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And true to her word, after we got there, Jojo Valentine took her back immediately and got her with the Valentine brothers’ women while I played a game of pool with Spence.
Baby steps. Progress.
I asked her to dance when the band played a slower song that attracted multiple couples to the dance floor.
“You’re pretty smooth,” she told me, putting her mouth to my earlobe.
“Yeah?” I asked, pulling her closer.
“Yeah. It feels really good being here with everyone havin’ a good time, nobody giving me snotty looks so far. Just shellshocked looks from the Valentine brothers at seeing their women sitting with me.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Saw that. They’ll get over it. It’ll eventually get to where it’s cool all the time. You won’t always feel like an outsider.”
“I hope so. Tonight has been fun.”
“Baby steps, G.”
“Yeah.”
I kissed her, then twirled her around and then dipped her before I pulled her close. She sang along with the song that talked about not knowing who I was, but stating that she was with me.
I caught a look of surprise from Spencer who was dancing with Pippa beside us.
“She can sing,” he observed. “Like, really sing.”
“That, she can,” I said, smoothing hair behind her ear.
Pippa smiled brightly at us. “Spencer has a good voice too. I sound like a dying farm animal.”
“Well,” Gigi said, “I couldn’t do half the yoga poses you pull off. I’d tie myself into a knot so tight I’d never get untied.”
“You should get up on that stage sometime, Gia,” Spence suggested.
My girl wrinkled her nose. “Not really my jam.”
“If you change your mind, talk to my dad. Or Ella’s. Rob’s got a band. They play here often.”
“Thanks,” she said. “Maybe.”
Spencer and Pippa drifted off and I looked into her eyes. “Was that a fake maybe or a real one?”
“It’s called being polite,” she informed.
“You’d knock everyone’s socks off, you got up to sing. Serious, babe. Your voice is special.”
She stared deep, emotion flaring in her eyes. “I reserve it for people who matter to me.”
“Yeah?” I whispered.
“People who matter a lot to me.” Her grip on me tightened meaningfully.
I kissed her throat.
Too soon, the song was over. But the mood wasn’t. I wanted to take her upstairs and make her body sing for me, but I wanted her to have a good time, to feel like she belonged, and since it had that vibe tonight, I decided to prolong it.
The singer announced a break. The jukebox came on and it was a strange segue to a fast song. Gigi went rigid.
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothin’.”
“What’s wrong, G?” I searched the space as we walked back toward the bar.
The band’s singer passed us on the way and stopped at Jojo and Fork who had been dancing. And a lot of people had noticed. Fork looked like a fish out of water up there. He also looked pissed off.
“Nothin’,” Gigi said. “I just… never mind.”
She was giving the singer a strange look.
“You know him?”
She nodded. “I thought he was coming over to talk to me.”
“Why’s that got you tweaked?”
“His name is Chase. I’ve seen him play a few times around Sioux Falls and once in Sioux City. Kailey had a little thing with him. Couple years ago. When it ended, he accused her of stealing some jewelry from him. I thought he was comin’ this way ‘cuz he recognized me. Glad I’m wrong. Wanna get another drink?”
“Yeah, let’s do that,” I said still watching the exchange with Fork and the singer. Jojo was between them.
Deke approached them and things looked like they were quickly diffused, so I turned and ordered drinks for us.
***
A few minutes later, Jojo was at a table having a drink with that singer. And there were a lot of unhappy eyes on that situation.
I played a game of pool with Gigi and she kicked my ass. And then we played darts and I kicked hers.
By not long after last call, the singer from that band was still there, but not with Jojo, who was long gone. The band had rolled out, but the singer was hangin’ back at the bar. He left with one of the new waitresses, but gave Gigi a curious glance on his way out the door. She was familiar to him, but he clearly couldn’t place her.
“Guess we should head upstairs,” I said. There were less than a dozen stragglers left.
Gigi smiled. “Okey dokey.”
She was tipsy. Beyond tipsy. And in fact, so was I.
“You drunk, hostage?”
She giggled. “I am, Lord Captor. I still wiped the floor with your sexy, salty ass at pool though.” She poked me in the chest as I touched the security sensor with my fob to get upstairs.
“Yeah, you did. I was off my game.”
“Likely story,” she said animatedly as she jogged up the stairs.
“Know why I was off my game?” I asked when I got to the top where she was waiting for me.
