by Ella Sparkle
I blushed and laughed nervously. “This is all Cassie’s handiwork,” I told Kimmy. “She was my fairy godmother, transforming me into a princess for the night.”
I looked over at Cassie and noticed that Mike was now sitting across from her staring. He glanced at me and quickly looked away. I swear his cheeks looked a little flushed. “Hey everyone!” Mike suddenly shouted. “Let’s go and dance!”
I hesitated. I was really not one for dancing. I always felt out of place and like I had no idea what I was doing.
Cassie had a gleam in her eye and a big grin on her face. “Well, Jenna, what do you say about hitting the dance floor?”
I took a deep breath. “I say yes. Yes, let’s go.”
“Woooooooooo hoooooooo! Let’s do this!” Kimmy shouted as she turned towards the dance floor.
We had been out on the dance floor for several songs when it began to get noticeably more crowded. I was genuinely having a great time, but I started to feel overwhelmed by all of the gyrating bodies and flashing lights. I danced over to Cassie and grabbed her arm.
“Hey, Cassie? I am having a lot of fun, but I need a little break. I'm going to go to the restroom.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” she asked, as she continued dancing.
“No, I'm fine. How about I meet you back at our table in a little bit?”
“Sounds good babe! I'm glad you're having a good time!” Cassie shouted as she lifted her arms over her head and swayed her hips in time to the music.
I slowly started to make my way through the crowd of people and off the dance floor. When I reached the bar area, I finally felt like I could breathe again and continued walking towards the restroom.
Apparently, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, because the next thing I knew, I crashed into what felt like a brick wall. Strong hands grabbed onto my arms to keep me from falling over.
“Oh no! I am so sorry! I am such a klutz! Are you okay?” I exclaimed. How did I constantly find myself in these embarrassing situations?
The brick wall did not immediately respond but left his hands on my arms. I couldn’t help but notice that he smelled amazing... like something spicy and male with a hint of leather from the jacket he was wearing. I slowly lifted my eyes up to the face attached to the strong chest I was nestled up against.
When my eyes met his, I let out a gasp. I knew those deep brown eyes.
Chapter 15
Nick
I am not sure what possessed me to actually agree to go out to a dance club, especially on a Thursday night. The day before, when some of the guys on my crew asked me, it seemed like a good idea. I invited Bax, and of course, he thought it was a great idea. The closer I got to the club, the worse it all sounded. However, I'd promised I would be there, so I pulled my motorcycle into the parking lot and started to walk towards the front door.
Inside was a group of guys from my crew who were all in their early twenties. Apparently, some local DJ was playing that they had all heard of. They also thought it was the premiere place in town to go and try to meet women. Neither of those things interested me in the slightest, however, since we were in between jobs and the new one wasn't starting till Monday, I had agreed to go out with them.
I heard the music before I even made it all the way to the club. As I got closer, I saw Bax waiting for me out front. As soon as Bax saw me he started giving me shit. “So you'll go out with your crew to a club, but you won’t go out with me anywhere in town. I see how you roll Blaine, and I'm going to have a moment of truth with you; my feelings are hurt.” Bax immediately started laughing as we got in line at the front door. “I'm just fucking with you. I don’t really give a shit how it happened, I am just glad to see you out. Actually, how did this happen?” He asked in amazement.
“We're meeting up with a group of guys from my crew. They're in between jobs right now and invited me out. They've invited me a few times before, and I was starting to feel bad about how many times I'd said no, so this time I said I'd come. It sounded like a much better idea yesterday.”
“So you feel bad when you turn them down, but not when you turn me down?” He asked, mock hurt on his face.
“You got it,” I smiled at Bax. We had always had an easy friendship that was mostly us constantly giving each other grief about one thing or another. It had gone on for so long, I couldn’t even remember exactly how it started.
“You are an asshole, Nick.”
