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Except it hadn’t.
“We should get back inside.”
In silence, we turned and headed back into the gym.
* * *
“Dance with me.”
Cash should have posed it as a question, but with our tablemates’ eyes on us, there’d been no need. If I’d said no, then more questions would have sparked. Not to mention Susan would swoop like a vulture on its very tempting prey.
Placing my hand in his, I stood and allowed him to escort me to the center of the room. Classmates smiled at us. Melody, who had sat next to me in American history, winked and pointed to the poster on the wall behind me. There was no reason for me to turn around. I’d already noticed the picture of me and Cash at our senior prom when we were crowned king and queen.
The years of disappointment began to dissipate when Cash’s vulnerable gaze locked with mine. If it weren’t for all the years of anger, it would have been as though no time had passed. We still moved in sync, and the familiarity with one another easily returned.
Our bodies swayed to the slow, melodic tune the DJ decided to play. I didn’t recognize it, but the way Cash hummed the song in my ear, it was clear he did. The warmth of his breath, mixed with the press of his chest against mine, sent a whoosh of heat through my body.
When the song ended and flowed into a quicker one, his fingers flexed on my hand. Without thought, I smiled.
“This is nice. I know I’ve said this before, but I’ve missed you so much, Hannah. I know I screwed up by not coming to see you. And that’s not just because of Jimmy. It’s because of you.”
Melody accidentally bumped into me. She laughed and pointed to her husband. “His fault,” she mouthed, making me laugh.
“We should probably move,” I said to Cash. When I went to get off the dance floor, he tugged me back. “What are you doing?”
“You said we should move. Don’t you recognize this song?”
Standing still, I narrowed my eyes and listened. The two-step swing-style tune was what we’d danced to when my mother thought it important that we know certain steps. We’d spent hours in my childhood living room while my parents taught us the steps.
Gasping, I shook my head. He wanted to dance to this? No way. Sensing I was ready to bolt back to my seat, his grip on my hand tightened, and he waggled his brows. My insides quivered. A carousel of memories engulfed me. But even if I wanted to, I didn’t remember the steps, so once again, I shook my head.
“Yes,” he mouthed, and before I knew it, we were cruising around the floor, laughing, and suddenly it was just us, literally. Our classmates moved to the perimeter of the floor, forming a circle. Everyone’s eyes were on us.
Cash didn’t seem to care. Then again, he was used to attention. The man stood in the center of a baseball field in front of a full stadium and millions watching on television. We were so different, but Jimmy was more like him. It was a fact I could never deny.
Once the song ended, applause and catcall-style whistles rang out. Glancing around, I found Mia with a beaming smile plastered across her face.
“I think we’re a hit,” Cash said, garnering my attention once more.
“You’re the hit,” I countered.
I wasn’t sure if it was because we were caught up in the moment, but for some reason, Cash lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me. It was a kiss filled with longing that had amassed over years of separation. Best friends, lovers, my first and only love. No one looked at me the way he did or made me feel more desired.
Getting lost in him would have been easy if the hoots and hollers hadn’t reminded me of where we were. Embarrassed and a bit annoyed with myself for letting it get that far when I knew we still had a lot to work out, I broke our connection and took a step back.
“Thank you for the dance.”
He nodded and, sensing my slight emotional discomfort, bowed toward me in grand fashion. “The pleasure was mine. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay.” Spinning on my heel, I turned toward Mia. “Can we go, please?”
We said a few quick goodbyes before heading outside.
“Holy hell, Hannah, that kiss was—”
“Not the smartest thing to do.”
“I was going to say hot.”
