Page 6 of Locke

“Do you want to dance?” I asked him eventually.

He flushed. “I got two left feet, Kali.”

“Me too!”

He let out a dry laugh, stumbling over his words. “You know how to dance! I watched you—I mean, not in a creepy way or anything. Just…you know how to dance, Kali. You’re, like, wow, you know? Like…holy shit, swaying your hips and all that. I don’t think there wasn’t a set of eyes on you. You’re just, like, wow.”

“I’ll teach you.”

He shook his head. “I got two left feet—”

“We’ll have fun!”

“I can watch, too. You know. Just…don’t dance with another guy because…” He wouldn’t look at me now, his face growing tomato red.

“Because what?” I urged lightly.

“Because I like you, Kali. I’ve liked you forever now, you know?”

My heart pinched in my chest. He was so cute, I couldn’t even right now. I leaned over the table which prompted his eyes to stare at my cleavage. I said, “I like you, too.”

His grin stretched wide as he stared into my eyes.

He was a good guy.

If my life was a book, I could see it being a romantic comedy. Something sweet. Something light. Something that tugged on the heart strings. I would be the wounded protagonist, and Eric would be the sweet to my hard. He would help me overcome my past by teaching me how to make love. Because Eric was the kind of guy that made love, not fucked without care. Still, I felt that light heat wash over me, and for now, that was good. It was what I needed. I didn’t know gentle. I’d grown up with too much cold around me. No love, no tender touch, no sweet words.

Eric might be my first dose of healthy.

So why did I feel a little disappointed?

Why did I yearn for a punch to the chest rather than this pinch?

It was probably because I built him up in my head. He had been the muscled jock, the jokester with the crazy good looks. He came from a stable home, but he had acted like the bad boy for years. He had always talked back unflinchingly, always roughed up the boys who spoke to him wrong, and even rode around in one of those muscle cars that made your pussy clench when the engine growled.

There was nothing bad boy about him now.

What the hell happened to the quiet, broody man in the group that was all mystery and appeal? How the hell did I get him so wrong?

We talked some more, light topics, the kind you make on a first date. Eric was drawn to me. His gaze no longer ventured to my chest, and his timidness lessened as he grew comfortable. He was absorbed by me, staring me in the eyes as I laughed at his jokes.

“Why did it take us so long to do this?” he wondered. “It must be, like, meant to be, sorta, don’t you think?”

I gave him a light smile. “Yeah, maybe.”

“How long do you want to be here?”

I looked around the room, at all the dancing, laughing bodies. “You want to leave, Eric?”

His lips curved in a timid smile. “Only if you want to.”

It seemed Eric needed to be guided. “You have a car?” I asked, even though I knew he did and what he drove. You don’t forget a black, two door, high performance car, and definitely not the guy behind the wheel. That car was probably the most roguish thing about him.

“Yeah.”

“You want to go for a drive or something?”

He nodded, looking excited. “Sure!”

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