Page 31 of Butter My Biscuit

“Your birthday is two days before mine. Taurus.”

“Same year too?”

“Yep, same exact year. Twenty-seven. Gettin’ old.”

Grace grabs her shot and turns away as I continue chatting, “What’s your name?”

“River.”

She holds out her hand, and I take it.

“Harrison. Nice to meet you.”

Someone taps the bar a few seats down, and she gives the guy a look.

“I hope to see you around,Harrison.”

“Yeah, you will.”

She keeps my gaze for a brief second before walking away. Then, I grab my shot and mirror Grace’s stance, leaning against the bar.

I hold my glass in the air, and so does Grace. Then, we clink them together and shoot it back. She does a little wiggle, and I smile just as “Crazy” by Patsy Cline plays.

“Wanna dance?”

“Another shot first,” she says.

I turn, and River is already pouring them and sliding them to us.

We toss them back, and then I take Grace’s hand, leading her onto the dance floor. I wrap my other hand around her waist and pull her close, falling in line with everyone else who’s two-stepping.

“I feel like this is my theme song.”

It makes me chuckle.

“Hey! Don’t laugh!”

“I’m tryin’ really hard not to.” I smile.

“Dinner was amazing. Thank you. I needed a night out.”

“You’re welcome. I knew you would.”

“What if I’d been with Joey tonight and missed that entire experience?”

I shrug. “Things always work out the way they’re supposed to.”

“Yeah,” she says.

“And I’d have found someone to join me; don’tcha worry your pretty little face about that. Or I’d have gone alone. Doesn’t bother me in the least to go out and have dinner by myself. Do you know how many numbers I usually get when I do that?”

She meets my eyes. “Hundreds.”

“Close.” I spin her around.

“So, tonight, what do I need to focus on, Coach?”

“Depends. What’re your goals?”

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