Page 5 of My Secret Protector
I’m dancing on my own, free from judgment. Free from the glares some of the girls may be giving me, or the lascivious stares of any guys watching. They don’t matter. The music and my connection to it is what matters.
It’s weird though. I do feel one pair of eyes upon me. It feels like someone is watching, but not with judgment. I feel a warmth flow through me because it feels like that person is watching with want and need, and even admiration. Maybe it’s just my imagination. Maybe it isn’t. It doesn’t matter because it feels right.
I’m almost giddy as I twist and turn my body to the music. This is exactly what I needed after the breakup with Tim and the test I had today in my psych class. None of it matters now. All that matters is this feeling right here.
I slowly open my eyes as the music slows down. Couples start crowding the dance floor.Fuck.Time to get a drink.
I push my way through the couples grinding against each other and find Sam, Sunny, and Molly looking longingly out to the dance floor.
“Oh my God, are you guys actually missing your boyfriends right now? Because this is a girls’ night! Remember, a girls’ night? That night when boys aren’t invited and are banished from our thoughts.” I shake my head and take a long sip of my cocktail. I wrinkle my nose. It’s mostly vodka now.
Sam holds up her hands in a defensive gesture. “I know, I know. It’s just…” she trails off and indicates all the couples on the dance floor.
“She means we are totally here for girls’ night, but it’s okay to miss the guys maybe just a little bit,” Sunny holds up her index and forefinger with only a small space between them. She tosses back her long blonde. “We are still here to celebrate your freedom from that weasel Flora. Are you sure we can’t get the other football players to beat him up? You know they will, happily.”
Sam sits up straighter and pulls her phone from her purse. “Yep, I can totally call Beau right now and see if they can organize something.”
I grab her hand and place her phone back on the table. I roll my eyes. “No, you guys. We’re not doing that. Besides, Beau is a coach. He can’t beat up anyone.”
Sam’s cheeks turn rosy. “Oh yeah, I guess he can’t. Anyway, I have a better idea.” She taps a finger against her lips and starts surveying the club with her dark eyes.
“What better way to get over someone than to get under someone else?” She grins mischievously and Sunny claps her hands together. Even Molly nods her head in agreement.
“Oooh, I love that idea, Sam,” she adds.
I roll my eyes. “Y’all are too much.” I can’t stop my grin though. I love these girls. Molly is someone I met when we suffered through a freshman class together. She was shy and quirky, and we immediately bonded. Then when Sunny moved in, I didn’t realize I would adopt her friends also. Sam is engaged to Sunny’s brother and has quickly become a part of our friend group.
“What about that guy?” Sam asks coyly. “He’s been watching you the whole time we’ve been here.”
I think about the way I felt on the dance floor, how I felt like someone was watching me.Just like the other night at the community center.I turn my head to the left and right. “Where Sam? I don’t see anyone.”
“He’s at the bar, girlie. He keeps sneaking looks over here when he thinks no one’s looking.” She grins. “I just happen to be extra observant. That and I have radar when it comes to hot guys.”
I glance towards the bar and don’t notice anyone looking my way. I shrug. “I don’t see anyone.”
She playfully slaps the back of my hand. “Give it a moment.”
I keep watching. After another moment or two, I feel a warmth spread through me. Sure enough, a tall drink of water at the bar is staring at me.
Dark eyes meet mine. A shiver runs through my body. I eat him up with my eyes. Granite jaw, nose that looks like it’s been broken a time or two, and a rugged body made for sin. Those dark eyes widen as they study me, and he winces. His cheeks redden and then he turns around to the bar.
A sneaky smile spreads across my face.There’s something about that guy. Something that I need. Something that I want…
Chapter Eight
She twists me up inside like a pretzel without even being aware of it. Hell, the power this woman has… -Levi
What the hell am I doing?I know better than this. I’ve been doing this long enough to know how to stay hidden anywhere, even in the most obvious of places. Hiding in a crowded club should be beyond easy.
But I couldn’t seem to turn away from her. She’s like a magnet I can’t help but move towards. If I can’t see her, something within me panics. And here I am, looking like a dumbass, because for a moment I wanted her to see me too. I wanted to see if this attraction works both ways, or if I’m the only one that could possibly feel this pull between us. Judging by the way she looked at me, she did feel something. Part of me feels triumph.The idiotic, doesn’t want to keep his job, part.
I turn quickly back to the bar and slam my glass down so that I can get the hell out of dodge. I need to find another place to watch her, a more discreet place, where she doesn’t notice the darkness that follows her everywhere.
“Not much of a drinker, huh?” her sweet voice sends vibrations of lust down my spine.Shit and double shit.
“Nope,” I say and try not to turn around. But I fail, again. I have to look at my girl. See her up close. This may be the closest I ever get to her.
My breath gets caught in my throat when I realize she’s pressed up very fucking close to me. She’s being pushed in even more by the crowd. Her golden hair hangs around her shoulders in waves and that black dress she wears…fuck me, what a dress. I wondered who she wore it for tonight. Wondered if some other guy would get to take it slowly off her delicious body. And wished for that guy to be me.
