Page 79 of Call the Shots
I froze. I had no idea what to do.
In North Dakota, I went to parties. I drank beer with my teammates while my ex did navel shots and Wade fucked puck bunnies upstairs. Then we’d pile into a truck, and I’d count the road signs flying by in the darkness, thinking ‘this is it?’
Nobody line-danced to hip hop. Nobody made marshmallow drinks. Nobody did any of this.
“First time?” Melody asked, shaking a whipped cream can.
“Uh…yeah.” I took a hesitant drink. “Fuck, that’s good.”
She laughed. “You look like you need another.”
“Whatever’s strongest, I don’t need the marshmallow.”
“Anything for June’s boys.”
“I’m not—uh—” I paused. I mean, June did bring me here and landed me free drinks. “Yeah. I guess I am.”
I drank shot after shot because I needed to be pretty drunk to handle this. At least fifty people were line dancing in the living room, sliding and jumping together. I could see June teaching Montoya the moves, so he’d stop accidentally hitting people in the face.
I swallowed my next shot before my eyes inevitably returned to June.
The white dress—toga thing?—was sheer enough to see the dip of her hips, where it tightened over her breasts, and the plunge of her neckline. A golden crown of leaves rested over her hair. Pinned up before, it now hung wild around her face as she rocked her hips, stepping with a rhythm that was a mystery to me.
I ran my tongue along the back of my teeth, watching her.
Watching only her.
Xavier’s words played back to me.You think she’d take a two-second look at you in the real world?The truth was, I wasn’t like any of these guys. I wasn’t comfortable here. I didn’t belong in June’s world.
Some dude pushed his way to her. They were talking—why were they talking?
Who the hell is that?
Before I could think about how many shots I’d gone through, my feet worked faster than my brain. I found him at one of the bars downstairs. Drinks in hand, he tried to pass me. “Watch where you’re going?—”
“Are these for June?” I asked. When he nodded, I easily pulled the drinks from him. He cursed me out, but I got in his space. “She has a boyfriend. Do me a favor. Fuck off.”
The crowd finally finished line dancing and moved on to a slower R&B track. Nick danced behind June. Both drinks easily fit my hand, and I grabbed him by his toga, yanking him back to take his place.
I stood there, motionless, as June leaned against me.Fuck.She wasn’t grinding on me, but the movement spread warmth through my chest.
June glanced up and stumbled. “Bear?”
“I brought you a drink.”
“What?” She blinked. “How drunk are you?”
“Drunk?” I paused. Did my words usually slur? I couldn’t remember. “Not that drunk. I’ve been drunker. Drunken…er.”
“You’re trashed.”
“You aren’t sober.”
She rolled her eyes, cheeks flushed. “I didn’t say I was.”
“Are you keying Xavier’s car or something later?”
June took a long drink. “I don’t want to talk about it, let’s party.”
