Page 23 of Beautifully Used
“Nah. Don’t worry. I’m pacing myself. Gotta take time to celebrate. You could have caught the garter. What happened?”
“Not my thing.”
“What? Garters or marriage?”
My lip twitched into a half smile. “I like garters. I just don’t like what the ritual implies.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s right. Mister non-relationship. Maybe someday when you fall in love, you’ll understand.”
Grateful he hadn’t tagged again onto that sentence. Though even without it, Beth’s face flashed before my eyes. The memory of her and what she had done still stung. Jackson clinked his glass against mine and we downed the dark brown liquid. As I titled my head back, I caught sight of Gabrielle on the dance floor. Damn. Who was she dancing with? They swayed with their bodies pressed so close it looked like they were molded together. She tilted her head back and laughed at something the guy said. “Who’s that?” I asked, nodding my head toward Gabrielle and the guy holding her too tightly against him.
Jackson followed my gaze to the dance floor. “Who’s who?”
“That guy dancing with Gabrielle.”
“Oh, that’s Jeff. He’s on the soccer team. I think his last name’s Adams, if I remember correctly. He’s one of the newer guys on the team. I don’t know him very well.”
“Then why’d you invite him?”
“He’s on the team. I invited everyone on the team. It just seemed wrong to only invite some and not all. You know how it is.”
“Yeah.” I rolled my eyes. Jackson had a heart big enough for the entire county, and didn’t want anyone to feel left out whether they were good friends or just acquaintances.
“He was in the bar a few weeks ago. He’s been coming in a lot lately. I’m surprised you haven’t seen him.”
“I’ve seen him. Just didn’t know who he was.”
Chapter 18
Gabrielle
* * *
Jeff and I swayed together on the crowded dance floor. He held me tightly against him, his hand firmly around my waist. I tried to reposition my hips when I realized he held my right thigh snuggled between his legs, pressing me against his crotch. At that same moment, he released me and twirled me around before bringing me back close to him again, but not quite so snuggly this time. I frowned when I realized what song we’d been dancing to, Everybody Hurts by R.E.M. I chuckled to myself, wondering what possessed the DJ to choose that song for a wedding reception, when Jeff whispered in my ear, “What kind of wedding song is this? It’s the most depressing song I’ve ever heard.” He stopped leading me and grabbed my hand. “C’mon. Let’s get away from here.”
I laughed. “Wait, Jeff. I can’t just leave.” I looked back at my shoes. “I need my shoes.” But my protests were futile as he continued pulling me along until we were out of the yard and several feet into the forest. “Ouch!” I stepped on something hard and Jeff stopped tugging me.
“Are you okay?” He laughed. “Where are your shoes?”
“Back at the edge of the dance floor. I tried to tell you.”
“Ah. Sorry. I didn’t hear you. Let me see.” He picked up my leg and looked at the bottom of my foot. “I don’t see any blood.” Then he rubbed my foot. A couple seconds later, his hand inched up my ankle and then up the calf of my leg.
“Stop.” I shoved his hand away and placed my foot on the ground. “I need to get back.” I took a step back toward the reception, the hem of my dress dragging in the dirt. It would surely be ruined.
“Wait.” He grabbed my arm, gently pulling me back toward him, coaxing me to stay. “Please. It’s just that there’re so many people there. I just want to spend a little one-on-one time with you and talk. I’d like to get to know you a little, especially if you’re going to join the soccer team. I want to learn what type of skills you have, how long you’ve played, whom you played for, you know. So when I pass you the ball, I’ll feel more confident that you can score. Back there at the reception, it’s so loud you can barely hear yourself think, let alone talk.”
I studied him for a second. He seemed genuinely interested in my soccer skills, and I loved talking about soccer. I had played varsity all four years in high school. And he was nice. The few moments we’d talked by the trees had been pleasant enough. What harm would it do to stay for a few minutes out here in the quiet? “Okay,” I lamented.
His grey eyes roamed my face, my hair, and briefly, my chest before they settled back on my face; leaving me a bit unnerved. He smiled as his finger swept a stray curl off my cheek. “What… do you want to know? I already told you that I played in high school.”
“That’s right, you did.” He leaned in and kissed me.
I shoved him back. “I thought you wanted to talk.”
Taking both my shoulders in his hands, he pulled me close to him. “I do,” he said, pressing his lips against mine again. I struggled to push him away, but he wouldn’t let go. “Stop!” I managed in between his forced kisses and shoved at his chest again.
“You can’t seriously be turning me down. Not the way you were dancing with me. I know you want it.”
