Page 33 of Crazy for You

That’s my brother, he wanted to shout. Spinning tunes at eighteen years old. Okay, maybe not worth dropping out of college for, but Ryan got it now. He did. Trent was passionate about his music, and it showed. Ryan found himself bouncing on his feet, moving to the beat as he watched his brother work.

Then Emma twirled into his arms. “Dance with me.”

8

Emma closed her eyes and let the rhythm move her feet. Dancing was so much fun. Why had it been so long since the last time she went out like this? The whiskey had given her just enough of a buzz to help her shed her inhibitions and let loose.

The beat changed, and she recognized a popular dance song from the radio.

“I love this song,” Gabby said.

Emma opened her eyes to see her friend dancing happily with Ethan, their bodies bumping into each other in the casual way of people who were already intimate on every level. Ethan seemed at home on the dance floor, busting a move as Gabby laughed with delight.

Emma spun toward Ryan, also moving easily to the beat although less enthusiastically than the more outrageous Ethan. Ryan wore his trademark black T-shirt and dark-washed jeans, and he looked so damned sexy she wanted to scream—because it simply wasn’t fair for him to look so good. Not when she was trying her hardest to get over him and move on.

She moved closer, and his hands settled on her hips.

“Trent looks great up there,” she said, glancing up at the teen in the DJ booth. Trent’s head bounced to the music as he worked the equipment.

“What?” Ryan dipped his head closer to hers.

She leaned forward. “I said, Trent looks great up there.”

“Yeah, he does.”

Somehow she’d rested her hand on his chest when she leaned in, and now her face was way too close to his for any reason that didn’t involve kissing. She glanced up into his mocha eyes, glittering now with the multicolored lights pulsing around them. Oomph. Desire shot through her, hot and bright, settling into a restless ache inside her that throbbed like the music around them.

“I need a drink,” Ryan said. “You?”

No, actually she’d rather tell him off for ruining the moment, but… “Okay.”

Reluctantly, she followed him to the bar. They ordered beers and sat side by side on two barstools, watching the crowd on the dance floor. It had grown since they arrived. The place was hardly packed, but it seemed like a decent crowd for a Tuesday night.

Ryan took a drink from his beer then leaned in so that she could hear him over the music. “So how was your date?”

“You really want to know?” She raised her eyebrows at him.

He grimaced. “No, but I’m trying here.”

She grinned, unable to help herself. “Well, since you asked, it was lovely. Cal’s a great guy.”

Ryan took a long drink from his beer. “So what happened to Todd?”

“Who?” she blurted, a moment before she remembered the motorcycle-riding, drunk and disorderly dude she’d supposedly planned to go out with. “Oh, right. He was okay, a little dull for my taste.”

Ryan gave her a skeptical look. “So dull you forgot his name?”

She shrugged, taking a drink from her own beer. “I’ve been on so many dates in the last week, it’s hard to keep track.”

Ryan’s fingers clenched around the pilsner glass in his hand. “That so?”

“So many bad boys to choose from,” she said, sliding a look in his direction to gauge his reaction. She was so toying with him right now. She’d messaged with a couple of guys through the dating site’s online system, but she’d only been on the one date. None of the guys she’d met so far on Tinder were half as sexy or interesting or…badass as Ryan.

The look on his face said he might just sucker punch any guy he caught so much as looking in her direction. “Bad in what way?”

“Oh, you know…” She leaned in closer. “Rough around the edges, especially in the bedroom.”

Ryan sucked in a breath, his expression gradually softening from deadly to wary. “You’re messing with me now, right? Please tell me you’re messing with me.”

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