Holding You (27 page)

Placing her hand over her mouth, tears formed in Alex’s eyes as she stifled her sob. “Me, too. It’s beyond perfect. I mean, when my parents got married there, our house wasn’t there, but there is something magical about that tree. I feel it in my heart.”

Reaching up, I wiped a tear from Alex’s cheek. “Why are you crying, Alex?”

“Because I’m so happy, Lauren and at the same time I’m so afraid the floor is going to fall out from underneath me because I’m so happy.”

Pulling her into my arms, I held her tight. “Alex, everything is going to be perfect. Don’t worry about a thing.”

Sniffling, Alex nodded into my chest. “I’m so scared, Lauren.”

“Oh, honey. Why? Why are you scared?”

Pulling back some, Alex worried her lower lip. “I don’t know. I love Will so much and I really can’t wait to start my life as his wife but at the same time . . . I’m getting married in a little over a month.” Letting out a nervous giggle, her eyes widened. “Married. As in Mrs. William Hayes.”

Staring at Alex I tried to hold it back, but I couldn’t. I busted out laughing. It didn’t take Alex long to start laughing also. Before long, we had tears streaming down our faces and I wasn’t even sure why we were laughing. Grace and Maegan walked up and looked at us with smiles.

“What’s so funny?” Grace asked as she walked up to us.

Wiping my tears away, I winked at Alex. “Just being silly and we lost control of our giggles.”

We spent the rest of the train ride planning our evening. We were going to dinner, then dancing at a local club that would allow Taylor and me in.

THREE HOURS LATER
, Grace was grinding up against yet another cowboy as we all sat at the table and watched. After the song ended, she meandered her way back over to us.

“Whew. Damn, that boy was hot! I was pretty sure I was one move away from getting his number.”

Maegan jumped up. “That’s it! Okay, the first one to get a guy’s number wins!”

We all looked around at each other and then back to Maegan. “What in the hell are you talking about, Meg? I thought we all agreed no getting wasted tonight,” Libby said with a wink.

“I’m not wasted, I’ve only been drinking water all night. Come on y’all! It’s innocent fun.”

Taylor shouted over the loud music. “What do we get if we win?”

Maegan looked around at each of us. “If we all chip in fifty bucks, that would be three hundred dollars.”

Alex jumped up. “I’m in! I have a wedding to pay for.”

Libby started laughing. “Okay, but for those of us with guys, no kissing is allowed so those who are single, no kissing either.”

Grace rolled her eyes. “That is totally not fair, Libby.”

“The only lips my lips touch are Colt Mathews.’”

Alex gave me a wink and mouthed,
thank you.

The air in the dance club suddenly became thick. The music was a mixture of country, hip-hop, and pop. My stomach tightened and I wasn’t too thrilled about this bet, but the way Maegan was eyeing me was starting to piss me off. Turning to Grace, Maegan said, “This is in the bag for either you or me. Let’s do this.” They both slapped hands and I seethed with anger.

How dare Maegan think that just because we had boyfriends we couldn’t still pull a number from a guy.

“Who’s up first?” Grace asked.

Alex jumped up. “Me. I’ve got this. I see my victim, too.” Taking a drink of her lemon drop, Alex started walking over to the blond-haired guy who had been sitting at the bar with three other good-looking guys. Alex walked up and placed her hand on his shoulder and whispered something into his ear.

“Ah hell. Look at my girl go!” Grace shouted as we all laughed. I was silently thanking God they didn’t come up with this bet last night when they were all drunk.

The blond stood up and wrapped his arm around Alex’s waist and moved her to the dance floor. “My brother would be going through the roof right now if he saw this,” Libby said.

Some hip-hop song I’d never heard of began playing as the bass thumbed in my chest. Had Colt been here I would have been turned on by the idea of dancing all up on him. But he wasn’t, so I needed to stow away my naughty thoughts of him.

Alex wrapped her arms around the guy’s neck and went after it with everything she had. She smiled, she tossed her head back and laughed, she whispered against his ear. She even turned and placed her backside to him. When he brushed his hand down her side and dangerously close to her breasts, she quickly turned around.

