All In (Miami Stories Book 2)

by Brooke St. James

  The song ended, and the male vocalist took the mic and began singing Elton John's Your Song. I glanced at Layla and Matt who were still dancing. Matt was irresistibly sweet and easy to talk to, and Layla looked as though she was having a fine time.

  "May I please have another dance, Sidney? I'm not ready to let you go just yet."

  "Even though I turned down your commercial?"

  He grinned. "I wouldn't say you turned it down."

  Chapter 7

  Layla got our attention after the second song, and we walked to the edge of the dancefloor to talk to her. She fished around in her purse as we made our way over there.

  "I can feel my phone vibrating," she said. "Yep," she added, staring at the screen. "Trey's here. He's waiting outside." She smiled at Matt before lunging forward to hug him and put a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for the dances, Matt. I had a really good time."

  He smiled so big that his eyes closed. "Yeah," he said, shaking his head.

  "Eat a little extra cake for me, okay?"

  "I will," he assured her, nodding.

  "Thank you," I said to Layla. I loved how genuine she was being with him. It really made my heart happy.

  "We had fun, didn't we?" she said, grinning at Matt.

  He grinned back, nodding. "There's Ms. Abigail," he said.

  "Yeah, I'm gonna tell Abigail 'bye' on my way out," Layla said.

  "You can tell me now," Abigail said, walking up behind her. Matt had obviously seen her approach, but I hadn't and neither had Layla. The two of them hugged. "You leaving before the cake?" Abigail asked.

  "I'm not," Matt assured her.

  "I know you're not," Abigail said, smiling and wrinkling her nose at him before focusing on Layla again.

  "My boyfriend just got here to pick me up," Layla said. "But thanks for having me. I'm so excited for y'all, and everything was beautiful."

  "Thank you," Abigail said, hugging Layla one last time. She looked at Matt. "I was coming over to see if you would dance with me."

  "Yeah, I just danced with her."

  "I know. I saw y'all. I didn't know you could dance so good."

  Matt smiled shyly.

  Lance said something to his sister as they embraced. It was loud in there, and I couldn’t hear them, but I assumed he was telling her goodbye. She smiled and waved at me after they broke contact. "It was great meeting you, Sidney," she said, nearly yelling. "I really think you should do that commercial for my brother. Not that he just put me up to saying that or anything."

  I let out a little laugh as I shook my head. "It was great meeting you, too," I said waving at her as she walked away.

  "You gonna be on a commercial?" Matt asked, looking at me with an intense, serious expression.

  "No," I said.

  But at the exact same time, Lance said, "Yes."

  I squinted my eyes playfully at him, and Abigail took Matt by the hand dragging him onto the dancefloor. The band was playing a faster song, but it was nearly over. Lance and I were left standing on the side, and I glanced at him, biting the inside of my lower lip as I thought of what to say.

  "I'm sorry for bugging you about it," Lance said. "It's just that once I get my mind set on something, I pretty much don't stop till it happens."

  I shot him a regretful glance and leaned in to speak closer to him so he could hear me over the music. "As much as I would like to believe I'm capable of doing something like that, the truth is—"

  "If you'd like to believe you can do it, then just do it," he said, cutting me off. "Just say 'yes'."

  "I'm not a musician," I said. "I have no experience whatsoever doing something like that. You could probably go down the street and find five hundred girls way more qualified than me." I gestured to the stage. "In fact, that girl right there is a better choice."

  "Not when I want you," he said.

  A rush of adrenaline hit me at his words—not just because I thought I might do the commercial for him, but also because I loved the way those exact words sounded for other reasons.

  "I can see that you're gonna say 'yes'," he said, grinning confidently as he nudged his chin at me.

  "I think you should really hear me sing first," I said practically. "And not just a few notes that bounce off the walls of a fish tunnel. It's not gonna hurt my feelings if you have someone else do it. I'm really not that good."

  "You're saying 'yes' right now," Lance said. "And I could just kiss you for it."

  He glanced at my mouth when he said that, and my knees got weak. I wished he would take me into his arms and do it.

  "Let's not get ahead of ourselves," I said, since I was totally delirious with anticipation and thought that was the right thing to say.

  He shrugged. "I was trying to slip that one past you while you were agreeing to things. Can't blame a man for trying."

  I literally lost my breath. In spite of the fact that it was an absolute crazy thing for us to do, I really wanted him to kiss me right then. I was mad at myself for saying otherwise. I sighed. The fast song was now over, and the male vocalist began singing Crazy Love by Van Morrison. I looked at the stage with a reminiscent expression when I heard the first few words.

  "What?" Lance asked.

  "It's one of my all-time favorite songs, ever," I said.

  Without hesitation, Lance reached out and took me by the hand, stepping onto the dancefloor and taking me with him. I checked on Matt, but Abigail was still dancing with him. Apparently, she didn't have the same kind of feelings about this song that I did, or she would be hunting down Ash right then. My heart melted as I heard the smooth music and lyrics fill the room.

  …And when I come to her, that's where I belong.

  Yet I'm running to her like a river's song.

