Page 41 of Can We Skip to the Good Part?
“Obvious?” She asked, still holding on.
“Probably just to me.”
“Good,” Ella said like the best kind of ventriloquist, releasing Ariana and remembering to keep her smile in full bloom. “Whatever happened to my drink?” she asked.
Stevie, who was now grinning happily, handed her the drink from the ledge along the wall. “I’m on my second,” she proclaimed. “Catch me.” She then did a little hip-shaking dance as she drank. Four women turned to watch. Yep, Stevie was going to do just fine.
Ella, who wasn’t someone who consumed more than one or two at a time, raised her glass. It was Stevie’s night, dammit. “Challenge accepted.”
The only problem was that Stevie had a much higher tolerance. An hour later, Ella held drink number three and sipped from it passively, realizing her sobriety was slipping through her fingers like sand through the hourglass.
“You okay?” Max asked, sliding a strand of dark hair behind her ear. What Ella wouldn’t give to run her fingers through it as she climbed on top.
“I’m actually having a really great time.”
“Actuallysounds like a qualifier.Actuallymeans you didn’t expect to.”
“You are such a lawyer, aren’t you?” Ella said around her straw.
“You’ve got to stop looking like that,” she said with a playful grin and drifted away again. Max, she was finding, never lingered too long. She was approached by another woman, who seemed to be gesturing to the dance floor, and, aha, asking her to dance. Max shook her head, seeming to decline the invite, which made warmth gather in the center of Ella’s chest.
“I had a great conversation with a woman.”
Ella turned to find Stevie staring at her with wide eyes.
“That’s great. Is this someone you’d like to talk to again?”
Stevie nodded. “If I sent over a drink, would that be, you know, cool?”
“It’d be very cool. You might even drop it off yourself, and see if there are any buying signs. If so, stick around for another chat.”
Stevie continued to nod. It seemed to be her crutch. “I’m going to do that. The others are great, but I think you get me, Ella.” She squeezed Ella’s hand, offered a here-we-go wince, took a hearty swallow of her margarita for fortification, and headed to the bar.
“Well done,” Max said, watching after Stevie. “I think you’ve been appointed coach.”
“How long have you been standing there?”
“I caught the tail end. She trusts you.”
“Good.” There were so many things she wanted to say to Max. She wanted to tell her about all the feelings she had gathering and settling. And how her brain wanted to know everything about Max. How her body wanted to press into her and put an end to this torturous dance once and for all. And in this moment, she couldn’t seem to cling to the very important reasonwhy she shouldn’tany longer.
“What? What are you thinking?”
She met Max’s eyes and went up on her toes, her mouth close to Max’s ear. “I want to know you. Is that wild? I just do.”
When she went back down onto her heels, Max’s smile faded into what can only be described as sincerity. “I want you to know me, too,” she said back. The moment felt so simple, so easy, and so ridiculously clear. Why didn’t she enjoy three drinks more often? In fact, she planned to, because the stressors that hung on her like a lead vest were now gone. She liked Max. Max liked her. They also happened to possess an intangible electricity that made her feel more alive than anything ever had. That didn’t seem like something to be discounted.
“This is a good song. Let’s go.” Max grabbed her hand and tugged. Before she knew it, Ella was on her way back to the dance floor, where her reputation as an uncoordinated sheep surely preceded her. Only this time, she did move a little bit easier. She’d loosened up, which was helpful. Also helpful was Max’s hand on the small of her back when she didn’t move fast enough to the left.
Which Ella made sure happened a whole hell of a lot.
TEN
Line? What Line?
They were laughing a lot more this time around on the dance floor. Max hadn’t had this much fun with someone in a long time.
“Turn! Turn, Wyler!” Ella howled, scurrying along with the crowd as if they were a mob chasing her to the right. “Oh, and forward we go. Keep up,” she shouted. “Hurry!”
