“Everyone, welcome to the stage, Zach and Kyler!”
“Well, darlin’—” I turn to Dani as I get up from my chair and smirk. “—guess you better start thinking about what song you’re gonna sing.” Her smile instantly falls when she realizes this was all a ploy to get her up there.
“Why don’t you watch how the professionals do it, little sis.” Zach takes one last swig, and together we head to the stage. We have our backs toward the audience till the music starts and dramatically turn. I have no shame that we have planned-out routines for all of our songs. We are both completely comfortable with our sexuality and attraction to women, but men can love to get up there and shake their ass at times too—it’s fun. I tip my head in Danielle’s direction as I start to sing. I know when I get back to the table, I’ll probably be in trouble, but I’m going to enjoy this. Maybe even a little too much.
“Oh, I was so set up, wasn’t I.” I take my palm to my face in embarrassment.
Haylee lets out a loud laugh. “Yep, you definitely were. I had no idea this was part of the plan, but it’s even funnier they didn’t tell you. They usually kick off the night with some ridiculous duet. I can’t decide if my favorite was when they did ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,’ ‘You’re the One That I Want,’ or wait, no, I think it was ‘Islands in the Stream.’”
At that image of them being Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, I can’t hold back my laugh. “Which one was Dolly,” I ask in between my laughter.
She shakes her head. “The best part about it was that they both wanted to be her and ended up flipping a coin to see who was.”
I snort from laughing, and instantly tears are in my eyes—not sad tears, but for once happy tears.
Zach and Kyler continue their well-rehearsed singing and dancing to Kenny Chesney and Uncle Kracker’s “When the Sun Goes Down.” They have the crowd eating out of the palm of their hands, clapping and cheering.
“She thinks Zach is sexy when the sun goes down,” Zach sings and winks in Haylee’s direction.
“Uncle Kyler’s hotter when the sun goes down,” Kyler sings, elbowing Zach in the ribs.
When the song ends, they take a rather dramatic bow and Kyler has a wicked grin on his face. He realizes that I know I just got played.
“You’re pretty proud of yourself, huh, asshole?” I poke at Kyler as he takes the seat next to me.
Pretending to be completely innocent, he takes his hand to his chest as if I had just offended his mama. “Who, me? Why, Jacobs, I am truly hurt that you would think I tricked you into this deal.”
I look to Zach, who can’t hold back his laughter. “Yeah, sis, I think we just got lucky or something.” He shrugs it off and takes a swig of his drink.
“Oh hmm,” I say playfully, placing my hand on my chin as if I’m in deep thought. “That’s funny, since Hails here told me you guys do this all the fucking time.”
Haylee chokes on her drink, almost spitting it out on the table. “Hey, don’t bring me into this!”
I narrow my eyes at her, then at Zach, finally landing on Kyler. I shake my head knowing that a deal is a deal. Fuck, I haven’t sung in front of a crowd in over four years. I don’t know if I can do this.
I walk over to the bar and browse the book with all of the songs listed. I feel someone hovering over me. “So you make your choice yet?” Kyler asks, leaning up against the bar.
“I can’t believe you tricked me,” I say, still focus on the song listings. “How do you know I don’t suck and ruin everyone’s night?”
Kyler steps closer. “Can I confess something?”
I roll my eyes at him. “Oh, now you want to start being honest with me tonight?”
He throws his hands up in surrender. “Okay, I deserved that.” I pause. “But in my defense, I just wanted to hear you sing again.”
I whirl in his direction, tilting my head in confusion. “What do you mean again?”
Kyler looks down and shuffles his feet, so I repeat, “Kyler, when have you heard me sing before?’
His brown eyes meet mine as he confesses, “So that day you and Zach got into your huge fight…” I raise my eyebrows at him to continue. “Well, we may have arrived home from the gym earlier than what I had told you when you exited the bathroom.We may have caught your show that morning.”
My hand goes to my mouth. Oh my God, oh my God, they had been home and heard me singing in the shower. I close my eyes in horror—I just want to escape the reality of my embarrassment, but I feel Kyler’s grip on my wrist pulling my hands from my face. His hand then goes to my cheek, pulling my attention back to his.