  Lance held me gently as we swayed. The singer was good, and I loved the song so much that I didn't even feel like I could hold my head upright. I let my face rest against his chest, and he pulled me closer, wrapping his arm firmly around my waist. I breathed in the smell of him, feeling all sorts of sensations in my abdomen because of it.

  I went into some kind of time warp while we were dancing, because it seemed like I had only been in his arms for about three seconds when the song abruptly changed to Single Ladies by Beyoncé.

  It all happened so fast. One minute, I was experiencing utter bliss in Lance's arms, and the next thing I knew, the crowd started wiggling and jiggling on the dancefloor, jolting me out of my dream moment. I felt as though someone had just poured a bucket of ice water on me. I stepped back, smiling at Lance and trying to pretend there wasn't a huge void where he wasn't touching me anymore. I wanted to hold onto him, so I did the opposite and took a step away. Abigail walked over, holding hands with Matt and moving to the up-tempo rhythm as she walked. She was obviously going to leave Matt with me so she could go out on the dancefloor with 'all the single ladies'.

  "Come on!" she said, waving at me to follow her.

  I didn't bother denying her. Of course, I was going to go out there and be silly with her on her wedding night.

  "I'm gonna go dance with Ms. Abigail one time," I said to Matt. "You can wait for me at the table."

  "When's cake?" Matt asked.

  "In just a minute," Abigail promised, pulling me onto the dancefloor.

  I didn't think about people watching me.

  I didn't think about Lance.

  I forgot it all and went out on the dancefloor, acting silly and dancing to the music with the flood of women who went out there. I wasn't trying to impress anybody, so I used funny, old-school dance moves that had the people around me laughing and copying me. Abigail danced right beside me, and we laughed the whole time. I vaguely noticed her photographer taking pictures, but I had already decided not to notice or care. It was a pure, unadulterated good time.

  The band played another fast song when they were done with that one, but I kissed Abigail on the cheek and told her I was going to check on Matt. She told me they were going to cut the cake after this song, which
was a relief since I told Matt's mom I'd have him home by 9.

  As I got closer to the table, I could see that Lance was sitting there with Matt. There was an empty chair on the other side of Lance, and he pulled it out for me.

  "Do you want this one, he asked offering to give me his seat instead.

  I just smiled and shook my head, sitting in the one he had already pulled out.

  "Me and Lance were watching you," Matt announced, leaning over Lance to talk to me.

  "Were you?"

  Matt nodded. "I saw you do the running man, and Lance said he was gonna have to take dancing lessons from you. I told him he can just come to our school since you dance all the time in class, anyway."

  I had tried to make myself forget about Lance when I was out there, but it was much harder now that I was sitting next to him. His presence was simply overwhelming. He was so masculine and desirable that I was unable to think straight. I laughed at Matt's comment about me dancing at school, and Manny, one of the other guys at the table, leaned over and made a lighthearted comment about how they all enjoyed watching my moves. I thanked him, and made a little silly bowing gesture where I rolled my hand in front of my chest.

  "And Lance said he would make sure our class got tickets to go to the aquarium, so you don't have to ask our parents for money," Matt added.

  "He did?" I asked, glancing at Lance.

  Lance nodded. "That's really no problem."

  I could tell he meant it.

  He was so cool and confident that I found it difficult to breathe. "Thank you," I managed. "That's really nice." I focused on Matt with a smile. "I think they're about to cut the cake," I said, lifting my eyebrows.

  His head whipped around as he looked toward the cake table. "Let's go get in line," he said.

  "We will. You should check your blood sugar first, just to see where you're at. Do you need help?"

  He shook his head and took off toward the bathroom with his lunchbox. "Imma do it."

  "Come back and get me if you need insulin," I said.

  He looked at me from over his shoulder and gave me a nod.

  I shot Lance a sincere smile once Matt walked away. "Thank you for staying over here with him while I went out there with Abigail."

  "It was really a pleasure," Lance said. "He's a cool guy."

  "He is. I'm gonna miss him next year. I'll warn you, though, he's probably really gonna want to take you up on that aquarium thing. I can see him making an announcement to the class first thing Monday morning."

  "I hope he does," Lance said. "Just let me know what day you want to go, and I'll set it up."

  "Should I just call the store?" I asked, knowing we would need to work it in sooner than later since the end of school was getting close.

  The corner of his mouth lifted in an easy grin. It caused a flood of butterflies to wash through me. "No, you shouldn't just call the store," he said.

  But I was so preoccupied with his face that I didn't hear him. "What'd you say?" I asked.

  "I said you should call me directly," he said. "We're gonna need to be in touch, anyway. With the commercial and everything."

  "I'm nervous about that," I said, scrunching up my face.

  He leaned over so that he didn't have to yell over the noise. "I have a friend who's a music producer. He's got a studio. I sent my video guy a text a minute ago, and he got back with me, saying we'd use Dale to do the music. I trust both of them. Dale's an awesome musician. I was gonna tell him the idea, and have him work with me to re-write the song to fit the commercial. He knows musicians who can play it just like the original recording. I was thinking I could set up a meeting with the two of you. I don't even have to be there. You talk to him about it and try it out, and if the two of you decide you want to move forward, fine. If not, that's fine too. Does that sound like it would work for you?"

