Sway

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Eric led us through a back alley, the dark and scary kind you only expect to see in a movie. Against one wall, a dumpster emitted the smell of stale vomit. Mari, Lacey and I, picked our way across the uneven pavement in our heels. Charlie held onto Mari’s arm while Eric clasped Lacey’s hand. I tottered behind them, the lone single, wondering what I was even doing there, how Lexi had convinced me to go.

Through a graffiti-covered back door, then a few dark passageways, we finally made it inside the club. Even though our trek inside had been a bit shady, I pitied the people lined up around the block still waiting their turn to get in.

A techno beat pumped loudly in my ears. I scanned the mass of dancing bodies. I honestly couldn’t tell what made this place special—it looked the same as every other dance club to me. A crowded bar, flashing lights, squashed tables on the balcony. Not really my kind of place.

Lacey immediately pulled Eric onto the dance floor, while Charlie turned to Mari and me. “Let’s find a table,” he shouted.

We wound our way through the thick crowd and up the stairs to the tables, filled with couples making out and people yelling at each other over the noise. Mari found an empty booth and we dropped onto the leather seats.

“Want me to get us some drinks?” Charlie yelled over the music.

“Just water for me,” I said. “Thanks.”

“You’re so lame,” Mari said. She flipped her hair. “A cosmopolitan.”

“You watch too much TV,” I said as Charlie headed down to the bar.

“Just because I know what’s hot and you don’t.”

I refrained from pointing out that cosmos probably weren’t all that ‘hot’ anymore. Not that I knew what was.

I scanned the dance floor, landing on Lacey and Eric. They danced, their arms wrapped around each other, bodies moving in perfect motion. Lacey sparkled under the flashing lights. Eric smiled down at her, his hands moving her hips with his. And then he leaned down and kissed her.

My stomach dropped, leaving me hollow. I couldn’t pull my eyes away. Lacey’s hands gripped his arms while he pulled her closer. When they finally broke apart, they were both smiling. She craned her head and whispered something in his ear. Eric tilted his head back and laughed.

I wrenched my head away, hating myself for feeling jealous. Our relationship had ended eight years ago. If I wasn’t over it now, something was seriously wrong with me.

Charlie returned with the drinks. I guzzled my water, an attempt to keep the sudden feeling of stuffiness away.

“Let’s go dance,” Mari said to Charlie.

“Not now. We’ll lose our table,” he said.

“I’ll stay,” I offered. “You guys go ahead.” I watched Mari steer Charlie to the dance floor, excitement lighting up her features. Charlie looked less enthusiastic.

Alone at the table, I rolled my water bottle between my palms. It was stupid to come. They didn’t need or want me here. I wasn’t proving anything to anyone. I was a place holder, nothing more. Like one of those people who fill in seats for celebrities during award shows.

My toe tapped to one song and then the next, and the next. The music pumped through my veins, my body begged to move. Instead, I sat alone, keeping myself occupied by spinning my half-empty water bottle on the table and not looking down at Eric. I spun a little too vigorously and the bottle wobbled and fell. It rolled off the table and I bent down to pick it up.

Another hand reached out and grabbed the bottle before I could. I looked up.

A man crouched beside me, the strobe lights flickering off his face. He handed me the bottle.

“Thanks,” I said, my fingers grazing his as I took it.

“No problem.” His teeth gleamed unnaturally white in the dim light. I stifled a laugh. It looked like he’d overdosed on Crest Whitestrips.

The guy steadied himself with one hand on the table but didn’t stand. I raised my eyebrows. His smile widened, revealing perfect dimples. They were so adorable that I had to fight the urge to reach out and touch them.

My eyes followed him as he stood. His lips puckered in a cocky way. He was hot, and he knew it. I didn’t look away.

“Ava!”

We both turned at the sound of Lacey calling my name. Dimples-guy looked from Lacey to me and back again. Lacey and Eric awkwardly tried to sidle around him to get to the booth. With one last glance at me, dimples-guy turned and walked away.

“Who was that?” Lacey asked as they slid into the booth from the other side, both of them out of breath and sweaty.

“No idea.”

Lacey waggled her eyebrows at me. “Uh huh…”

I laughed. “My turn,” I said, sliding from the booth. “You guys can hold the table for a while.”

Not only did I not want to be the third wheel at the table with Lacey and Eric, but I felt emboldened by the attention that guy had paid me. It was time to have some fun.

A Taio Cruz song started playing just as I found Mari and Charlie on the dance floor. At first, my body felt strange, as if it didn’t remember what to do. Gradually, I loosened up. I stopped worrying about how I looked or what Eric and Lacey were doing alone at the table. My hands were in the air and my hips moved with a mind of their own. Mari, Charlie and I danced in a tight circle facing each other. We spun, we laughed, we let the music take us. And I had fun.

I felt a hand caress my arm and I turned around. Grinning down at me, his teeth gleaming under the lights, was dimples-guy. His hand continued its path down my arm to my wrist. My pulse jumped under his touch. He grabbed my hand and tugged, gently pulling me closer.

He was bold, but I was into it. I put my hands on his chest and moved with him. My heart sped to an even faster staccato, pounding with the beat overhead. His hands gripped my hips as we swayed and he pressed his forehead into mine.

Sweat dripped down my neck. The air felt thick around us and I gasped for breath. When the song changed, I pushed back but left one hand on his chest. His eyes lingered on my lips. He placed one hand over mine and I could feel his heart thumping under my palm. Turning around, I placed his hands on my waist as we continued to dance. When he buried his face in my neck, I pulled away again. He took my hand and spun me back into him.

After a few songs I needed a break, both from the dancing, and from this stranger who had my heart racing. “Water,” I said into his ear. I headed to the bar without waiting to see if he would follow. He did.

