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“Yup. She’s really nice.”
“Nice.” Annie squeezed my biceps but made no move to leave my embrace. “Come on, Lee. This is me you’re talking to.”
Oh, I knew who I was talking to. That was the fucking problem.
I looked over the top of her head back toward the bar to see Renee and Aaron watching us, but they were engaged in a friendly conversation of their own.
“How about the big guy? Things go okay with him?”
She let out a small chuckle. “He’s really nice, but I don’t know...”
“So you get to say your date isnice, but I can’t? Come on, Annette.” I frowned down at her. “What’s the problem?”
Her cheeks went pink. “Did you know that he’s into raw food?”
My brows pinched together. “Raw food. Like sushi?”
She smiled and blinked up at me. “Raw food as ineverything. Sure, sushi. But also broccoli, carrots, oats. He doesn’t eat anything that’s cooked.Nothing.It’s... weird.”
I let out a laugh. “I did not know that. I guess that means Momma Faye’s Barbecue is out.”
Annie swatted at my arm. “Oh my god, I didn’t even think about it. Yeah, that ...” She shook her head, sending her curls bouncing. “That’s it. It’s not going to work out. There’s no way I could live a life without Momma’s.”
For heavy moments, I stared down into her cerulean eyes. Our bodies continued to sway to the music of their own accord. Years and years of practice moving together and dancing. It was like muscle memory in the most torturous, painfully amazing way.
Her attention caught on our dates again. “I think maybe we should go rescue them.”
I reluctantly stepped back and released her from my embrace. But even then I could still feel her presence, like an echo of her body still imprinted on mine.
I dropped my arms and wiped my palms on the sides of my jeans. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
Annie led the way, and my hand found the small of her back. A gesture that was far too friendly, too intimate—something I had always been carefulnotto do. I didn’t miss the tiny way her shoulders jumped and bunched at the contact. I let my hand fall and tucked it into my pocket.
My fist clenched, and I could feel the heat of her skin radiating across my palm and up my arm.
“Wow,” Renee beamed. “You two were amazing out there.”
Annie pushed back a curl. “Oh, thanks. Lee and I have been dancing together a long time. It’s just fun.” The dismissal irked me, but I couldn’t pin down exactly why. Dancing with Anniewasalways just fun, but it bugged the shit out of me how easily she could dismiss it. Something was off.
Changing.
I scanned the crowded bar, my eyes landing on an empty four-top that had opened up. “How about that drink?” I focused on Annie and Aaron. “Would you like to join us?”
Annie nodded and smiled, and the four of us made our way toward the table. When we sat, a server swooped in, taking our orders and scurrying away. Renee and Annie looked out onto the dance floor as an awkward silence fell over the table.
Annie gently cleared her throat. “Lee, did you know Renee once played an EMT on that TV showChicago Medics?”
My eyebrows lifted. That show was a joke, known for taking many,manyliberties when it came to anything close to medical facts. “Oh, no kidding?”
Renee beamed and cleared her throat. “He’s in supraventricular tachycardia. Beginning ALS measures now!”
I could only blink.
“Whoa...” Aaron was in awe.
Renee preened and smiled at him. “It means ‘advanced life saving measures.’”
Advanced life support, actually.