“Hey, you are really good, like really good, and I just wanted to hear you sing again. Zach said you haven’t sung in a long time, so I figured you wouldn’t just get up there if I asked you. So, I’m sorry—really, Dani, I am. But they are going to love you out there. Trust me, if they can like your dumbass brother’s and my routines and want more when we can’t carry a tune to save our lives, then they are going to actually enjoy your performance.”
He smiles at me, forcing me to smile back.
“Okay, let’s do this.”
“So what did you have in mind to sing?”
“Well, I saw they have a section dedicated to The Voice, which I absolutely love, so I think I’m going to sing this one.” I point to Ashley De La Rosa’s version of “Foolish Games.” It was originally sung by Jewel back in the ’90s, but I love this edgier rock version of the song.
Nodding his head, he lets Scott know of my selection and whispers in my ear, “Go get ’em, killer,” and winks before heading back to the table.
I wait at the bar since Scott said that I would be next. Holy shit, I can’t really be doing this. As I look at the lady on stage currently attempting to belt out “Sometimes” by Britney Spears, I can’t help but laugh. Well, at least I’ll be better than her…and Zach and Kyler for that matter.
I was challenged and while I’m not like Zach and Haylee who can’t refuse a dare/challenge, I need to be able to prove to myself that I can do this—turning over a new leaf. So here goes nothing.
My palms are beginning to sweat.
Scott takes the stage ahead of me. “All right, everyone, let’s hope talent runs in the family. Give it up for Zach’s sister, Danielle.”
I wipe my palms on my jeans as the music begins to play, but I am frozen in time. The words appear on the screen, and I go to open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I look around at the crowd and find our table. My eyes land directly on Kyler, and he smiles. I nod and turn to Scott, asking to restart. I take three deep breaths as the intro begins again. I close my eyes and open my mouth, and this time the words spill out. I feed off the crowd cheering me on—they are actually cheering me on, not booing me off the stage. This rush is amazing. I haven’t felt this alive in so long.
I get a bit ballsy and decide to take the microphone off the stand during the second verse. While I don’t have choreographed dance moves like Kyler and Zach, I try to get lost in the music and feel the emotions coming off me. The cheers get even louder as I sing the last high note at the end of the song, and I can hear Haylee’s loud whistling. I feel sorry for the guys because I have been in close proximity when she’s done that, and it is loud as fuck. As I finish the song, I am frozen, out of breath, and full of smiles. The small crowd yells their praise as I set the microphone back on its stand and exit the stage, headed back to the table.
“Holy fucking shit, Dani! Where the hell did that come from?” my brother asks as he pulls me into an embrace, and I shrug.
“That was so amazing,” Haylee adds before pulling me from my brother’s arms and taking me into her own.
Kyler hasn’t said a word. As I come around to our side of the table and sit back in my seat, I reach for my margarita that has surprisingly but pleasantly been refilled and take a sip. I place it on the table and catch Kyler still staring at me from the corner of my eye. I place my elbow on the table and prop up my head on my fist. �
��Don’t you have anything to say, Lawson? Are you happy now?”
He still hasn’t responded. Zach ends up throwing a napkin at him and he finally snaps back out of it.
“Wow, just wow, Dani. That was…I don’t even have words. I am so not sorry I tricked you into getting up there now.”
I smile back. “Good. I’m not sorry either. In fact, thank you. I hadn’t felt that alive and good in a long time.”
I’m not sure if it’s the tequila flowing freely in Dani’s veins (she’s on her third margarita), the adrenaline from getting up there to sing, or being in close proximity to me—I’m hoping it’s the latter, but whatever it is, I’ll take it—but this is the most relaxed I have seen her since we met. I place my arm over the back of her chair, and she instantly leans back into me…win for me! She makes it seem like a natural reaction as if she has been doing it for years. It makes me wonder if that kiss has been on her mind too. I mean, how could it not be? It was mind-blowing.
