“That is Chase Peterson,” Beau says. “Owns the new construction company in town.”
“He’s new in town,” Jacob says. I look back over at the bar and see that Savannah is a little surprised to see him here. By the look in her eyes, you can tell she is faking her smile. I’ve had that look in my eyes for my whole life. “He just started dating Savannah.”
“Can you count lunch as a date?” Beau asks, looking at us, and I shake my head.
“It has to be dinner,” I confirm. “Anything before five p.m. is not considered a date.”
“It was a picnic,” Beau says.
“Aww,” I say, putting my hands to my chest. “A picnic.” I look at the table and see Beau glaring. “That sounds awful,” I say, and he just shakes his head and takes another pull of his beer.
“How have you never had a picnic?” Kallie asks. “We live next to a park.”
“Well, my mother didn’t even want me playing on the grass, let alone sit down and have a meal,” I tell them, shrugging. “Don’t even get me started when I became a model. There was no time to do anything. So I missed the boat on that one.”
“You guys need something more to drink?” Beau asks, getting up. I look at the table, seeing that two beers haven’t even been touched, and my glass of wine is only missing two sips. He turns to walk away from us. “Why doesn’t he just ask her out?”
Casey and Jacob both shake their head. “That would be too easy,” Jacob says.
When a slow song comes on, Kallie stands up and looks at Jacob. “Are you going to dance with me, or do I need to get another partner?” she teases. All he does is glare at her, but he gets up. Casey follows, and I look up at him.
“Let’s dance,” he says, holding out his hand. I put my hand in his, letting him lead me to the dance floor. He wraps his arm around my waist and holds my hand on his chest.
“This is nice,” I say, trying not to get too comfortable in his arms. “Being out with friends. Talking, joking.”
“Yeah,” he says, looking at me. “Sometimes it is nice.” We move around in a circle. The dance floor gets more crowded, pushing us closer and closer together.
“Thank you,” I whisper. I look around to see that eyes are on us, and it’s not just for me. “For tonight. For well …” My arms wrap around his neck, and my fingers go into his hair at the base of his neck. “We are being watched.” I try not to smile too big. “But not by the men.” I look around, seeing some of the women lurking around. “I know that your dance card must be full most nights.” I try not to let it bother me, but just thinking about it makes my voice go low. “If you want, I could stay with Kallie for the night.”
“Darlin’.” He says my name and looks straight into my eyes. “I’m leaving here tonight with the woman I want to leave here with.” I can’t say anything else because of the lump in my throat and the fear that any words will come out with my voice shaking.
Chapter Sixteen
Casey
I walk into my parents’ house, looking around to see that my mother is the only one in the kitchen. “Where is Dad?” I ask, heading to the coffeepot to grab another cup.
“He is on his way down.” She looks at me. “Where is Olivia?” she asks, turning back to the stove.
“Let’s just say Kallie and she had a drinking contest last night.” I shake my head, thinking back to all the tequila shots downed and then more showing up. It was the final straw when she took off her jacket and decided to try to line dance. I’m surprised I left with all my body parts intact since the single guys were walking around the dance floor like sharks waiting in the water to snap their prey. I’m not even going to think about how it felt watching all the men watch her. Jacob needed to remove the beer bottle from my hand before I broke it.
Then when we were in the truck, she kept slipping down, and her head landed on my lap. I thought for sure she would feel my cock under her head and know that I wanted her. But luckily for me, she soon started snoring. When I finally did get home, she didn’t even wake when I placed her in bed, and this morning when the alarm went off, she didn’t stir.
“Oh, dear,” my mother says, getting the bacon out of the oven. “Should I go over there?”
“Nah.” I shake my head. “I woke her before I left. She took two Advil and went back to sleep.” I look out the window and then look back at my mother. “Do you think you can prepare something for me?”