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“Hey baby,” Reggie said in a deep flirty voice. “I gotta know where you’re going. Just in case you need me to come get you.”
“It’s a girls’ night, Reg. We’re going to the Blitz.”
Duke’s mouth dropped open and his eyes bulged out. “That’sourbar!” he mouthed.
I shook my head at him to calm down and shut it. We didn’t own the bar.
“Okay boys, we’re shifting,” I said, formulating a new plan. “I’ll text Adrienne that we need a booth and bottle service. The girls won’t be able to resist us.”
“Won’t they be mad if we crash?” Campbell asked warily.
“Nah. Let’s give them a bit of time by themselves so they can miss us. Then they’ll be happy,” I answered, hoping I was right.
When Reggie asked what I had in this for me, I didn’t want to fully explain my motives, but I knew I had work to do tonight. I needed to seal the deal with Josie and cement that she was mine and let everyone know at the same time. I had to kiss away all her remaining fears and prove to her that I was here to stay.
28. Josie
Hearing the way these girls talked about their boyfriends made me long for the comfort of partnership… And Tyler’s grin popped to the forefront of my mind. Thinking of him this morning made a bubble of happiness rise in my chest. Because the thought of building a life with him like these girls had with their guys sounded nice. And maybe it was just that Tyler basically gave the romantic in me permission to come out, permission to dream, because I was suddenly thinking it’d be nice to have funny stories to tell, to have someone to go on weekend trips and adventures with, and to have someone to cuddle with at night… And I confidently wanted it to be him.
But now that I admitted to myself how much I wanted him, the nerves took over. I looked around The Blitz, remembering how nice it was that he totally had my back the other night… But what if I messed it all up tonight? What if-
“What’s up girly?” Claire nudged me. “You look way too tense.”
I sucked in my top lip, wondering if I should confide in her… How was shenottense? She just cut half her hair off and dyed it bubble gum pink with no fear over what her husband would think. I wanted that kind of security. I chugged the rest of my vodka sprite then blurted out, “I’m falling for him.”
“Yesss!” Claire shouted out a bit too loudly, making the other girls look at me now. “Embrace it.” She wrapped her arms around me. I couldn’t help but laugh. She was already almost wasted. “Let lovewin. You should tell him.”
“But what if–”
“No what if’s,” Charlize said sternly, shaking her head. She was dressed in a red suit jacket over a sleek black dress paired with Louboutin shoes. If her outfit didn’t give away that she was a lawyer, her words definitely did. “We don’t deal in hypotheticals. And you shouldn’t be nervous. You say you’re falling, and ya know what? A boy will let you fall right on your ass. But a man? A man will love catching you. So, is Tyler a boy or man?” She arched a sharp eyebrow.
“True,” Ellie piped in. “And a man won’t let a good thing fall through his fingers. When I tried to dump TJ because of my own fears, he was stubborn as hell about it.” She laughed. “He followed me all the way back to northern Michigan to talk it out with me.”
I tried to swallow down my fear as talk moved to the Crewmen’s next charity gala. But Suzie leaned in and whispered to me, “Don’t worry. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, he’s already a goner, and your look tonight will just push him over the edge,” she said with a laugh.
Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody’ started playing and Claire threw down the rest of her drink. “Let’s go ladies!” she yelled, making her way out to the dance floor.
“It’s her song!” Char called out exaggeratingly, rolling her eyes, but that didn’t stop her from running out to join Claire on the dance floor.
We were all dancing in the colorful lights and having a great time… until a line of insanely attractive muscular men came walking into the bar, making us pause. It seemed like every girl in the place was now staring at them, and I couldn’t blame them. The guys had a way of commanding attention in their strides. They gave off pure masculine energy, and they looked like leaders, like guys you could lean on, and that’s what made them attractive.
The rest of the guys went to the booth, but Tyler broke away from the group and made a beeline to the dance floor.
I thought he was coming over to us, but instead, he went right up to the DJ and whispered in his ear.
The girls all looked around our little circle, confused.
Seconds later, Maroon 5’s ‘She Will Be Loved’ started floating through the air, and Tyler still didn’t walk over to me. Instead, his long stride carried him across the dance floor. He made a big show of sticking a piece of gum in his mouth.
He wasn’t going to…
Oh. My. God.
He was.
He jumped a couple times and cracked his neck, a boyish grin playing on his face.
“Oh My God! He’s Notebooking you!” Claire practically shrieked, so I guess I wasn’t the only one who fantasized about that 2005 MTV award show kiss. “Go to him,” she said, nudging me.
