She watched the dance floor for a moment and then shrugged. "Oh, what the heck. If you promise to catch me if I fall, I'll give these a try. I don’t really want to walk on that floor in bare feet."
"I'm your man. Promise to catch you before you hit the floor." I grinned and took her hand.
"Later, bro," I said to John, who nodded and held up his beer graciously. It wouldn't take him long to find some pretty thing and ask her to dance.
The music blared and people danced around us on the small dance floor to the left of the bar as we crossed it and found a place in the middle of all the writhing bodies. We started to dance and I saw right away that she was uncomfortable in the heels, but she still looked sexy, moving her hips in a gentle sway that send my mind imagining what it would be like to have those hips riding me.
"I haven't been dancing in ages, " Alexa said. "Do you come here often?"
I couldn't help but smile at her lame line. "Do you always use that pick-up?"
She grimaced and then laughed. "Oh, God, I've been so focused on my comp, I think I've forgotten how to talk to people. I should ask you something else, more personal. Like, what the heck is going on in your family? So much intrigue…"
"Don't ask," I replied, making a face of disgust. "Suffice to say that my family is not really my family. My real parents died when my sister and I were very small. So, technically, we're orphans and they're our adoptive parents. They adopted us, because they were business partners with my parents. We don't like either of them."
"You don't like your adoptive parents? Either of them?"
"Nope." I shook my head. "Unfortunately, he's a blowhard cheater and she’s a meddler."
"I'm sorry to hear that. It must be really tense at family gatherings."
"It is. My sister and I tend to avoid them as much as possible. So, you can see why I wanted to send my brother-in-law a message about using an escort service. It's just my adoptive father all over again. I don’t want Dana to go through a divorce, especially with a baby on the way."
"You couldn’t just talk to Eric?”
I shook my head. "I'd be afraid I'd punch his lights out."
Alexa didn’t say anything for a moment, and the two of us danced for a while in silence. She couldn’t move much on those heels, but when she did, she was very sexy, wiggling her hips more than she could do many complicated steps. I glanced over her from head to toes. She was so damn sexy. Of course, my man brain wanted to take her home with me and try her on for size. I figured she’d be a great fit and I remembered her joking texts when I was trying to sound all alpha and mentioned bronc riding. She had a great sense of humor, which I highly valued.
"We should sit down," I said and pointed to her heels. "Your ankles look like they could collapse at any time and I don't want to be responsible for any long-term injuries."
She wiped her brow dramatically. "Whew," she said and smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that. These heels are killing my feet."
I took her arm and led her off the dance floor to the bar where John was busy talking up a pretty young thing. "We're going to find a table," I shouted to him over the blaring music.
"You go ahead," he said and gestured to the young woman beside him. "Mia and I are going to dance."
I n
odded and then Alexa and I grabbed our drinks. I took Alexa’s hand and scanned the tables for a place to sit. I found one off in the corner that was a bit out of the way and then led her there. I pulled out her chair and then sat next to her, moving my chair closer so I could hear her speak.
"So, tell me about Alexa. I know your father was in the Air Force and that you're a military brat. You're a poli science MA student, and you're from the great state of Oregon. What else should I know?"
She shrugged. "I don't know… I have an older brother, John, who's also in the Air Force and is training to be a fighter pilot. My parents live in Oregon, in a bedroom community outside Portland. My father teaches at a local flight school. That's it, really."
"Your family sounds great. Sounds like a real family."
"It is. They are.”
I watched her face. "No boyfriend?"
She shook her head. "Not recently, no. I've," she said and lifted her shoulder. "I've been focusing on school instead of a social life, I guess."
"Any past serious relationships?"
She frowned. "Why do you ask?"
"I just wondered why you're single. You're hot. You're smart."