Page 47 of Drew
“What the hell did you say to him?” I scream over the music as I follow her out to the dance floor.
Chloe shimmies and sashays her way to the middle of the dance floor. She throws her arms up and dances without a care in the world. When she finally makes eye contact, she says, “You’ll just have to trust me.”
Trust her? How the hell am I supposed to trust her? I’m not even sure I like her now. She just stole my phone and said God knows what to Drew. She knows how I feel about him, so I doubt she’ll do much harm. But I don’t ever do well with the unknown.
“Dance with me,” she pleads. “I promise it’ll work out.”
I stare at her for a long moment, contemplating what to do next. I should just reach down her shirt to get my phone. But do I really want to make a scene?
No. Not really.
Throwing my arms in the air, I let the music flow through my body and get caught up in the moment. I’m still irritated, but I’m not mad. The smile on Chloe’s face shows she’s got my number, and I just nod foolishly in agreement.
Yeah. I still like her.
Barely.
A few beats later, Sydney’s dancing on the other side of us. As the music pulses through my veins, I feel the effects of the alcohol. My body’s warm, and my muscles loosen as I shake my ass on the dance floor, without a care in the world.
A few songs later, I feel two large hands grip my hips from behind. At first, I tense, not wanting to dance with a stranger, the way Sydney’s doing now. Not that I’m judging. I just wish it were Drew.
Before I can look in his direction, the stranger bends to speak in my ear, “Mind if I dance with you?” My body lights on fire. His touch, his scent, and the possessive way he guides my body on the dance floor has an effect greater than the alcohol in my system. My heart races, my nerve endings explode, and I get lost in the moment. The entire room could burst into flames, and I wouldn’t notice.
With his chest to my back, his body grinds into me in the sexiest of ways. He has one hand in the air like mine, while the other guides my hips. We bop, dip, and sway in sync with the music. I’ve never felt more exhilarated in my life.
When the song turns to a slow one, my partner spins me to face him. His beautiful face and perfect lips take my breath away. Did he get even better looking in just a few days? Is that even possible? “Hi,” I say, breathless.
“Hi yourself, Angel.” He grins devilishly, and my heart skyrockets nearly out of my chest.
I force myself to remember to breathe.
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18
Drew
I’ve spentall day on a bus, riding back to CRU. What would’ve taken a five-hour trip in a car, turned into seven hours on a bus. I love my teammates, but I just wanted to get the fuck off the bus. With any luck, Abby won’t be busy tonight, and we’ll get to hang out. I’ve tried all week to do the right thing and just see her as a friend. But let’s face it—at this point, it would be like trying to survive without air. Somehow, she has managed to work her way under my skin, and I’m not sure I want to let her go.
Oddly enough, it took Mom pointing it out for me to realize just how important Abby’s become. My parents came to the game in Spokane. It was their first outing since leaving the hospital.
After the game, I spent a few minutes with them before I returned to the team’s hotel. I’m sure if I’d asked Coach, he would’ve let me stay at home, but since we had a volunteer clinic early this morning, I thought it best to stay with the team.
After pulling off another win, my parents wait in their seats for me. They are in the ADA section since Dad doesn’t have the full strength to travel far on crutches. I feel their sense of pride as I approach.
With Mom being more mobile, she stands to greet me. Throwing her good arm out and extending her cast for me to embrace her in a hug. “Oh, Drew, it’s so good to see you. You had an amazing game. Well done, honey.”
“It’s good to see you, too, Mom.” I pick her up off her feet, like I’ve done since I became taller than she, then set her down before turning to Dad. “How’s the leg?” I ask as I give him a side arm hug.
“As good as expected,” Dad downplays with a shrug. “My lungs still give me hell from time to time, but they’re getting better every day.”
I hug Kathy in greeting, but before any of us can say anything, we’re interrupted.
“Great to see you all out and about. You gave all of us quite the scare last week.” Coach Bradford walks over to Dad and shakes his hand. “Nice to see you again.”
“Thanks, we’re glad to be here.” Dad smiles then shakes his head. “It could’ve been a hell of a lot worse.”
“No kidding.” Coach nods in agreement. “I’m glad you’re on the road to recovery. It was sure nice of Drew’s friend to take charge and get him home safely. If she hadn’t done it, I would’ve driven him over myself. There’s no way I’d let him travel all this way alone.”
