Page 32 of Ropers Can't Tie Knots
With a shaky breath, I nod. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
He leads me in a series of steps, and he steps on my foot twice while I try to fall into the rhythm.
“Don’t look at your feet,” Hunter murmurs. “Look at me, Gabe.”
And that’s the game changer. My nervous laughter dissipates as I watch Hunter’s face, and through some miracle, I don’t stop moving my feet as he leads us around the room.
“Look at that, counsellor. You’re doing it just fine,” Hunter whispers, and I immediately look down at my feet and stumbleinto him. His arms wrap around me, bringing me next to his body, while we both laugh and regain our balance.
“I won’t be bringing home any trophies soon, but thank you. This was fun.”
Hunter pushes my glasses up and allows his fingertips to drift across my cheek. “It was my pleasure…Can I show you one more?”
My nod to agree is automatic.
“Since you’re so close to me, we can do the same steps like this.” His fingers splay across the small of my back as he holds me so close our chests touch. “Our legs are closer, but just keep the same quick, quick, slow, slow. Same thing, just closer.” His breath skates across my skin, and I flex my hand in his.
Hunter leads us in the close dance. Even though the music is faster than our steps, I don’t feel like we’re out of place on the dance floor. But I feel out of sorts. This has been the perfect date. We’ve laughed, gotten to know each other better, and he shared a little about his grandmother.
Hunter has been a dream. Right now, as the one in his arms on the dance floor, I don’t want the dream to end. But as they say, everything has an ending. The music fades, and Hunter pulls me closer.
“Thank you for this, Gabe.”
Hunter’s gaze dips to my lips, and I lick mine in response.
“We should probably go,” I breathe.
His gaze searches my face, and I swear there’s a tenderness there he didn’t have before.
“Yeah. We should. Big day tomorrow.”
It’s late when we get home and neither of us says a word as we step inside the dark house. Hunter flicks on the light in the hallway, and after our shoes are off, we both move to the stairs to our bedrooms.
I’m not imagining the heat between us. After being so close to him and in his company for hours with his hand on me dancing, I’m a willing bed partner, but…something feels off.
“Well…thank you for tonight, Hunter. I had a lot of fun.”
Hunter licks his lips. “Me too.” He drifts closer, and I’ve never wanted a kiss so badly in my life. I get one, but not where I want it. His lips brush over my cheek and hover next to my ear. “It’s late and I have an early morning. Thank you for inviting me out and celebrating with me, Gabe.” He doesn’t step back immediately. It’s like there’s a fragile soap bubble around us, both of us unsure of what to do to keep it intact.
“Maybe we can do this again sometime?” I whisper, placing a hand on his chest. “Maybe when you don’t have an early morning?”
“Maybe.” His voice is thick, and I wish he’d just… “Good night, Gabe.”
The fragile bubble bursts.
He moves away without another glance and enters his bedroom, closing his door softly behind him. I stand in place for a few minutes, replaying the way his breath felt next to my ear.
Finally, I enter my bedroom.
Alone…and wondering what the fuck just happened.
ten
Hunter
“Do you want to keep practicing?”
Levi, my new roping partner’s voice, is somewhere in the background, but thoughts of Gabe keep distracting me. It’s only been a week since we went dancing, and for the first time since my grandmother died, I felt comfortable back in the Happy Badger.