Leaning closer to her, I whisper in her ear, “Dance with me.”
She tilts her head toward me, and we are just inches apart. If I bend forward I could press my lips to hers, but I don’t want to make her uncomfortable or anything. Dani looks around. “But no one is dancing.”
I fight back a laugh. “So? There’s music playing—what more do we need?” I place my other arm on her leg to envelop her fully in my arms. She looks down at my hand but doesn’t move it.
Leaning back into me, she laughs. “Umm, really bad music.”
I look up on the stage and see someone butchering Billy Joel’s “Piano Man.” There’s always that one person in the crowd who attempts to sing this song, but no one compares to Mr. Joel. I cradle my head in her neck and run my nose up and down, inhaling her scent. She always smells so good. I can hear her breath catch, and her pulse begins to race just as it did the other night in the kitchen.
“Dance with me, Dani.” It’s not a question but more of a request or a demand. She turns in her chair to fully face me and swallows hard as she looks directly into my eyes.
“Okay.”
Just one word and I’m a goner. I am grinning ear to ear. I stand and extend my hand, and she takes it and stands.
“We’ll be back.”
Zach turns his attention away from Haylee. “Where are you guys off to?”
“The dance floor.”
“The dance floor? Where the hell is there a dance floor in this place? I think you’ve had a little too much.”
I wave my hand toward him, showing him that I don’t care as I lead Dani to the cleared area we pretend is an actual dance floor. The liquid courage pushes away all thoughts I’ve had lately about Zach not being okay with this. After all, this is just one dance. I pull her close to me as I wrap my arms around her waist. She links her hands together around my neck and looks anywhere but at me.
“Hey,” I say, gaining her focus back on me. “It’s just a dance, not a marriage proposal.” She giggles at my comment. Damn that sound is seriously heaven. I could spend every day of the rest of my life making sure I heard that sound and die a happy man. Fuck, I sound pussy-whipped already and this girl isn’t even mine, at least not yet.
I reach up behind my neck, grabbing one of her hands, clasping it with mine, and pulling it to my chest. We move side to side, getting lost in the music and lost in ourselves. Her nerves quickly dissipate, and I can feel her relax against me. I need to be careful because if I pull her any closer at the moment, she will know exactly what she does to me. I’m trying to keep her away from the semi I’ve been sportin’ all night, but fuck if I don’t love having her this close to me.
As she relaxes, she places her head on my chest and says softly, “Your heart is beating crazy fast.”
I smile, but she doesn’t lift her head to see it. “Well, you do that to me.”
She doesn’t respond to my comment. I wonder if she even heard it. We continue to sway to the awful tunes of a one drunk Mr. Thomas Hughes, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
Dani looks up at me and doesn’t move her eyes away. Is she feeling this too? She has to be. Here’s my chance to kiss her again. I’m taking a big risk, and I’m not even 100 percent sure she wants me to kiss her until she takes her bottom lip between her teeth and diverts her attention back and forth between my eyes and my lips as if she’s asking for permission. I swallow and wet my own lips, which in kissing language means “hell yeah.” The space between us closes as I get closer to her mouth. I think she might pull back, and I open my heavy-lidded eyes one last time, asking her permission without words. She just nods moments before my lips crash on hers. My hands thread through her hair and pull her even closer to me.
Yep, there is definitely no hiding what she does to me now. Her hand releases from my neck and grips my shirt, like if she lets go she’ll fly away. I am keeping her grounded. She tastes of tequila and deliciousness as my tongue slips into her mouth when her lips part for me.
My hands leave her hair and rest on her hips tightly before pushing her back, knowing that if I don’t stop right then, I might take her on the dirty floor here at Lucky’s, and in front of her brother no less. We are both breathless, and her lips are swollen from kissing me. She has never looked more sexy… Wait, nope, that’s not true. The first night she got here as she bumped into me in only a towel in the hallway is tied for first place right now. She looks nervous as if she’s done something wrong, so I grab her hand to keep her from running and place one last chaste kiss on her lips.