“Oh! Nice move, Mathews!” Maegan shouted. Glancing to Taylor, she was watching Alex closely but smiling.

The song ended and Alex walked back over to the bar with him. Less than thirty seconds later, she was walking back with a napkin and the guy’s number on it.

Grace and Maegan’s smiles dropped. “What? No fucking way!” Maegan yelled as Alex walked up and smiled as she waved the napkin around. Grace shook her head and placed her hands on her hips and glared at Alex.

Alex leaned over and whispered in Libby’s ear. Pulling back, Libby smiled and winked.

“All right bitches, let’s see what the married one with a baby can do,” Grace said as she pointed to Libby.

Libby stood up straighter, adjusted her breasts and said, “All right. Watch and learn ladies. Watch and learn.”

Libby walked over to the same group of guys, but she zeroed in on one of the other guys. Turning, Libby pointed and four guys all turned and looked. The guy Alex danced with smiled at Alex as she gave him a flirty wave.

“Shit, that guy wants in someone’s panties,” Grace teased Alex.

One of the guys got up and followed Libby to the dance floor. Smoke began engulfing the dance floor as the song changed. All I heard in the song over and over was
I want to fuck you all night long.

Waving a hand in front of her, Grace picked up her water glass and ran it along her neck. “Shit if that song don’t turn you on!”

Glancing back to Libby she was talking to the guy as they danced. His hands moved down to her hips as she placed her hand on his chest and bit down on her lower lip.

Maegan laughed. “Oh my gosh! She’s still using the move she had in high school.” We all started laughing until the guy moved his lips to Libby’s neck. Dropping her neck back she let him kiss her.

“Oh my God! What is she doing? She’s kissing,” Taylor shouted as she jumped up.

Not really liking where this was going, I turned to Alex and she winked at me. Something was up with those two. Grace and Maegan were shouting and hollering as the guy pulled back and said something to Libby that caused her to start laughing. The song ended and he reached into her back pocket and pulled out her cell phone.

“Oh. My. God. Are you kidding me?” Grace shouted as she stood there stunned. Libby gave the guy a flirtatious wave a she walked back over to us. Holding up her phone she showed everyone the number.

Greg was his name and the moment Libby showed Maegan and Grace, she deleted the number. Sitting down next to me I turned to her. “How could you let him kiss your neck, Libby?”

Leaning closer to me she said, “If you looked closely, his lips were nowhere near my neck. He was telling me about a kids’ show his daughter loves to watch on TV.”

Wait. What? A kids’ show?

I was about to ask what she was talking about when Grace announced it was her turn. Making her way back over to the guy she had just danced with, he took her hand and began dancing her around on the dance floor to a Luke Bryan song. She spun around and made sure at one point when he pulled her back in she was flush up against his body. Her hands were moving everywhere on his body and Alex yelled, “Slut!”

Grace must have heard her, because she lifted her middle finger in Alex’s direction.

The song ended and she handed him her phone. He punched his number in and she reached up and kissed him on lips. It wasn’t just a quick kiss. They were practically crawling into each other’s mouths. Laughing I turned to Alex and Libby and rolled my eyes. “I guess it doesn’t count since she had already gotten the number.

Grace walked back up and declared she was keeping that cowboy’s number. Reaching for my water, I took a sip. It felt extremely hot in the dance club and I began feeling light headed.
Gesh Lauren. Get it together. It’s just a bet. It’s not like you’re cheating on Colt. It’s just a dance. Simple as that. One dance.

Maegan was next. She must have had her sights on someone because she walked up and whispered in the guy’s ear. He pulled back and nodded his head. Maegan glanced over her shoulder and winked.

The guy pulled her into his arms as a slow song started to play. “Damn. Meg is all up in that shit!” Grace said as she tossed her head back and laughed. Staring out at Maegan dancing my heart broke for her and Grace. They were both so beautiful and I knew they could easily walk out of here tonight with a guy. The both wanted to have fun, but that was as far as it went.

