“She’s fun,” Lee says before he heads to the dance floor where a lot of the girls are dancing with each other.
A few guys slide in next to me, congratulating me on the win. Saying encouraging things about how they knew I could do it and some other bullshit. It was all them. They’ve worked their asses off for me.
One by one, they join their girls on the dance floor while a few puck bunnies keep my brother busy, probably recognizing him. A redhead keeps trying to make eye contact with me, and when I don’t make a move, she slowly walks toward me. I’ve been down this road before, and I have to decide right now what I’m going to do—tell her straight up I’m not interested, be polite but withdrawn, or spend the night chatting with her knowing nothing will come of it.
Jana whips around on the dance floor and heads in my direction, accidentally and unknowingly blocking the girl. She stands at the end of the booth with her hand out. “Come on and dance. Celebrate with everyone.”
“We haven’t won anything.”
“We beat Oregon and that’s enough. For tonight.” She crawls on the bench seat on her knees and meets me in the center of the booth.
“How many of those have you had?” I nod at the can in her hand.
She looks at it and shrugs. “The girls did a few shots. God, it feels good to not worry about anything for a moment. You should try it.”
“One of us should be sober.”
“Come,” she says, disregarding what I said.
“I don’t really dance.”
“‘I don’t really dance.’” She mocks me with a deep voice as if that’s how I sound. “Everyone dances. You don’t have to be good. You just enjoy yourself. Have fun.” She gets a hold of my hand, mostly because I let her. Because I have a soft spot for her, as stupid as that makes me feel sometimes. “Your hands are so big.”
I nod, looking at her delicate fingers adorned with rings, but none of them of any significance like a wedding or engagement ring. For a moment, I wonder what kind of engagement ring she’d like. Gold? Platinum? All diamonds? She seems like the vintage type, but I’m not sure. Or why the hell I’m even thinking of this either.
“You know what they say about big hands.”
She giggles and tugs on my hand, my arm pulling away from my side. “It’s big feet. C’mon.”
“One dance,” I mumble.
The dance floor is packed and it’s almost all Fury players, their girls, and random puck bunnies. Jana wraps her arms around my neck and sways her delicious hips to the beat.
Tedi puts her arms around both of us, although she can’t reach my shoulders. “I love seeing this. Go home and get some.” She smacks both of our asses.
I shake my head and look around the dance floor until I find who I’m looking for. “Tweetie?” I nod at his girlfriend.
“Got her.” He comes over and diverts Tedi away.
The music changes to a slow song. I’m about to leave, but Jana tightens her hold on me.
“One dance,” she whispers into my ear. “Just one.”
Something about the way she asks makes it so I can’t say no.
I stand in place and our bodies sway to “Strangers” by Maddie & Tae. She rests her head on my chest, and I inhale the scent of her shampoo. The same scent that would cover my skin after a night spent with her.
Having my hands on her feels so right. I hate that I close my eyes for a moment and wonder what it would be like if she really was mine. She’s always pushing me away, and right now, it almost feels as though she’s offering herself up to me. I want to take her up on it more, I realize, than I’ve wanted anything in a long time. But not when she’s been drinking.
The lyrics of the song ring true, because although there’s so much Jana doesn’t know about my past, she’s the only one I feel truly knows me. Who I am on the inside. What I’m thinking most times. Where I’m coming from.
As the song winds down, I tighten my arms around her, not wanting it to end. She draws back and looks up at me. My dick twitches when it registers the lust filling her eyes. Her hand falls in mine and she turns us toward the hallway that leads to the bathrooms. She tucks us into the dark hallway and presses my back to the wall. My hands grip her hips, wishing we were somewhere private.
“Kiss me.” She licks her plump lips.
My cock strains the confines of my dress pants. Her words are the ones I’ve wanted to hear since she cut me off months ago. I bend down, ready to taste her again, but she loses her equilibrium and stumbles to the side.
It’s the reminder I needed that she’s drunk.
I shake my head, and she frowns. “Not here. Not tonight.”
“Come on. You know you want to.” She grips my biceps and leans into me.
The press of her ample tits against my hard flesh makes my voice waver. “Want isn’t the issue. You’re drunk.”
“I was drinking seltzers. They’re like wine coolers.” She straightens up, licks her lips, and runs her finger down my chest and past my waistline.
I’m not surprised when she grabs my dick and applies the slightest pressure. I suck in a breath. It feels fucking fantastic to have her hands on me again.
“Jesus, Jana. We can’t.” I grip her wrist.
“Why not? We did it before when we’d both been drinking.”
“That was different, and you know it. Let me take you home. Get you to bed.”
“No.” She draws back and crosses her arms. “You’re really denying me?”
“That’s not what I’m doing. I’m just not going to take advantage of you.”
Annoyance flashes across her face. I prepare for the lashing she’s probably going to give me, but the minute she points her finger at my chest, her head circles as if it’s grown too heavy for her to hold up and she falls into me. I catch her, then pick her up over my shoulder.
Grabbing my cell phone from my pocket, I arrange for an Uber and tell them to meet me in the back. I text my brother to meet me by the back door with her purse. He shows up five minutes later.
“Whoa, what happened? She’s a lightweight, huh?” He opens the back door.
“Let’s just get her home.”
“You really like her, huh?”
He gets in the front of the car, and I sit in the back of the Uber with Jana’s head in my lap. She looks so peaceful and relaxed.
“Why do you say that?” I ask without looking away from Jana’s face.
“Because normally you’d have handed a woman off to her friends. Plus, I’m your brother. I know these things. You’re not fooling anyone with the way you look at her.”
I feel a line form at the bridge of my nose. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Everyone in there knows the two of you want each other.”
“Says the man with four women hanging off him tonight.”
He shrugs. “I’m on the market.”
“So am I.”
He laughs as though I just told the funniest fucking joke he’s ever heard. “After what I witnessed tonight, I’d say you’re very much off the market, big brother.”
The Uber drives toward Jana’s, and I stare at her long blonde hair in my lap. She’s so beautiful it hurts to know she might never be mine.