“She’s dramatic? Okay.” He grinned. “I see you took her onto the dance floor.”
“So? That’s why we’re here, right? To dance?”
“But you hate dancing.”
“I don’t hate dancing.”
“Really? You don’t hate dancing? We didn’t have a conversation just an hour ago about how you didn’t want to be here and about—”
“Enough, Kent.”
I was not about to have this conversation with him in the middle of the club after Abby Waldron had just walked off and left me standing in the middle of the dance floor with a semi-hard erection.
“Fine.” Kent shook his head. “But you can enjoy yourself. You know that, right?”
“I am enjoying myself.”
“I mean, you can enjoy yourself in life as well. Everyone’s not like—”
“Enough.” I knew what he was going to say, but I didn’t want him to say it. I was over the past. I was over everything that had happened to us. I was not the same frightened little boy anymore. I was not broken in any way. I was a leader. I was powerful. I could do and say whatever I wanted, and it didn’t matter what anyone tried to say or do to hurt me. I would always win. Every single time.
“So you want to get some champagne or something?” Kent suggested.
“I don’t really want champagne. Let’s get some beers.”
“You mean you don’t want scotch?”
“Nah, I’ll get some scotch later. Let’s have beers now. But maybe we should go upstairs to the VIP section.” I looked over to the bar and saw Abby chatting to her tall friend, Isabella.
“Why? You don’t want to see your secretary again?”
“No, I think she deserves to have the rest of the night to herself.”
“Since when do you care about what they deserve?”
“I don’t, but she can have tonight.” I shrugged. “It is what it is.”
“I think you’re getting soft, brother.”
“Never.” I shook my head. “Come on, let’s go. I’ll buy the bottle service.” I strode off, not even looking behind to see if he was following me. The real reason I wanted to go to the VIP room was because there’d be fewer people. When I’d gone onto the dance floor with Abby initially, I hadn’t cared that they’d been so many people there. I hadn’t actually even noticed it because she was with me and she was my sole focus. She was such a beauty, stunning and curvy in all the right places. Normally I went out with models, and while they were always beautiful, they didn’t have the sort of natural womanly body that Abby had. Her breasts—oh, they looked divine. I’d wanted to unzip her dress on the dance floor and just suck on her nipples.
We got to the VIP lounge, and I handed the security guy a hundred-dollar bill.
He looked at it and laughed. “What’s this?”
“I’d like a table.”
“Minimum is a thousand.”
“So then I’ll give you two thousand.” I pulled out a stack of hundreds and handed them to him. “Can we get our table now?”
“Certainly, sir. This way,” he said, without even blinking, and took down the velvet rope cord so that I could go up. I looked behind me and I saw Kent and a couple of his friends following behind. “They’re with me,” I nodded towards them and headed up the stairs. It was much calmer up here, and we had a great view of the dance floor from the top. I could watch Abby dancing if she went back on the dance floor. I could see how she moved without me. She said I was a good dancer, which had made me laugh because I knew I was absolutely awful, but I’d tried for her.
Being here reminded me of when I was young. One of the reasons I really hated dancing, which was something no one knew, was I had gone to a dance at school. There’d been a girl that I’d thought was so pretty. Her name was Henrietta. I couldn’t remember her last name, but her first name had been unusual. Henrietta had been a beauty with long blonde hair and the sweetest smile. When there’d been a school dance, even though I hadn’t had the clothes or the ability to afford anything new, I’d still gone, just to see her. I’d worn my jeans and my best white shirt. I’d told my foster parents that there was an activity after school so they wouldn’t get upset with me or tell me I couldn’t go. Then I’d waited to dance with Henrietta. She’d worn a beautiful blue dress and I’d been blown away by her beauty. I walked up to her and I’d asked her to dance. She’d smiled sweetly and we’d headed to the dance floor, and then they’d started playing a song that I’d never heard before.
She started to move and I swayed back and forth and I could still remember the way the kids had laughed at me. Even Henrietta had laughed at me. “That’s not how you do the dance,” she’d said. “Don’t you know how to do the dance?”
I couldn’t even remember the name of the dance now, but No, I’d thought to myself. I haven’t had time to listen to this music or learn how to dance because I’ve been busy protecting my brother and me as we bounce from home to home to home. We only have each other, and I’ve had to fight off foster dads that were drunk and violent and …
Well, I couldn’t tell her any of that. I’d just shaken my head, and she’d laughed and gone and danced with another boy in the class. I’d stood there, feeling all alone because I had no friends. I had no one and I’d never felt more alone and more powerless and more like a loser before in my life.
I’d gone home right after that to find Kent sitting on the back step crying. I ran up to him to ask him what was wrong and he’d said that our foster dad had beat him because he’d made a sandwich because he was hungry, which was something our foster dad never would have done if I had been there.
I regretted going to that dance because what had I gotten out of it? I’d been laughed at, and Kent had got beaten. I’d vowed to myself I’d never go to another dance. So I’d never gone to a homecoming dance. I’d never gone to a prom. I hated dancing. Everything that it represented, how it excluded people who didn’t have rhythm or just weren’t in the know as if it meant we were nothing.
But tonight, tonight I’d forgotten about all of that and just enjoyed myself with Abby. Even though our time had ended abruptly, it wasn’t because I felt overwhelmed or judged. In fact, she’d been pleased with the way I’d moved. She was special. She was different. I knew that in the core of my body, in the depth of my soul, she was different.
Ultimately, it didn’t matter, though. There was steel around my heart that could never be pierced. While many had tried, none had ever succeeded. I was a man who would never let a woman hurt me in any way again.
Chapter 12
Abby
* * *
“AB was checking you out when we left,” Isabella said with a grin as the four of us walked down the road hand in hand, giggling and trying to stay upright. We had just left the bar, and while Dylan was still on my mind, I was not going to let him ruin my night.
“He loooves you,” Emma giggled.
“He wants to marry you,” Chloe sang.