I set my drink down on top of a cocktail napkin. “In that case, sure. Let’s dance.”
He leads me to the dance floor. Only two other couples are dancing, one of whom seems to know all kinds of intricate steps. The other just moves together, holding each other.
I place my left hand on Brock’s shoulder, my right hand in his left.
“I like this,” he says.
“Dancing?”
“You. In my arms.”
I say nothing, though I like it as well. We fit together. We’re both tall, first of all, but he’s tall enough that I can wear heels and not feel like an Amazon. My three-and-a-half-inch pumps still put me slightly below his eye level.
When the music gets slower, I find myself leaning into him.
His chest is so hard. Rock hard. I’ve always wondered how the Steels stay in such great shape because I never see them at the gym. Snow Creek only has one gym. Of course, they probably all have fitness centers in their houses.
For a moment, I let myself enjoy being held.
This is what I miss when I’m with a woman. The hardness. The differences between our bodies. My last two relationships have been with women. Now? I find myself hungering for the hardness of a man.
I just never thought it would be this man.
Really, I’m only looking for a sperm donor. Hot sex can be a great precursor to pregnancy. If I orgasm, there’s a better chance of conception.
Mental note: get an ovulation kit.
Is there a chance I’m going to end up in bed with Brock Steel tonight? He already said bed is part of the Brock Steel experience. All I’d have to do is give him one slight hint, and we could be rolling in the hay.
But is that what I want?
Or do I want to get to know him better?
Already I know the answer to my question, and it scares the hell out of me.
I want both.
Chapter Fourteen
Brock
I can’t think straight with her tits pressed against me like this. Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea. I began this evening hoping to get her into my bed.
Now? I still want to get her into my bed, but I find myself really liking her. There’s a lot more to Rory Pike than a hot body and a beautiful face. Somehow I want her to understand that as well.
I guess we never had that problem in our family. We were all valued as individuals, not based on one simple trait.
Not that I think that’s what the Pikes have done. Rory the beauty. Callie the brain. Maddie the personality.
I know the Pikes. They’re good people. They wouldn’t do that to their kids. But I suppose it’s possible the same thing happened with Brad and me to a lesser extent. I kind of overstated it when I told Rory about it. Neither of us was ever made to feel that we were “less than” because we excelled better at something than the other did. I told Rory that Brad was always considered the smart one, and that’s true. But we are all loved equally for our uniqueness.
That’s something all our parents did right.
Unfortunately, I’m finding they did a lot of things wrong too. Like keeping family history from us. Family history that’s raising its head now.
But I don’t want to think about that. Soon enough I’m going to have to go with Dale and Donny back to that property up north. I’m going to have to find out if there are decaying human bodies in that old barn.
Nope, not going there. Not tonight. I want to enjoy this evening, see where it goes organically. I told Rory I’d give her the Brock Steel experience, but now? I don’t want to use my patented moves on Rory Pike. I want to let her take the lead.
I can’t help but chuckle.
Rory pulls away from me slightly. “Something funny?”
“No. I was just thinking of something else.”
“What?”
“It’s nothing.” I pull her back toward me. “Your hair smells amazing.”
“I use a honey lavender infused shampoo, professional grade. I guess I won’t be able to get it anymore now that Raine is out of my life.”
“I’ll figure out how to get it for you.”
This time she chuckles. “You still think you can buy everything, don’t you?”
“I didn’t mean it that way.”
I truly didn’t. But it’s true. I don’t think sometimes. Do I think I can find that shampoo for her and get it? Absolutely. Probably within a few seconds on my phone.
Growing up a Steel does have its benefits.
Rory doesn’t reply. I hope she believes me. I was only trying to please her. And strangely enough, I really want to please her.
Finally she says, “I’m sure I can find it somewhere on the internet. These days you can find anything, even things that only licensed professionals are supposed to buy.”
“If you can find it, please do,” I say. “Your hair… It’s so soft and smooth, and the fragrance is… I don’t know. I’ve never smelled anything like it.”
“You probably have if you’ve ever gone out with a woman who went to Raine’s salon.”
Since Raine was the only hairstylist in Snow Creek for the last couple of years, Rory is undoubtedly right. But this is the first time I’ve noticed it.
And that’s because of who it’s attached to.
When the song ends, the band takes a fifteen-minute break, so I take Rory back to the bar, where she takes another drink of her cognac.
“This is growing on me,” she says.
“Good. I’m glad you like it.”
“Would it surprise you to know I’ve never tasted cognac before?”
“Should it?”
“You know as well as I do that my family doesn’t have the kind of money yours does.”
“That doesn’t mean you’ve never had cognac.”
“We’re not your kind of family. Plus, Callie and I don’t drink very much. We never have.”
“Nothing wrong with that.” I take another sip. This is a nice cognac, but it’s not the best. The best cognac is Armagnac from France. I didn’t want to freak Rory out by ordering that. It’s pretty expensive.
“What are you thinking about?” I ask.
She has a serene look on her face. Her eyes seem focused on something far away, perhaps in her mind. “It wouldn’t interest you.”
“Why would you say that? Of course it would interest me.”
She sighs. “I’m just thinking about…my life. About how part of me still yearns for the spotlight. When I hear big-band music like this and I see the musicians dressed so formally, I remember the audition process. Recitals. I miss it.”
“Have you thought about doing a recital?”
She laughs then. “In Snow Creek? Who would come?”
“Probably the whole city, Rory. It would be something new and exciting.”
“I don’t know. With everything else going on in my life. In your life.”
“What’s my life got to do with it? In fact, what if I bankrolled the whole thing?”
Her eyes go wide then. “No. A thousand times no.”
“Come on, Rory. This isn’t a handout. This is me providing our city with a cultural event. And let me tell you, cultural events are lacking here in Snow Creek.”