Only One Night (Only One 3)

My legs are shaking, and it has nothing to do with the bottle of wine I’ve been drinking and everything to do with the man who just eye fucked me. Or maybe it was just me, and he was looking at me with pity. I swing my hips as I feel his eyes on me, and when I finally do get back to my seat and sit down, I make the mistake of looking over at him and find him watching me. His hands are still in his pockets, making his shoulders look huge. Maybe he plays football.

“Are you okay?” Jeanie asks, and I look away from him. “You look flushed,” she tells me. I raise my hands to my cheeks, and they feel like they are on fire. I look back now to where he was standing, but I don’t see him anywhere.

I grab my glass of wine and down it in two gulps. “I’m fine,” I say with a smile. The waiter comes over with a tray full of shots.

“Okay, ladies,” he says. “Time to get this party started.” He walks around the table, giving each of us a shot. “Okay, can I have the bride come over to me?” he asks. I get up to give her space to walk out, and it’s only then that I notice most of the tables have been taken out.

Stephanie walks over to the waiter and stands with him. “This song is for you,” he says and nods to the DJ watching him. The song “Run the World” starts playing, and we all laugh. “To not remembering tonight,” he says, lifting a shot, and we all follow him. I take the shot, my eyes closing when the hot liquid goes all the way down, the blue eyes haunting me. Opening my eyes, I look around to see if I can spot him.

“I hate tequila.” I hear one of the bridesmaids say as the waiter hands me another shot.

“I don’t really think I should,” I say, and he just smiles at me.

“You need to stop thinking and let loose.” He winks at me, and nothing happens to me. There is no flutter in my stomach or racing of my heart like when the blue-eyed stranger looked at me.

After he walks away, I pour the shot into an empty glass, then pick up a glass of water and take a couple of sips. I look over and see the dance floor is starting to get crowded. A song comes on, and the whole table gets up and starts to dance right next to our table. I feel eyes on me, but when I look around, I don’t see anyone looking at me. It must all be in my head.

We dance up a storm, and when I get back to my seat, I sit down and drink the glass of water in front of me. I look over to see the bottle empty. I look around to see if the waiter is anywhere, and when I don’t see him, I look at Jeanie and point at the bar, and she just nods her head.

I walk through the crowd and make my way to the bar. It’s full in the front, so I walk over to the side near the bathroom. I lean against the cool bar, looking at the two bartenders going nuts. I feel eyes on me. I look over to the right, and there he is, leaning against the bar in the dark. I turn now, looking at him. “Fancy meeting you here,” I say, trying to sound funny, and he just chuckles. “Well, I guess the saying is true,” I tell him, holding my hand up to get the bartender's attention. He sees me and nods his head, coming over to us.

“What can I get you?” he asks me.

“Can I have an apple martini and a bottle of water,” I tell him, and then he looks at the blue-eyed stranger.

“I’m good,” he says, and his voice is smoother than it was before.

“No problem, Captain,” the bartender says and turns to walk away.

“So, what is the saying?” he asks, and I look at him.

“There is never a third time without a second,” I say, and then I look up and think about it. “I think that’s how it goes.” I try to focus, but my head is spinning.

“Actually,” he says, and I lean into him just a bit, turning my face so my ear is in his direction. He leans in just a touch now to make sure I can hear him. Except he gets so close, the smell of him makes all my senses go haywire. I don’t even know what he has to say. His face is coming so fucking close to me that I could probably feel his beard on my ear if he wanted to get even closer. “It’s never two without three.”