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Wes
*All Grown-Up*
This fucking song.
I swore to myself that I wouldn’t listen to it again for a year, but there’s no avoiding it. Just like there’s no avoiding the pretty, pretty girl in my arms. I will be smart about this and I will take it slow, but there’s no way I’m going back to hiding the way I feel about her now. I couldn’t if I tried. Not when she was gracefully arching backward, exposing her long neck and those perky breasts in that tight top and not now that we’re barely moving as we hold each other. Like we’re trying to make time stand still.
I must be out of my mind—slow-dancing in public with my new assistant, the boss’s daughter, the girl who skipped town without saying good-bye.
And I fucking love it. I love being out of my mind. I love that after all these years, I’m seeing a side of Lily Barnes I’ve never seen before—confused and nervous. I love that she’s sexy even when she’s spilling things on herself. I love that she can give me shit but she can also roll with the punches.
This is all I really wanted to do at that St. Mary’s prom. It’s worth the wait. It’s all going to be worth the wait.
She’s got her arms wrapped around me tight, cheek pressed against my chest like she’s trying to hear my heartbeat. If she’s hoping to hear it racing, she’ll be disappointed. I’ve been feeling great about this ever since I made my decision this afternoon. Turns out here and now with Lily is exactly where I want to be.
I’ve finally put myself out of misery.
I can be a good boss when we’re working, and I can be the man she needs me to be off-hours.
I don’t have to worry about what Jay Barnes might think when he finds out about us.
And I can make myself forget about the way she left town. She was young. We all make mistakes. We’re all assholes sometimes.
What I’ve always loved and hated about this song is that it feels too short. As soon as it ends, I feel like I haven’t had enough, and I need to hear it again. That’s the thing about songs and women you can’t get out of your head. They beat against your body until your soul recognizes them, lets them in, and suddenly your heart only responds to that rhythm. It’s an addiction, I know it. I’m done fighting it.
The Stones segues to some new upbeat atrocity I don’t recognize, but Lily’s still burrowing her face into my pec.
Alecia bounces over to us, dragging Neal with her. “Okay, kids! On to the next one! Wooohooo!”
I loosen my grip on Lily’s back, and she lifts her head up, like she’s waking up from a long nap. She pulls away from me and looks around sheepishly, running her fingers through her hair.
“Let’s go!” she says as she takes Alecia’s hand and they run for the exit, leaning into each other and laughing.
Neal just nods his head at me and says, “You good?”
“All good. You?”
“Good times.”
Earlier tonight, when I was at his house and we had a rare moment of quiet when the kids were busy entertaining themselves, Neal had only said, “So. Lily’s your assistant.”
To which I’d replied, “Yeah.”
And then he’d said, “Yeah…not gonna say a word.”
It was perfect.
And I suppose I told Lily another little white lie when I said that Neal wanted to surprise Alecia tonight. It was my idea to come here. I just did a good job of making him think it was his idea. No one’s going to regret this night, I’ll see to that.
When we get outside, I spot Alecia and Lily huddled together about half a block down, and when I happen to look up the block, I do a double take when I see a familiar face and get a whiff of Axe body wash.
Douchebag Dan is bounding toward the club, like a fighter about to enter the ring, surrounded by some invisible cheering crowd. It looks like he poured a bottle of olive oil onto his hair. I wish I could take a picture for Kate.
“Hey, man!” he says. “What’s it like in there? Is it hot tonight?”
“Hey, Dan. I’m sure you’ll find what you’re looking for in there. Thought you only frequented clubs in neighboring towns.”
“Getting tired of all the driving.” Which is “Recently Separated Man” speak for “I’ve finally given up hope that my wife will forgive me so I might as well start hooking up locally.” His brows knit together when he looks past me, down the block. “Hey, is that…?”