“You're just figuring this out?” I shot back, smiling. Right then, it was our turn to go in. The bouncer checked our ID and we paid our cover charge. As soon as we stepped into the club, I saw my group of guys at a table on the far side of the club by the dance floor.
“They're over there,” I nodded my head in the direction of the group.
“I'm going to grab a drink at the bar and meet you over there. Do you want anything?” Bax shouted at me. The music in the place seemed incredibly loud and it was packed with people, making it hard to talk. I just shook my head no in response, no sense in shouting over the noise, I'd have no voice in under an hour for sure if I even tried.
As Bax made his way over to the bar, I headed over to the table with my crew. “Nick!” they all greeted me as I pulled up a chair to take a seat.
“We weren’t sure if you were actually going to make it tonight,” said Clay, one of the carpenters.
“Yeah, we were going to give you another half hour before we officially called it,” teased Kevin. Kevin was working on his apprenticeship to become an electrician. All of the guys at the table laughed.
“Yeah, yeah,” I laughed along with them. “Congrats! You guys got me out on a Thursday night.” I put my arms up in surrender, smiling.
“I should really be thanking all of you for that,” said Bax as he came up behind me with a drink in his hand. “I’m Bax, Nick’s fun friend. Please don’t judge me by what a stick-in-the-mud he can be.” Bax nodded his head in my direction.
“I think I like you already, have a seat,” Clay said pointing to an empty chair across from him.
“Thank you,” Bax said, taking the empty chair. “Nick used to be fun. We used to go out all the time, but then a few years ago he stopped, so I've had to carry on alone.” He grinned at the boys.
“Poor you,” I rolled my eyes at Bax. It was true though. When Blaine Construction started to take off, it became my entire focus... and had remained that way until a beautiful brunette pizza delivery girl showed up at my doorstep. I still didn’t even know her name, but she had me starting to think that maybe Bax was right... maybe there is more to life than work. Maybe it was time to stop being alone all the time.
I quickly tried to push the thoughts of her out of my head. I didn’t even know how to contact her other than by ordering a pizza from Pete’s and to keep doing that would definitely put me into complete creeper territory. I had already pushed that envelope by ordering pizza every night for a week just to try and see her again. No doubt her co-workers were weirded out by the nightly deliveries of the same pizza.
As the night went on, I had to admit I was having an okay time. It still was not really my scene. Bax on the other hand seemed to dance every song with a different woman. He just had a magnetic personality that drew people in. He was fun to be around and therefore almost everyone loved him. It was part of the reason he was so successful in all the different sales jobs he'd had over the years. He was also a firm subscriber to the theory of ‘work hard, play hard.’ Bax was one of the hardest working, most dedicated people I had ever met, and somehow, he also seemed to always achieve the perfect balance of work and fun. I, on the other hand, had never been able to make that balance happen. For me, it was always all or nothing.
I glanced at my phone and noticed it didn't seem to be getting any service. Kevin must have seen me looking at it because he leaned in. “For some reason, the reception on this side of the club is really shitty, but if you go over by the bathrooms, it's fine.”
“Thanks, I might a
ctually head over that way for a few minutes. I'll see you in a bit.” Kevin nodded as I got up and walked across the club. Even though it was after normal business hours, some of the suppliers and clients I worked with were in different time zones and I always liked to have access to my phone and email.
Kevin was absolutely right. As soon as I got to the other side, my phone had full service. I was standing there looking at it and not paying attention to anything else when suddenly a lady ran right into my chest. The phone flew out of my hand and, instinctively, I reached out to grab the woman who had smashed into me to keep her from falling. I grabbed her upper arms and helped steady her.
When it became clear the only thing hitting the ground was my phone, I realized the woman had nestled up against my chest and I was still holding her arms. Even in heels, her head did not come up close to my chin, but I still got a whiff of her strawberry shampoo. It was the best damn thing I had smelt in a long time.
