“Yuck. That’s just a Coke.”
I nodded. “Um, yeah. Designated driver here, remember?”
She rolled her eyes and called for the bartender. The blonde came over and eyed Liza—she probably thought Liza was my girlfriend.
“I’ll take a fireball,” Liza said. “No! I’ll take two!”
The bartender nodded, looking at me, as if for permission. But if this is what Liza needed to do to feel good, who was I to stop her?
When the shots were placed in front of Liza, I slid the money to the bartender. She winked and said, “You might be getting lucky tonight.”
I laughed and said, “I don’t think so.”
Liza downed one shot and then the next. She let out a little yelp and licked her lips. When she looked at me, my dick jumped. Fuck. Don’t think about her that way, Walker. You have Jessica. She loves you and wants a future with you.
“Will you dance with me, Walker?” Liza asked, an innocent smile playing on her lips.
They’d been playing nothing but fast songs all night. I nodded, took her hand, and led her to the dance floor. The moment I turned to face her, the song changed. “Glass” by Thompson Square began playing. I swallowed hard and my heart instantly slammed. A slow song meant holding Liza close, pressed up against me. She came closer and I took her in my arms. As we danced, her smell brought me back to those moments we’d spent alone together before leaving for college. I’d often wondered if we’d made the right choice in not sleeping together. Maybe if we had, we’d have fought harder to make things work between us.
I leaned in closer and took a deep breath. She smelled heavenly. I closed my eyes and tried to push these thoughts out of my head. We danced in silence. As the song ended, Liza pulled away. She looked into my eyes. I wasn’t sure what to do. My heart was telling me to kiss her, but my head was telling me to walk away. Blake Shelton’s “Who are you when I’m not looking” began playing. Liza’s eyes lingered on my lips. I slowly leaned in. As we grew closer, she licked her lips in anticipation.
“Walker,” she whispered.
Just as we were about to make contact, I heard someone yell out my name. I pulled back instantly and looked around.
“Walker fucking Moore!”
Mitchell Cunningham walked over as I let go of Liza and took a few steps back. I smiled and shook Mitchell’s hand.
“I can’t believe I’m running into you here in the middle of Hicksville, Walker.” I laughed as I looked back at Liza.
Liza was eyeing Mitchell, and I didn’t like the way she was looking at him. Mitchell turned to see who I was looking at, perking up the second he saw Liza.
“Well, who do we have here?” Mitchell asked.
Liza smiled, waiting for me to introduce her.
“Mitchell, this is Liza Morris,” I said. “She’s an old friend. We grew up together.”
Mitchell took her hand and kissed it.
I leaned in and said, “Take a look at the left hand.”
Liza shot me a dirty look. I shrugged and winked.
“Oh, damn. You’re engaged,” Mitchell said. “That sucks, sweetheart.” He turned back to me. “Shit, dude. I thought you and Jessica were together. Jessica said y’all were getting married soon.”
Liza and I both blurted, “What?”
Mitchell looked between Liza and me.
“You’re getting married?” Liza asked.
“No. I mean…uh…” I stuttered. “When did you talk to Jessica, Mitchell?”
Mitchell still looked confused as hell. “Um…I saw her earlier today.”
“Where?” I asked.