Page 27 of Takes Two to Tango

“No, I’m not.” He turned to her and gently grasped her upper arms. "Don't make this something it's not, Tamara. You're a good person, but I can't make myself fall in love with you any more than you can make yourself fall in love with me."

Her eyes were bright blue in the light of the moon. Tears streaked her cheeks. "Whatever.”

"You're not in love with me, Tamara. You're looking for something you can't force, sugar."

She shrugged loose from his grasp. "Maybe so."

He let her walk away because he’d felt much the same way hours before when Rayne had declared they were nothing, not even friends.

Damn, life sucked sometimes.

"See you around?" he called at Tamara's back.

She flipped him off.

“Yeah,” he sighed focusing on the blurry, flashing beer sign to his left. How had this night gone so wrong?

He stared up at the moon. It held no answers.

The glass door behind him flew open and several members of the bachelorette party tumbled outside.

"Hey, you disappeared in the middle of our dance," the cute brunette who'd dragged him to the dance floor said, wagging a finger at him. Her eyes were glassy from the booze, but shehad a warm smile. "Bad boy. You're not supposed to leave a gal hanging like that.”

He managed a smile."Sorry. Needed air."

Another girl, this one a blonde, yawned. "Yeah, we did, too. Not used to these kind of nights. I got car pool in the morning, you know?"

The brunette nodded. "Don't know why we chose a weeknight. I'm so tired.”

The door opened and the bride staggered out ''Come on, girls. Let's blow this joint and go to Shreveport. I feel the need to roll bones."

The blonde wrinkled her nose. "What?"

"Craps, baby. At the casino," the bride said, snapping one of the latex condoms drooping in her eyes.

The blonde groaned but the brunette jabbed her in the ribs.

The condom-crowned bride looked at him. "Wanna go with us, hottie? We got room in the Suburban."

He shook his head. "Not feeling lucky tonight, but if you got a designated driver, I'll take you up on a ride into town."

Two more women staggered out each of them enthusiastic about playing the slots and getting free drinks. The blonde dangled the keys. "Okay, I'm designated driver. We'll give you a ride home. That is if you don't mind being crowded. Janie wouldn't take the car seat out." .

The brunette narrowed her eyes. "Have you ever tried to put one of those things in? Well, let me tell ya, the car seat stays put no matter what."

Ten minutes later, after having stopped so one of the girls could buy a six-pack for the trip, they pulled up to the front of Brent's parents' house. The brakes squealed on the large SUV, and frankly, it was a wonder he could hear them with all the squealing, sisterly squabbling and giggling going on inside the vehicle.

"Is this it?" the blonde asked. He'd since learned her name was Dierdre, she had three kids, and was the sister-in-law to the bride-to-be. She seemed the most reasonable of the bunch. Or maybe she seemed smarter because she'd stuck with Diet Coke all night.

"Yeah, thanks," he said, shifting one of the women so he could climb out. Janie yanked the latch for the door before he was ready and he fell out.

"Damn it." He tried to plant his boots on the curb, but slipped, and fell onto the grass. Right on his ass.

The car window slid down and laughter interrupted the serenity of the night. "Oops. Sorry."

He waved off the apology and lurched to his feet as one of the condoms hit him on the shoulder. The bride to-be rose through the sunroof, wearing a naughty grin on her face as she sling-shot another condom his way.

"Just in case," she called out with a laugh.

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