The woman slowly started to lift her head so I could see her face. When her eyes met mine I couldn’t believe it. The blue eyes I was looking into had been in my thoughts during the day, and my dreams at night, for the past several weeks. She looked different though... probably because she was at a club and not delivering pizzas, but it was definitely her.
“Pizza Girl?” I asked as I still held on to her arms. It was like I just couldn’t make myself let go of her.
Chapter 16
Jenna
“Nick?” I asked in a breathy voice, startled and pleasantly surprised.
I was trying to think of something clever to say, but it was like my brain had short-circuited. Nick continued to hold my arms and keep me nestled to his chest. The skin on my arms sizzled from his touch and I could feel my breath start to quicken as my heart raced.
“Are you okay?” He asked, as his gaze remained transfixed on me. “I was looking at my damn phone and not paying attention to what I was doing.” He let go of my arms and bent down to pick up the phone he had dropped when I crashed into him. My skin already yearned for him to touch me again.
“Are you okay? Is your phone okay? I didn’t break it when I ran into you, did I? Oh gosh, I did! I am so sorry, that is totally my luck. I will replace it for you.” I realized I was talking about a mile a minute and not even taking a breath as I rambled on. I stopped and told myself to get it together and be cool.
Nick stood up and turned his phone over. “Totally fine. I have learned the hard way in my line of work to invest in a good screen protector and case. My phone has taken far worse falls than this.” He said, wiping the phone after it's contact with the floor.
“Oh, good!” I breathed a sigh of relief. Unsure of what to say next, I just blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “So you're here. At a club. On a Thursday night.” How did people make small talk? I wondered if there was a class online or something like that I could take to teach me how. Clearly, it was a set of skills I did not possess. What if I was too old to learn? Was I destined for a life of awkward conversations now that I was saying yes and trying to put myself out there more? Maybe it was just a side effect of putting yourself out there?
My thoughts were interrupted by Nick’s chuckling. “Yeah, I have to admit this is not really my scene, but I promised some guys from my crew that I would come out with them tonight since we are in between jobs right now.”
His crew? In between jobs? Who talked like that? Oh, Jesus! He was a drug dealer! Or a bank robber! Those were the only logical explanations. I knew he was too good to be true! My eyes got wide as I started to feel a rising panic.
Nick seemed to sense my apprehension as he quickly elaborated. “I work in construction. We do remodels and new builds. Right now we are waiting on some subcontractors to finish up so we get a few days off in the meantime,” he explained, smiling.
“Of course! That is totally what I was thinking!” I giggled nervously. Okay, so maybe being a drug dealer or bank robber were not the only logical explanations.
Nick ran his hand through his hair and seemed to be a bit nervous himself. “So what are you up to tonight? Are you here with someone?” Now, I might be absolutely clueless about making small talk... actually, I had started to doubt my abilities for human interaction as a whole when I was around Nick, but even I could see the hopeful look in Nick’s eyes as he read into the greater meaning behind the question. My stomach did a little flip-flop. I couldn’t help but smile.
“I'm here with some friends from work and my friend Cassie. This is not my usual scene either.” I tried a casual laugh as I looked up at him.
Nick let out a breath and a look of relief flickered across his face. “Good. Going out with friends is good. You looked like you were on your way somewhere when I bumped into you. Am I interrupting anything?”
“No! Not at all! I am glad I ran into you. Literally ran right into you... I mean I was on my way to the restroom and then going back to meet my friends at our table,” the words tumbling out of my mouth in a breathless stream.
“Well, maybe I could wait for you and walk you back to your table?” Nick seemed almost hesitant as he asked, which made my heart flutter. Damn, he's cute.
“I would like that. I'll be right back.” I tried to sound cool as I responded. Really what I wanted to do was let out a squeal and jump up and down clapping my hands. But I had the embarrasment of our last interaction in my mind and needed to at least try and keep it together this time.
