Page 42 of Like You Want It
“My brother is super modest. But he was a Navy SEAL for ten years.”
“Whaaaaaaaaaaat?”
That definitely comes from Dina. If anyone is a sucker for a man in uniform, it’s her. She’s talked my ears off about the sexiness level of military men on more than one occasion.
“Yeah. SEAL Team Three.” Then Susie leans forward and mock whispers. “You should see how hot some of the guys are that he worked with.” Dina’s eyes light up as she continues. “Like, I’m talking absolutely gorgeous with huge muscles and any time he’d visit when I was in high school, he always brought home these sexy friends that I would just drool over as they hung out in…”
“Okay, they get the picture,” Fin interrupts, his eyes elsewhere as he pretends we don’t interest him.
“But he doesn’t work there anymore. Now he does commercial real estate.”
I watch Fin when she says this, see the pinched look on his face when she mentions that he’s not a SEAL anymore.
I guess I’d always assumed he was ready to leave when he discharged and took over caring for Nell. That it was a decision he’d been wanting.
Not that he wasn’t ready to leave his military life behind. Or that he gave up something important, sacrificed big for his sister.
“What prompted the change in career?” Dina asks.
Fin glances at Susie, who looks a little stricken at the direction the conversation has taken.
Time to cut that off at the knees.
“Nobody cares, Dina. Stop being nosey.”
Dina huffs and rolls her eyes. “Fine.” Then she looks at Fin. “Stay a mystery. What Ireallywant to know is how we can get access to all these hot military guys.”
Fin just stares back at her, his expression carefully blank.
“Look! Time to go in!” I’ve never been so thankful to get to the front of a line.
Susie quickly steps up to show the bouncer her ID, flashing a big smile at me. One that’s two parts happiness and one part gratitude. For redirecting the conversation or simply inviting her along, I can’t be sure. But the one thing I do know? I love seeing her smile like that. All genuine and giddy. I’ve only seen it once or twice so far, but she’s such a sweetie and has so much on her mind. It’s awesome when she’s able to let go and really let her personality shine.
We all follow suit and show off our glamorous photo IDs to the bouncer, each of us getting a slight stare down and then a nod to head inside.
As soon as I enter through the large barn doors, my senses are overwhelmed. The smells and sounds, even the feel of the air… it’s familiar and full of fun times and laughter.
I love it here. It never changes. I say that like I’ve been coming here for decades when really it has only been a few years.
But I guess that’s the thing when you find a place you really enjoy. There’s an element to it that feels like coming home. I may not consider this place to be a home to me, but there is a familiarity and comfort here that I know I won’t find anywhere else.
There’s a bar area shaped like an oval in the center, with all of the bartenders working in the middle, shelves of liquor behind them on wooden walls that go up to the ceiling. On one side is a legitimate dining room that serves steaks and burgers, filled with tables that look like huge yarn spools with glass tops. On the other side of the bar is the dancing hall. I let my eyes stray in that direction, where the magic happens.
Line dancing is really fun. Each time we bust out the cowboy boots and get out onto the floor, we have an amazing night. I usually come with just Dina, though we have brought other friends with us on occasion. I don’t mean to toot our horns, but we are a pretty fun duo and are never short a dance partner when a song calls for one.
But we have a strict rule. We come here for girl’s night and fun times. Not for men. So we’ll dance with guys for a little while then come back to just dancing with each other. And, of course, we imbibe on the impeccably made drinks. Though Dina is more of the fancy drink drinker. I prefer shots.
“So, how does it work?” Susie asks as we head towards the bar. “Because that doesn’t sound like line dancing music.”
Dina laughs. “It isn’t line dancing the entire time. They’d be crazy to do that. There just aren’t enough people in this area who know how to do it. This place mostly operates like a club, just with a theme, and every dozen or so songs, they’ll do a few country ones. Slow dances and familiar stuff. Sometimes they’ll just playWobbleor that song that tells people to jump and stomp and crisscross.” She shrugs. “It’s a hodgepodge.”
Susie nods, taking it all in, her eyes wide as she watches the bodies on the dance floor. She looks a little overwhelmed, so I slide over to her and wrap an arm around her shoulders.
“We won’t let you look like an idiot. I promise.”
“Yeah, Carly takes the cake on that one. As long as you dance with her, you’ll look like you belong onSo You Think You Can Dance?”
I swat Dina in the arm as she cackles. “I’m anamazingdancer,” I defend, lifting my chin in faux haughtiness, because we both know it is the least truthful thing I’ve ever said. “So be prepared for a schooling.”
