Page 53 of Fall Wherever They May

“What is she talking about?” I ask Aspen.

She waves off my question, “Pipe dreams. Nothing really.” She turns her attention to River, giving her an encouraging shove. “You should go up there!”

“Nope. I’m good.” River shakes her head.

Carter leans forward and addresses River from across the bar, “Why not? You can’t be as bad as the guy singing before Aspen.”

“Oh, she’s pretty good,” Aspen chimes in. “When we were in high school, this girl owned the stage.”

River takes a long pull from her beer bottle, then points it at Carter. “If you think it’s that easy, why don’t you go do it?” She lifts a brow.

“Maybe I will, but only if you go after me.” He casually shrugs.

“Be careful what you ask for, Fight Club.” She chuckles. “I’m prepared to embarrass your ass.”

He tosses her a grin, “Bring it, Kitten.”

Carter makes his way to the stage, stopping first to talk to the big guy managing the karaoke before taking the microphone into his hands.

He taps on the mic. “This song goes out to my girl River. She’s the gorgeous blonde at the bar in the tight red dress and sexy-ass strappy heels. Kitten, give everyone a wave and show them who you are.” Aspen and I burst into a fit of laughter. Patron’s whistle and catcall as River rolls her eyes. She puts her arm up in the air to flash Carter a middle finger. “Total knockout, right? She has claws, but don’t worry, she doesn’t scratch. Well, she might; who knows? I hope she does. I like ‘em feisty. Anyways, someone buy her angry ass a drink.”

When the opening notes sound and Cheap Trick’s “I Want You To Want Me” begins playing, I lose it. I don’t understand the reason behind River not liking Carter. I haven’t figured out that whole scenario. He’s a genuinely good guy. The crowd sings the chorus with him, and we all join in. Aspen and I are singing at the top of our lungs and laughing at River when she crosses her arms and taps her perfectly manicured fingers.

River trots to the stage as soon as Carter finishes the song and places her lips to the mic. “Hi everyone. This song goes out to the guy who was just up here. And just so everyone is aware, I’m not his girl. This song should drive the point home.” She gives a nod to the DJ, who cues up the music.

The music for Meghan Trainor’s “No.” plays through the speaker. River swings her hips to the chorus with her vision trained on Carter, looking him directly in the eyes.

“Oh, God. I think I’m in love,” Carter says in awe, holding his hand to his chest. He continues musing to himself, “Challenge accepted, Kitten.”

“Yeah, I think you accepted that challenge a long time ago.” I chuckle.

Aspen pulls on Carter’s sleeve. “She will realize you’re one of the good ones. She’s a good friend to have, if you can win her over.”

That makes me curious. “What happened?”

“Let’s just say a bait and switch happened.” She shakes her head. “The entire situation was hard on all of us.”

“Hey, Carter, remember those words you threw at me right before the first team meeting with Aspen?” I say rhetorically. “Chew on those because the same applies to you.”

Aspen turns back to watch River. I study her profile, then trail my eyes down the length of her body, allowing myself to drink in her gorgeous curves. Fuck, she is the total package; her curves are in all the right places. A black dress hugs her curves perfectly, and she wears a pair of sky-high black heels with red bottoms. I’m turned the fuck on by her. She still hasn’t let go of my hand as we stand to watch River sing.

After about an hour, the DJ switches from karaoke to an eclectic genre of music. We watch the girls dance together for a few songs before they drag us onto the dance floor. Song after song, we dance until exhaustion meets all of us.

Aspen and I stroll to the bar behind our friends and order water. Sweat drips down our temples. She pulls her hair up to cool off, exposing her slender neck. I can’t help but want to taste her.

“Are you ready to go?” Aspen calls over the music.

I nod, turning to find Aiden and Hannah at a high-top table immersed in conversation. I tap Carter on the shoulder. “Hey, we’re headed out. Can you make sure the girls get back safe?”

He nods, engrossed in River sucking her fruity drink through a straw. “Yeah, man. I got them,” he says, never taking his eyes off her.

We arrive at the hotel a little after eleven. The elevator is empty and dead silent. I press the button for the twentieth floor, and she presses the one for the twenty-third. I stand on the other side of the metal box studying her, reflecting on the past five months we’ve known each other. Why do I keep fighting this?

Her brow furrows. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“You’re so beautiful. How can I not?” She rolls her eyes.

The tension is thick as we hold each other’s gazes. She looks away briefly, then her eyes connect with mine again. She is it for me. Fuck the guilt. I know it will come back, but I’ll deal with that later. Fuck the torn feelings. Right now, all I want is her. The elastic band keeping me from her snaps. I stride across the elevator until I’m standing directly in front of her. Reaching to the right, I press the stop button to the elevator, then lift her chin and angle her head back. Her lips part on a gasp. She looks at me expectantly as my eyes dance over her face.

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