The song ended and Maegan followed the guy back to his table. I strained to see them through the crowd of people and for one brief second I began to worry. We had all agreed not to split up. What if this guy had taken Maegan off to a corner or something? Grace was trying to stand on her tippy toes to see Maegan. She turned and looked at Alex with a concerned look.

“Why would she walk off with the guy?” Grace shouted.

Maegan came walking up and pulled Grace’s hair as she said, “Because I needed to get my cowboy’s room number along with his phone number. I’m half tempted to go to his room tonight!” Maegan wiggled her eyebrows up and down and said, “He’s from Montana.”

Grace laughed and said, “Montana dick. I bet it’s nice.”

“Gross, Grace!” Taylor said as she pushed Grace, causing her to stumble a bit.

Grace lost it laughing but pointed to Taylor. “Tay. You’re up.”

Taylor began pulling and pushing her lower lip in and out of her teeth as she stood up and looked around. Maegan pointed to a guy standing near the bar. “He’s got a killer ass and I got a look at him earlier. The guy is fucking beautiful.”

Taylor nodded her head and made her way over to the guy.

“Fifty bucks she turns around before she even gets to him,” Alex yelled over the song now playing.

Grace nodded her head. “I’m voting she’s gonna do it. I feel it in my bones. Our little Tay is growing up, y’all.”

Standing up, I watched Taylor walk up to the guy. She placed her hands on his shoulders and stood up on her tippy toes, attempting to talk into his ear.

“Oh my glitter! She didn’t even get a frontal view! She went in blind!”

We all started yelling out Taylor’s name as the guy turned around and smiled. Taylor’s smile dropped instantly. Oh my. The guy was for sure
very
good looking. “Did he just say her name?” Libby asked.

“Wait. Does she know him?” Maegan asked. My smiled faded as the guy took Taylor’s hand and led her to the dance floor. Taylor turned and looked at me with nothing but panic on her face. I mouthed,
are you okay?
Shaking her head she mouthed back
, it’s Jase.

“It’s, Jase! What are the odds?” I said out loud as four sets of eyes turned and looked at me.

Grace took my arm and pulled me out of my trance. “Lauren, does she know him?”

Nodding my head, I turned back to watch Taylor. “Yes! Oh my gosh she was talking about him last night. He’s in one of her classes at UT, and she has a massive crush on him, y’all. She said he has never given her the time of day before.”

All four of them said, “Wow,” at the same time. “Holy hell. That would never happen again if you planned it,” Grace said.

Jase leaned down and spoke into Taylor’s ear. I could see the flush on her cheeks from where I was standing. Reaching her hands up, she placed them on his chest and smiled.

“Look at that smile,” Libby said.

The song ended and Jase and Taylor stood on the dance floor for a few minutes and talked. I was silently willing him to ask her out. For him to ask Taylor for her number. She glanced over to us and shrugged her shoulders as she flashed us a weak smile before looking back at Jase. Taking out his phone, he handed it to her. Taylor did the same. After another minute or so of talking, Jase placed his hand on Taylor’s arm and smiled as he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Taylor just stood there as he walked away.

“W-what is she doing? Taylor, walk. Honey move your legs,” Maegan shouted.

Grace threw her hands up in the air. “She’s breaking a major girl code right now y’all. She’s letting the guy see he affected her. Code red!”

We all jumped up and went out to the dance floor and surrounded Taylor as we danced. Pulling her to me, I shouted, “What are the odds?”

She giggled. “I know! But, Lauren he knew who I was. He knew who I was!”

Pulling Taylor into my arms we both began jumping in excitement. “And y’all exchanged numbers!”

Nodding her head Taylor did another little jump. “I know! Holy shit I know! He asked me for mine first!”

Grace made her way to me and said, “Okay, Miss Striptease. It’s your turn.”

Rolling my eyes, I glanced around the club. No one here held a candle to Colt. One of the guys that was sitting with the two guys Alex and Libby walked up to was looking out on the dance floor at us. I decided he was going to be my target. Making my way over to him, the girls were chanting my name as I walked his way. His smile caught me off guard. It was breathtaking. I hadn’t really noticed how cute he was until I got right up to him. “Hey, you need some help with that bet?”