Page 37 of The One I Want
“Are you sure it’s okay if I tag along?” she asks for the fiftieth time.
“Do you think this time I’m going to say no?”
“I don’t know,” she says with a shrug. “You’re meeting your friends. I’ve never really met your friends. Whitley and Jake won’t be here because she has family in Birmingham she actually likes. You know, in contrast to my situation. And I don’t want to be in the way. I’ve hung out with groups of guys before. I know a woman in the mix is an immediate cock block.”
I blink a few times, because she didn’t honestly just say that. “What did you just say?”
“Cock block,” she says matter-of-factly. “You do know what a cock block is, right?”
“I do, but—and I’m probably going to regret asking this—but why do you think you’ll be one?”
“Because, I’m going to be sitting there, and maybe a woman wants to come talk to one of you. But she sees me and she says to herself, ‘oh crap, which one is she with?’ So she doesn’t come over. And just like that, I cock block you guys by just existing.”
“You think just your presence is going to keep women away?”
“It will,” she says. “And if a woman comes up and starts talking, that means she doesn’t care who I’m with. And that means she’s level eight crazy and, unless you’re into that kind of thing, you need to run.”
“That would only be Oliver,” I say, turning off the truck. “Maybe Simon if he’s feeling a certain kind of way. But believe me, if that’s the case, then please come with us. I can’t have Oliver proposing to someone else.”
“Proposing? As in marriage?”
I laugh. “Yes. Ask him about the ring he always has in his pocket.”
“You’re not serious.”
“As a heart attack.”
I exit the truck and walk around to open Betsy’s door, only to see that she’s getting out of the SUV on her own.
“What are you doing?” I ask, my voice deeper than I mean for it to be.
She gives me a confused look. “Getting out of the car? Or was your plan just to crack a window and come give me water every hour?”
I pull her toward me so I can shut the door. What I wasn’t planning on was for her to end up just inches away from me, giving me no choice but to inhale her sweet perfume.
“I was trying to be nice.”
She looks up at me, sass filled in her eyes. “My apologies. I’ll remember for next time.”
I don’t know how it’s humanly possible for one woman to bring out a full spectrum of emotions and feelings when it comes to her. This week with the kids, I’ve been nothing but thankful for her. I was worried about the transition the kids were going to make moving down here, but with the help of Betsy, she’s made it seamless.
Today when I heard the way her parents spoke to her, it ignited a rage in me that I normally only feel when I’m playing football. And even that’s only when we’re playing teams I have a bad history with. But when I heard the way they talked to her, and how they clearly don’t know what kind of wonderful woman she is, I wanted to punch a wall.
Then there’s right now. This is the most confusing feeling of them all. Whenever I touch her, I never want to let her go. It’s weird. It’s like she’s a magnet I can’t break away from. Even though I know I need to.
“We should probably go inside,” I say.
“As long as you’re sure I’m not going to cock block.”
I laugh. “You’re ridiculous.”
I take my hand and put it on the small of her back, just for a second, as we start walking toward The Joint. I have only experienced a handful of Thanksgiving nights here in recent memory. Usually, Cara would insist on returning to Nashville, and that’s only if we made it down here in the first place. But from what I remember, this is the night Porter goes all out.
And by the looks of the crowd as we walk in, he hasn’t held back this year.
There isn’t an open seat or barstool that I can see. Groups of people are taking up all available square footage to gather. The dance floor is already packed, which makes sense as this is the one night a year Porter will splurge on a DJ. This is also the only night where someone can order a drink called the “Thanksgiving Dream,” which is a Porter concoction that will get you real fucked up and put you to sleep before you know it.
“Hey! Over here!”
