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"Me either," Tanner promised. "And if you dump me, I'll be waiting for you to want to talk. That night, a day later, week, month, or even a year. Don't care. So who knows, maybe Ty's just trying to drown his pain? Maybe he can learn?"
I nodded. "Ok, but..." I thought back to that bag in the other room. "...Is it a bad idea to want to look good for this?"
"Nope," Tanner promised. "Cody, if you wanna get all cute, I promise I'm on board."
"She meant for Ty," J.D. said.
Tanner just shrugged. "Maybe. I also don't think it matters. The cuter she looks, the more he's going to see what he's missing out on."
So I pushed to my feet. "Then I need all the help I can get." And I headed into the other room to find something that might even be sexy.
Chapter45
My dress was black,short, and low-cut. There were little lace accents around my ribs and biceps that showed the skin underneath. The skirt of it flared out, making it perfect for dancing. Shelby had picked this one out for me, and while I'd always loved it, I'd never been brave enough to wear it before.
Tonight was the night.
When I stepped out of the bathroom with my face painted up and my hair let down, the guys murmured in appreciation. Not the polite kind, either. Nope, they ran their eyes over me in a way that gave me that bit of confidence I needed. My raspberry lipstick - which matched my dancing boots - helped a little too.
While I'd been fixing my face and hair, the guys had done a little prettying-up of their own. J.D. now had on a black shirt and jeans. That made the gold buckle at his waist hard to miss. Tanner had put on a t-shirt that was at least one size too small and proved the boy was ripped. Even his abs were traceable like that. Side by side, those two men were nothing alike, and yet perfect complements to each other in a way I enjoyed too much.
Tanner announced he was driving, then hooked me around the waist and led me out. J.D. had my ID and phone. As we headed to the truck, they explained how they'd tracked down Ty, texting their friends to see if anyone knew where he was. Come to find out, he'd gone back to that bar with the mechanical bull, along with most of the rest of the tour, so that was where we headed.
I walked into a packed club. The music was a little louder than I remembered. The mechanical bull was going, but the music hadn't stopped this time. The bars had lines, and my guts were trying to make themselves into a ball in my middle. Iwantedto do this. I also really didn't.
"Liquid courage," J.D. said, tugging me towards a bar at the side.
When it was our turn, J.D. held up four fingers at the bartender. I tried to laugh at that, but I couldn't quite manage. Tonight was not a party night. This was going to end up serious, one way or another. I just hoped it became a good serious, not a messy, crying and blubbering type of serious.
The bartender lined up the shot glasses and poured right in front of us. J.D. passed the first to me, taking the second himself. Tossing a bill down on the table, he met my eyes while the bartender filled the last two. I lifted my glass, and he matched me, then we threw them down the hatch.
The whiskey burned, so when I slapped my glass back on the counter, it was a bit harder than I intended. From behind me, Tanner slid my glass forward and gestured to the bartender to fill it back up. J.D. passed me the next, and the guy with the bottle refilled my first glass.
Shot number two went in. Then three. That was when I waved them off, but J.D. had matched me glass for glass. Even better, the warmth of the liquor was starting to set in, and it was exactly what I needed.
"Go dance," Tanner said into my ear. "Relax, Cody. You got this, so enjoy it a bit."
"I'm supposed to talk to Ty," I reminded him.
"And I'll see if I can find him," he promised.
I glanced back to find him right there. On impulse, I leaned in to press my mouth against his, stealing a kiss, and then turned to J.D. My mentor's normally devious look had turned a little sly as he pulled me up against his chest. Tanner made a shooing motion at the pair of us, and J.D. was more than happy to oblige.
The music was the fast and fun kind of country. The dance floor was packed. J.D. pushed his way in, keeping me right up against him, and then stepped off. I tried to follow, but two-stepping was still kinda hard. The first time I kicked J.D.'s foot, he smiled. The second time, he laughed, and it was like the sound pushed away all of my anxiety.
I still had these guys. Tanner and J.D. were amazing, and the fact that they were together made me feel a lot less guilty about liking both of them this much. And yet I liked Ty too. I hated how he'd been acting, but I didn't hatehim. I hoped I never would.
But as we swirled across the hardwood, J.D. must've seen something on my face. "You ok?" he asked.
I bit my lips together and shook my head. "Not really."
"Ty?" he asked.
I shrugged, managing to shove my foot into his one more time. "All of it, J.D. I mean, I'm trying so damned hard to make all of this work. When I went to Tulsa, I just wanted to ride a professional-level bull. I did."
"Shit, you rode all three," he reminded me.
"Yeah, and I started to think I had a chance!" I moved closer, draping an arm over his shoulders. "And now this? I learned how to spur. I know I rode better this weekend than last. But in St. Louis, I came in first. Here? My scores went down every time."