  "I've never done anything like that before. I've never even set foot into a recording studio."

  He smiled. "I know. You told me that."

  "And you still want me to do it?"

  "Yes," he said. "Or at least try it. There's no harm in talking to him. You'll like him. His name is Dale Young. He's a nice guy. He's been doing it a long time."

  "Did you already tell him I would do it?" I asked.

  "No, I didn't. I haven't even talked to him. I sent Jonah a text, but otherwise, I've been over here talking to Matt."

  "Well, I might try it. But only because you're fine with it not working out. If I stink, will he tell me the truth?"

  Another smile. "Yes, he will. He's a nice guy, but he's not going to waste his time recording something that we wouldn't be able to use."

  "Would it just be my voice?"

  "I don't know. In my head, it would be like a cheesy rock video, you know, neon and hairspray and stuff with aquarium fish in the background, but that'd mean you have to really sell it. I have to talk to Jonah about it. He's the video production guy. He'll help me get a grasp on what would work."

  I imagined myself doing something like that. I knew I could totally sell it and get into it, but I honestly didn't know if my voice was good enough. My mom and aunt seemed to think I was the best thing since sliced bread, but I had seen enough episodes of American Idol to know that the confidence of a person's family didn't really count for much. I really wanted to do it though, and I had to hold back a smile at my growing excitement. It was extra exhilarating knowing that Lance wouldn't be there and I wouldn't have to contend with my overwhelming desire to make a good impression on him.

  "So, are you in?" he asked.

  "I'll meet Dale," I said, nodding casually.

  Chapter 8

  Lance

  It was the following Friday afternoon when Lance received a text from Sidney. She had taken her class to the aquarium that day. He wanted to meet them there, but had been on a job in Coral Gables and couldn’t get away.

  Sidney: "Thanks so much for making this happen! We all had an amazing time!"

  There was a video attached to it, and Lance hit the button to make it play. It was a group shot of her class huddled together in the aquarium. "Thank you, Lance!" they yelled.

  The video cut off right away, the 'play' button appearing in the middle of the screen. It was only a five-second video, but it made his day. He smiled down at his phone as he watched it a second time and then a third. He grinned when he spotted Matt, but he didn't pay much attention to anyone besides Sidney. She was on the far right side, and she yelled and waved really big just like the rest of them.

  He couldn't get the girl out of his mind.

  He hadn't seen her since the day of the wedding. He had talked to her several times since then, but he wanted so badly to see her again. He kept reliving moments—the way she moved freely on the dancefloor like nobody was watching, the way she went to the back room to help Matt with his insulin and then came out a minute later, both of them smiling. He thought of the way she laughed instead of cried when Matt accidentally dropped his cake onto her lap. He could imagine her face when he closed his eyes, and he couldn’t wait to see it again.

  It was too bad he had no idea when or how that was going to happen.

  He had talked to her on the phone several times that week, but their conversations always revolved around getting tickets to the aquarium or hooking up a meeting with Dale, the music producer.

  This type of desire for a woman was uncharted territory for Lance. He had dated casually, but this girl was different—he liked this girl in a different way, and because of that, he didn't quite know how to approach her. He wanted to surprise her by showing up at the aquarium, but he just couldn't pull it off with the trip to Coral Gables.

  She had a meeting with Dale the following day, but he had already told her that he wouldn't go. He wished he hadn't done that.

  He texted her back once he got home.

  Lance: "Love that video… looks like you had fun!"

  He heard back from her within minutes.

  Sidney: "Can I call you?"<
br />
  Lance: "Sure."

  His phone rang right away, and he picked it up.

  "Hello?"

  "You really didn't have to do that," she said.

  "Do what?" he asked.

  "You know what. The tickets were already enough. You didn't have to give them each twenty-dollars to spend at the gift shop."

  "I didn't pay for the tickets," Lance said. "The owners comped them for me."

  "Still," she said. "I can't believe you did that with the gift shop. It was really unbelievable to see how excited they were about it. They had so much fun just seeing the fish, but you should have seen their faces when I handed them each twenty-dollars to spend on a souvenir. You would have thought I handed them each a check for a million dollars. They had the best time trying on hats, and sunglasses, and t-shirts."

  He let out a laugh. He loved imagining that.

  "Seriously, Lance. It was a really thoughtful thing for you to do."

  "I'm glad they liked it," he said. "I loved the video you sent. It's nice to picture the class."

  "You'll have to come meet them sometime. If you want. No pressure or anything—"

  "I'd love to," he said.

  "We'll go to the park next Friday. Abigail and Ash usually meet us, but they'll still be on their honeymoon."

  "What time?" he asked.

  "One-ish."

  "I'll have to check my schedule and make sure I'm not out of town or anything, but I'd love to."

  "No biggie if you can't," she said. "I mean, we're gonna be there, anyway, so you can just come by if you want."

  Lance wanted to see her before then. A week seemed like a long time.

  "Are you excited about going to the studio tomorrow?" he asked, wanting her to say he could meet her there.