kyle tugged her out to the floor and then into his chest. He had a nice firm hold, and though she didn’t love his cologne, she didn’t hate it either.
“Just trust me, okay?” He tipped her chin up with a nudge of his fingers, then pointed to his eyes. “And look right here.”
Well, that was going to be a problem. His dark brown eyes were beautiful but intense. She managed to hold eye contact for a few seconds as he whirled her about, but that was about it before she was staring at her feet and tripping over his.
Kyle didn’t get upset though; he simply walked her through the steps more slowly. They eventually fell into a rhythm together. One that was awkward, to be sure, but by the end of the song, Andy was feeling a small measure of confidence.
Unfortunately, the next track — Gloria Estefan’s “Turn the Beat Around” — was a lot faster. Also, more and more people started crowding the floor as the red doors opened up. The noise level increased with the flood of revelers, and Andy could no longer hear whatever instruction Kyle was giving her, so she just let him twirl her around, praying the next song would be slower and not quite so loud.
The next song was “Let’s Get Loud” by Jennifer Lopez.
Andy’s heart pounded harder as the stage lights pulsed and the crowd grew amped. Suddenly, she was acutely aware of the bobby pin digging into the back of her skull and the elastic bands of her sleeves choking her wrists. She stared at her borrowed sneakers moving with absolutely zero finesse across from Kyle’s smart, black dress shoes.
Would he mind if she popped her earplugs in right now? Would he mind if she raced upstairs and closed herself into one of the sex booth-slash-sensory pods?
Get it together, Andy! Don’t have a meltdown right now. Stick to the plan. Four dances. Just one more to go.
Fingers found her chin again, a soft gentle caress. She tried not to flinch as they lifted her face to concerned eyes. “You okay?” Kyle mouthed.
She forced a smile. One that relaxed into a relieved one when the playlist shifted to a slower, softer jam. “Yeah. Might need a break after this though.”
“No problem.” Kyle tugged her in close and wrapped his arms around her.
Andy liked this much better. Although she could do with tighter. Luke’s long arms always squeezed her so wonderfully. And she really liked looking at all the artwork on them. Also, she preferred his minty-fresh scent to Kyle’s spicy-woodsy scent.
As Andy considered all this, it suddenly struck her that if she had to be dancing right now, she would so much rather be dancing with Luke.
Tapping the sleeve of Kyle’s fitted gray shirt, she pulled free of him. “Actually, I’m good.”
“Ready for those oysters?” Kyle teased.
“Ready to get puked on again?”
Kyle laughed and extended an elbow. She clutched it tightly as they made their way through the crowd. Just as they neared the edge of the dance floor, someone called her name.
“Andy?”
She turned at the familiar voice and spotted her old roommate dancing with a beefy-looking guy right next to them. “Miss— I mean, hi, Tiffany!”
