“Holy shit, you’d be an amazing bodyguard,” I told Roman. “All of the pop stars and actors have big bodyguards that they love.”
“It’s a competitive field,” Roman said. “I jump at every opportunity that comes up, but it’s certainly not as common here in Kansas as it would be in a huge city.”
“Maybe something will come up,” Brody said with a shrug. “You never know. As I proved today. Holy shit, I still can’t believe I got offered a job. A real job.”
“An amazing job,” I agreed.
“And that’s why I’m so damn proud of you,” Roman said again. “My baby brother’s growing up.”
We sat back, drank beer, and talked as we slowly worked on the array of nachos, french fries, and mini sliders in front of us. A while later, I watched as Dani got a mischievous look on her face and snuck over toward the jukebox. Ten minutes later, I heard the opening notes of a song that was an all-out classic here in Red’s Tavern.
Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar on Me started to play, and at least half of the people in the bar started to go wild, whooping and getting up to dance.
“These people know what’s coming,” Brody said, smiling wide as he pulled me out of the booth. “C’mon. We’re joining in.”
“Oh, God,” I groaned, a flash of nervousness hitting me.
Every time Pour Some Sugar on Me came on in Red’s Tavern, the bar’s owner, Red, donned his cowboy hat and dancing boots and got up on the bar to dance. He was usually a reserved, mature cowboy type, content to stay behind the bar and keep things running smoothly.
But this song was the exception. Every time. And it definitely looked like lots of people were going to join in on the dancing tonight, including my cousin. Sam was already whipping his hand around in the air like he was tossing a lasso, the glitter on his tank top shining under the bar lights.
“I want to dance with you,” Brody said, a pleading look in his eyes. He was tipsy, too, and he looked fucking irresistible.
“If it were anybody else, I’d refuse,” I said. “But I’ll dance with you.”
“Yes,” he said, dragging me out to the little wooden dance floor at the corner of the bar where people were already grouping up.
As the song played on, sure enough, Red got himself up on the bar and started doing his signature moves. Everyone was going absolutely crazy now, and everybody who wasn’t dancing was hollering and cheering from the sidelines.
“Let’s go, boys!” Vance and Mike bellowed, coming out to the dance floor themselves. They definitely weren’t dancing with each other, but they bounced around us, hyping us up.
Brody put his arms around my shoulders as we danced our asses off. By the end of the song, the little dance floor was packed, and the strange thing was that I felt amazing.
I didn’t care who was looking. And here, it didn’t matter who was looking.
I felt safe. I felt loved. And I knew that just about anybody here would have my back through anything.
Especially the gorgeous fucking man in front of me, all brown eyes, brown hair, and dimples.
When he pulled me in close for a kiss and a hug after the song ended, I took a deep breath, knowing that I was where I belonged.
“This is the happiest I’ve ever been,” I said softly near his ear. “I feel like I could be with you forever, Brody. You make me… you make me happy to be who I am. I don’t know if that sounds crazy.”
He pulled back, looking into my eyes. He looked more serious than he had before. “It doesn’t sound crazy to me at all,” he said. “Because I feel it, too.”
I swallowed hard, my heart pounding a little faster in my chest. “Well then, we can both be crazy together.”
“I want to be crazy with you for as long as you’ll have me, Logan,” Brody said. “And I think I always will want you, too.”
I moved in to press another kiss to his lips before he saw my eyes tearing up. Because that was the craziest thing of all, really. That I’d be so happy I’d cry, right here on the dance floor in the middle of a little tavern in Kansas, feeling completely at home in Brody’s arms.
But soon enough the wave of emotion passed and turned into a laugh that bubbled up out of me as I broke off from his lips.
“If I were watching this moment in a movie, I’d say it was so historically inaccurate,” I said.
Brody’s mouth quirked up in a smile. “Oh yeah?”