“Oh my gosh!” Jane yells. “It’s like a playlist of all my favorite songs.”
She dances in a circle, smiling and bobbing her head side to side, as another song starts to play over the speakers in the backyard of the football house.
It’s a pretty cool spot. When I was in Seattle going to school, we had something similar. I was living in the dorms, but a couple older teammates had an off-campus house where we often hung out and had parties.
Jane and her friends are playing flip cup at a table just outside the back door with her roommate’s boyfriends and some other football guys, including Archer and Brogan.
The longer the night goes on and the tipsier she gets, the more she seems like that girl I was watching from afar months ago.
And I forgot how much that girl got under my skin. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of layers to Jane, and they all intrigue the hell out of me. It’s just that I’m not a guy who acts without running through the scenario ten different ways, but when she’s carefree and happy like this, I find myself moving toward her without thinking.
“She’s unbeatable,” Brogan says and points to Dahlia. “We need to mix up the teams. I call Dahlia and Jane with me, Arch, and Felix.”
“You took our best player!” Vi screeches.
“Yeah, but we also took Jane, so it evens it out.” Brogan puts an arm around Jane’s shoulders.
“I should be offended,” she says, giving him a playful glare. “But I am really, really bad at this game.”
My pulse ticks faster as Brogan’s arm lingers on Jane’s bare skin. She’s wearing a strapless black dress that barely contains her cleavage. One little tug of the zipper at her back would send the small scrap of black material to her feet.
I pull my hands into fists to stop the tingle spreading down my fingers at the thought. I’d also like to shove Brogan about five feet to the side.
“I think I’m done anyway,” she says. “I want to dance some more.”
That’s my cue.
She finally looks my way as she steps out of a disappointed Brogan’s hold.
“What?” He whines. “No, come on. I was kidding.”
She laughs. “No, you weren’t.”
I meet her halfway. She tosses her arms around my neck. With the tall heels she’s wearing tonight, Jane is only a few inches shorter than me. The perfect height to lean forward and take her bottom lip between my teeth. Fuck, I gotta get a hold of myself.
“Will you come dance with me?” she asks. Her fingers play with the hair at the nape of my neck.
“I’ll walk over there with you.”
Her head moves slowly side to side. “That’s not what I meant.”
I know exactly what she meant. “What about your friends?”
“We’ve reached the point in the evening where it’s no longer chicks before dicks.” She turns her head to look at them. Jordan and Daisy are kissing while everyone else figures out teams, Gavin has one arm around Violet’s waist holding her against him, and Felix’s hands are somewhere under Dahlia’s shirt.
A small chuckle rumbles in my chest. “I bet they’d still dance with you if you asked.”
“Probably.” She steps backward while keeping her arms linked around my neck, pulling me with her. “But I’m asking you.”
Once I start walking on my own, she lets go and leads the way across the small yard to the area where a group of mostly girls are still dancing.
The way she moves, even drunk, is so graceful and easy. She spins back around when she reaches our destination and starts to dance in front of me.
I don’t immediately join in, and she narrows her gaze at me. “Don’t tell me you don’t dance. It’ll ruin the fantasy.”
I cock a brow, wondering but absolutely not asking about any and all fantasies she has about me.
“Come on, Hendrick.” She takes my hand and tugs. “Don’t make me dance all alone.”
As soon as I start to move, her face lights up. “Yay!”
She invades my space as she tosses her head around and lifts her hands out to her sides. She has endless energy as she bounces around to some upbeat song and sings along with the chorus. Her dress inches down a little too far and she presses one forearm across her chest, smashing her boobs but keeping things in place as she continues to jump.
When the song ends and a slower one starts, she pauses and stares up at me with a hint of uncertainty.
I loop one arm around her waist and a second later she eagerly drapes her arms along my shoulders. Her dress is still dangerously close to falling down. She follows my gaze and giggles, then adjusts the material. “Bad choice of dress for tonight.”
“Or fantastic choice, depending on your point of view.” Damn. Probably should have kept that to myself. Without even trying she makes it hard to keep things strictly professional. Though I think she does try, just to get under my skin and get a reaction out of me.
She giggles again and presses closer against my chest, then just kind of melts into me. “I like the way it feels being in your arms.”
One finger trails down over my shoulder to my bicep and over my forearm, then back up. “You have really great arms. And eyes.” She tips her head up to meet my gaze. “I like how sometimes they’re clearly hazel and other times they look green or brown.”
As she speaks, that finger continues to explore. Between the temporary move to Valley and the odd hours of the job, it’s been a while since I’ve gone out with a woman. I really haven’t had time to even think about hooking up with the exception of the Jane incident last month, but right now I’m suddenly wishing I’d made time. Maybe then her touch alone wouldn’t have me hard.
“I could keep going. I like a lot of things about you.”
“You’re drunk. You like everyone right now.”
“Maybe, but not as much as I like you.” Like she suddenly just became aware of what she was doing, her hand moves back to my shoulder. “Sorry. I promised myself I wouldn’t hit on you tonight. I can’t seem to help it right now. My body is buzzing with alcohol and happiness.”
“I’m glad you’re having a good time,” I say honestly.
“I really am. Not quite as good as I’d be if your hands moved about three inches lower though, just saying.”
I cough my surprise.
“Sorry, sorry. I have no filter right now.”
“It’s all right.” My voice is tight as I reply, and I do my best to ignore the heat rushing through my veins.
Her gaze is filled with vulnerability as she stares into my eyes. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Good. I feel safe with you.”
Those words make my chest fill with air. Her trust means a lot to me, and that’s something I need to keep at the forefront of my mind. No matter how badly I want her, keeping her safe is the only thing that matters.
She sings softly through the rest of the song. I’ve heard her voice a number of times—YouTube videos when I first got the job, in class now that she wears the earpiece, and tonight with her friends. But no matter how many times I hear her sing, her voice still gets to me. Every word is dripped in emotion like she feels the lyrics so deeply. It’s no wonder people are clamoring to see her perform again.
“Jane!” Someone calls her name as they wrap a hand around her upper arm.
Without thinking, I step between them and pull her behind me.
Cameron Payton holds both hands up defensively, brows lifted in surprise and an amused smirk on his lips. “Whoa, dude. Just wanted to say hey to Jane.”
He points and peers around me to look at her.
“It’s okay,” she says quietly and comes to stand next to me. “Hey, Cam.”
“This your bodyguard?” he jokes.
“Something like that.” She smiles at him. “What are you doing here?”
“Stopped by with some of the guys. We were at The Hideout earlier.” He lets his gaze slide over her, and I grit my teeth. “You look great. It’s so good to see you out.”
“Thanks.”
“Wanna dance?”
“Oh, um.” She bites the corner of her lip and looks at me.
“It’s cool, man. I’ll keep an eye on her.” He winks.
I resist the urge to roll my eyes, but it’s the thump over the head that I need to remember I’m not here as her date.
“I’ll be close,” I say quietly where only she can hear me, and give Cam a hard look as I leave them.
