I watch Kayden appear from the sea of bodies, his eyes darting around as he looks for us. He appears uncomfortable, like he’d rather be anywhere else. I don’t know why he wanted to come since this clearly isn’t his scene to begin with. He’s silent for a moment when he reaches me.
“You wanna dance?” He looks almost embarrassed to be asking me. It makes me smile a little.
“Sure. Lead the way.”
He extends his hand to me and I take it, allowing him to pull me onto the dance floor. I cut a glance back at Brent at the table, who wriggles his dark eyebrows back at me knowingly.
When we’ve found a small space amid all the other couples, he pulls me closer to him. We sway back and forth a little and I rest my head against his chest. I’ve decided that while I like him as he is most of the time—that impressive, admirable strength and the raw masculinity he radiates whenever he strikes a brutal punch—I much prefer this gentle, delicate side of him. It’s a breath of fresh air.
With a quivering smile, Kayden twirls me around and a laugh bubbles out of me when he dips me low, strong arms tightening around me, before pulling me back up for another effortless twirl.
“Damn.” I whistle lowly when I’m pressed up against him again. My hands glide up his chest and rest on his shoulders. “I honestly didn’t know you had it in you.”
“It’s probably that soccer exercise,” Kayden winks. “Got the footwork down.”
“Glad to know all those nights on the rooftop have paid off.”
The DJ cues another slow song, so we stay locked in like this—arms entwined around each other. Being in his arms has never felt so right; I’ve never felt like I belonged anywhere else but in them. His hands trace the curve of my spine, the heat of his touch searing my skin through the fabric of my dress.
“Hey . . .” Kayden whispers. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course. Anything.”
“There’s a reason why we didn’t kiss this afternoon, isn’t there?”
I’m taken aback by the bluntness of his question. Not a lot of men I know would approach something like what happened –or to be more specific, what didn’t happen–in such a direct manner. It makes me like him even more.
“I respect you, Sienna. You know I do,” he tells me. “I respect you enough to give you your breathing space. Jax was a huge part of your life. As much as I hate his damn guts, I’m not here to further complicate things for you.” His mouth drops into a frown. “So, perhaps we shouldn’t be doing anything.”
I relinquish a sigh but nod in understanding anyway.
He’s right. We shouldn’t continue to flirt and tease each other like this, not when we have enough of our own issues to deal with. Besides, getting involved with each other would make our deal much more complicated than it needs to be. And I don’t think I’m ready to open that can of worms.
And yet, neither of us lets go of the other.
“Look,” I start, “let’s just forget about the whole thing and dance. Pretend for three minutes that we aren’t carrying all this baggage with us. Pretend that it’s just you and me.
And nothing else. Maybe that’s what we deserve. At least for the remainder of this song.”
“Okay.” Kayden whispers. I press my cheek against his chest, hands clutching his shoulders, and he lets his chin rest on top of my head.
Despite the harsh spotlights blasting down on us, everything else feels like swirl of haze. Kayden lulls us to the low tempo of the song, rocking side to side lazily. My body infuses with sadness when I think that this is going to be the closest we’ll ever allow ourselves to physically be to each other.
My gaze stretches to the swarm of couples crammed around us, and in the distance, I notice Brent and Evans packed together in a small pocket in the crowd.
I can’t make out what they’re saying to each other, but the conversation looks intense, with each of them throwing angry words at the other. Eventually, Brent stops, drags a frustrated hand over his mouth while Evans continues talking at him, and just when the conversation picks up its intensity again, Brent clutches a fistful of Evans’s shirt and kisses him deeply, shutting him up.
Huh. I guess the liquid courage gave Brent the impulsiveness he needed.
“Hey, look at them go.” I nudge Kayden, pointing in the new couple’s direction.
His jaw drops.
“Did—did you know?” He asks me, the shock still jolting through him. His alarmed gaze flickers from Brent and Evans back to me again. “Oh my God. Are they . . . ?”
“I don’t know, either, buddy.” I tap my hand lightly against his chest. “But it sure looks like that has been going on for a while.”
Evans’s shock has completely dissipated and he leans in to Brent’s bold advance, kissing him back just as fervently. Their union feels like a huge sigh of relief after all the pushing and pulling between them. It feels too intimate to watch so I turn my attention elsewhere to give them the privacy they deserve.