“Water, huh?” Dimples-guy leaned against the bar next to me. His voice carried over the din of music, a deep bass like the beat of the song. He motioned to the bartender and asked for a beer.

My eyes on him, I took a long swig.

His eyes lingered on the sweaty shirt clinging to my skin. “It obviously does a body good.”

I removed the bottle from my lips. “That’s milk.”

“If you say so.” He gave me that same cocky expression from before. His mouth looked entirely too delicious, which I’m pretty sure he knew.

I leaned toward him so I wouldn’t have to yell. “Are you always this cheesy?”

“Do you always talk about dairy products?”

“It’s a very important subject.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“Right up there with the federal budget, or the whole potato/potahto debate.”

He barked out a laugh. “I’m Gage,” he said into my ear. Hot breath wafted over my face, tinged with beer. I wrinkled my nose. “And you’re Ava?”

“Yep.” He remembered my name.

“Well, Ava…” He moved in close and stroked his hand down my arm. Even though he was insanely attractive, I didn’t want to go where he wanted to take this.

“I’m going to rejoin my friends,” I said, and stepped away. “Thanks for the dance.”

“Wait!” He set his beer on the bar and grabbed my hand. “What if I want to see you again?”

I studied his face. His dark eyes were a little glassy and sweat sprinkled over his forehead, but his lips were oh so inviting. A sharp pang of want surged through my gut.

“You’ll have to find me,” I said.

“Give a guy a chance here.” He took my other hand in his. “Phone number?” I shook my head. “Last name?”

I bit my lip. Why not? “Elliot.” He blinked and his eyebrows rose just a fraction. “Ava Elliot.”

For a moment, he just stared at me, looking a bit shocked. Then he leaned into me. “Challenge accepted.” His mouth grazed lightly over my ear, sending shivers through my entire body. He let go of my hands.

I grabbed my water bottle and headed upstairs to the booth. The feel of his lips lingered over my skin, reigniting that burst of desire.

When I got to the table, Lacey was leaning over Eric and talking to Mari. Eric wasn’t paying any attention to them. His eyes were on me.

I squished in beside Charlie at the edge of the bench and opened my water bottle. “Who was that guy, Ava?” Mari shouted, so loud the surrounding tables could probably hear. “He was delish!”

I shrugged, containing a smile.

Lacey leaned against Eric but looked at me. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you dance before.”

A slow blush heated my cheeks. “It’s been awhile.” I took a swig from my water and tried not to feel old. When I put the bottle down, I noticed Eric was holding a bottle of water in his own hand.

Lacey must have noticed it too. “We’re going to save a lot of money with the two of you and your water. Doesn’t this place have a minimum or something?”

“Ava’s all about perfect health,” Mari said. “Bo-ring.” She turned to Eric. “What’s your excuse?”

All eyes swiveled to Eric. He hesitated, his hand squeezing the bottle and then letting it go. “It’s not health for me.” Squeeze, release, squeeze, release. “I’m…not very nice when I drink. So I quit.”

My curiosity piqued. For once, this had nothing to do with me.

Lacey stroked his arm. “What do you mean?”

“Did you do something bad?” Mari asked, eager for gossip.

Eric shook his head, his face set. He didn’t want to answer and wouldn’t. Lacey leaned into Eric and whispered something in his ear. After a few seconds, his hand loosened from the water bottle.

“Wanna dance?” she asked.

He shook his head. “You go ahead.”

Her mouth turned down in a pout. Eric leaned in and kissed it away. Her face still held a bit of hurt as she sidled out of the booth.

“I’m coming,” Mari said. I let her and Charlie out of the booth and then sat back down.

For the first time in eight years, since the day I broke his heart, we were alone.

Sitting across from Eric, I watched him slowly stroke his fingers over the bottle. A faint crease appeared between his eyebrows. It used to be that I could tell what he was thinking, maybe because I knew him so well. Now, I had no idea. The person across the table from me was practically a stranger.

He looked up and caught me staring. I opened my mouth but had no idea what to say.

“Still a health nut, huh?” he asked, breaking the silence. “Not that I’m surprised given the reason.”

A reason Eric knew well. My thoughts turned to my mother. I looked down at the table but all I could see was her face behind my eyes. “It’s not usually an issue.”

“I know what it’s like,” he said. “Getting flak for not drinking.”

“I bet. You’re a musician. It’s like going against the code or something.”

Eric laughed. The sound tingled in my ears for a moment before it died. His face went serious. “I didn’t like what it was doing to me. Who I was becoming.”

I studied his face, waiting for him to continue. He didn’t.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

He looked away. “Don’t worry about it.”

For a brief moment, he had been like the old Eric. Now I could feel him tightening up, pulling away. I reached for the Eric I knew.

“You couldn’t have been that bad. I mean, you used to—”

“Stop it, Ava.”

I leaned back.

“I’m fine. It’s not your job to fix me. Never was.”

My mouth parted in surprise. “I wasn’t trying to—”

“Why are you here anyway?” he cut in, his voice harsh as he shouted over the music. “This never was your scene.”

His words stung like a screeching violin. I wanted to clap my hands over my ears so I would never have to hear him like this again.

“Then again,” he went on, “maybe it is now. What do I know?”

“It never used to be yours either,” I said, when I could find my voice.

He shrugged. “I’ve changed.”

“Clearly.”

Eric raised his water bottle in salute. “All thanks to you.”

That hurt more than anything else he’d said so far. I clenched my teeth and the pressure kept the tears at bay. “Are you sure that water isn’t spiked?”

He blinked.

I stood, eager to get away from him. And then I stopped. I put my fists on the table and leaned close to his ear so he wouldn’t miss a single word.

“It’s been eight years. Get over it.”