I rushed to the restroom with a giant, goofy grin on my face. Part of me did not expect him to actually be waiting when I returned, but there he was, standing in exactly the same spot. I stopped for a moment just to take all of him in. Nick was clearly over six feet tall and wearing a pair of faded jeans, a black t-shirt, and a black leather jacket with black boots. He looked like a model with a sexy bad boy vibe. I involuntarily licked my lips as I stood there staring at him.
Right at that moment, Nick looked directly at me and a huge smile broke out on his face. It felt like the rest of the room melted away, leaving only the two of us. He started walking towards me and I felt my knees go weak as I took a few steps in his direction. “Hi,” I said when I was close to him.
“Hi.” Nick stepped in even closer until we were standing so close that our bodies were almost touching.
“Thank you for waiting.”
“You are worth waiting for. I can’t believe I did not say this earlier, but wow, Pizza Girl, you look... incredible. You are so beautiful in your delivery shirt and now, in that dress.” His eyes burned into me lustily.
My face had to be flushed and about as red as my dress. “Thank you,” was the only thing I could think of to say back. My mind was overloaded just being that close to him and when he told me I was beautiful in his deep sexy voice... well, I'm kind of surprised I even managed to squeak out a thank you.
“Should we get you back to your table with your friends? I don’t want to steal you away from them.” Nick’s arm brushed against mine and left a trail of goosebumps in its wake.
“Ummmmm... yes. That would probably be a good idea. I’ll bet they are wondering where I am.” I had lost all concept of time and didn’t know how long I had been gone. It must not have been too long, or Cassie would have sent out a search party.
“Lead the way,” Nick said as he put his hand on my lower back. I sucked in a gasp of air as he touched my bare skin. I silently told myself to remember to thank Cassie for making me wear the backless dress. I was seriously going to need to stop wearing panties around this guy because, if he could melt them or cause them to burst into flames with nothing but a look, I was afraid of what could happen to them when he actually touched me. The way my body responded to him was insane.
“Holy shit! Jenna! There you are! I was about ready to send a search party out for you! What the hell happened?” Cassie was shouting over the music as she started walking towards Nick and I.
Cassie took about three steps and stopped, as the worry on her face was replaced with a smirk. Her
eyes looked over me and locked in on Nick who was still walking behind me with his hand on my lower back.
“Oh! Now I see exactly what happened.” Cassie raised an eyebrow and her smirk turned into a full-on grin. “Well, Jenna, are you going to introduce us to your new friend?”
Nick bent down until his mouth was right next to my ear. I could feel his warm breath on my cheek and smell a faint hint of mint as he whispered to me, “Jenna. I like it. Much sexier than Pizza Girl.”
Oh. My. God.
Status of panties = dripping wet.
My heart was racing so fast I thought it might burst out of my rib cage. “Cassie, this is Nick. Nick, this is my best friend, Cassie.” Nick kept one hand on my back and reached the other out to shake Cassie’s. It thrilled me that he remained touching me the entire time.
“Nick! Nice to meet you.” Suddenly Cassie got a strange look on her face. “Wait a minute! Are you panty-melting pizza Nick?” My eyes flew wide open and I made a strangled, gurgling noise in my throat. Forget thanking Cassie for the amazing dress. I was going to murder her and hide the body thanks to her big mouth.
For the second time tonight, I wondered how it was that I kept finding myself in these horribly awkward situations.
Chapter 17
Jenna
While I stood there and silently wished for the floor to open up and swallow me whole after Cassie’s comment, Nick just threw his head back and let out a big, deep laugh. “Well, I don’t know that I have ever been described quite that way before. I will own up to the pizza portion of the description. It's hard not to be a Pete’s Pizza fan when it's delivered by Jenna.” Nick looked at me and winked when he said my name. Hearing my name on his lips was so hot I kicked myself for not telling him earlier.
Mike stepped forward and extended his hand. “I am Mike. This is Steven and Kimmy.”