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
“We should probably get back before your brother storms over here and drags me off the dance floor like in a cartoon.”
Dani smiles and glances over at our table. Her cheeks are flushed and her hair a tad messy from my grip.
“Oh my God he’s on his way over here.”
My entire body tightens, and I jump at the thought of this potentially going the wrong way. The slight smile Dani had before is now a full-blown smirk.
“I’m totally kidding.”
“Smartass.” I nod in the direction of the table and extend my hand to her. She takes it and we walk back to the table. Her hand never leaves mine. Once we approach the table, I see Zach helping Haylee into her coat. “Leaving already?” I ask, a little confused.
“Yeah, well, I found myself ready for bed all of a sudden,” Zach replies with a grin from ear to ear, giving Haylee a wink. She gives a little drunk giggle and fake yawns. It’s pretty clear neither of them are tired. I clearly underestimated Zach’s reaction because there was no way he missed that little display of affection out there, and I am still standing. Maybe he would be okay with it after all, or possibly he has had more to drink than I thought and he is at the stage where he is nonchalant about everything. “We’re gonna head out. Bill is paid—you got next time.”
I nod at Zach. “Thanks. See you at home?”
“Nah, I think we’ll be staying at Cami’s tonight. She gets back in town tomorrow so we’re going to take advantage of her place for one more night.” He winks at me now. “See you both in the morning,” he says pointing between the both of us as Haylee drags him out by his jacket. Shit, I would hate to be that Uber driver, I think, laughing to myself.
I turn to Dani, who is biting her lip, probably nervous as to what comes next as she realizes we will be alone together in the house tonight. Of course, that is pretty normal for us although we’ve never made out like this before, so to be honest, I’m not really sure what happens next. She reaches for her jacket on the back of her chair, and I quickly grab it from her and hold it up to help her into it. She slips her arms in the sleeves but doesn’t move from my grasp right away.
Leaning down, ignoring the next poor karaoke victim attempting to perform Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” I whisper in her ear, “Do you want to get another drink somewhere, or are you ready to go home?”
She takes a moment to think and looks over her shoulder in my direction and says the last
thing I expect her to say: “I think I want you to take me home.”
She says it not in a way meaning that she wants me to take her home and leave her the fuck alone. No, she says it in a seductive tone, inferring that I might just get to feel her in my arms again tonight. With that, I place my hand on the lower part of her back and escort Dani out of Lucky’s while we wait for a car to take us home.
T he ride home from Lucky’s is silent. I sit right next to Kyler with our fingers intertwined as he rubs his thumb against my knuckles. I don’t want him to sense that I am nervous even though I am. I want him—I want this. The car drops us off in front of the house, and Kyler scoots out first and offers me his hand again. I take it. We slowly walk to the house, and Ky takes out his keys from his pocket. I walk into the house first after he unlocks the door. Here goes nothing.
Once the front door is closed, I press Kyler up against the door, startling him with my forcefulness. I crash my lips onto his and take his bottom lip between my teeth, causing him to release a soft groan. He slides his tongue into my mouth while his hands land on my ass, and he gives it a squeeze, pulling me closer to him. We are making out like two starving teenagers. In an instant he spins us around and slams me into the door, pressing his body against mine so that I can feel how turned on he is. His hands snake down my body to find the hem of my shirt, and he pauses as if asking for permission. I open my eyes and look at him and nod. His eyes have gone much darker than usual, eyes that are filled with desire. There is no questioning if he wants me or not especially judging by the bulge in his jeans.
Kyler pulls my shirt over my head and drops it to the floor by our feet. He looks down, staring at my purple lace bra and my breasts that are spilling from it. “Holy shit,” he mutters under his breath.
That deep voice makes my panties even damper. Leaning down, he trails kisses from my jaw to my chest, leaving little nips along the way and caressing the skin with his tongue as if licking the wound. His hand travels down and rubs me through the front of my jeans. My breathing is already so fast, but then panic starts to overtake me. I’m going to have sex. Why is that scary to me?
I Never Planned on You Page 17
