Playing with Words (Boggy Creek Valley 2)

“Did you do all of this, Greer?” I asked when she made her way back over.

Scoffing, she replied, “No. The previous owner did. He liked to host reading events and such up here. And the occasional party.”

A country song came on, and I drew in a deep breath as we stepped closer together. Greer looked up at me. “Okay, so we’ll start by holding hands.”

She held out her hands, and I took them in mine. Her eyes snapped up to mine, and for a moment I thought she might have felt the same zip of energy I did from touching her.

“So we’ll start out just walking in a line. I’ll go backwards and you lead with your left foot.”

I glanced down at my feet and nodded. “Okay, why my left foot?”

“Because the ladies are always right.”

Laughing, I slowly shook my head. “Damn, I walked into that one.”

As we started to walk, she nodded. “Literally.”

Once we got to the end, Greer turned. “Now, let’s do a quick, quick, slow, slow step.”

I nodded and we started off again.

Greer smiled. “We have perfect time!”

With a wink, I replied, “I agree. Now what?”

“Okay, let’s get into position. Your left hand goes up, and my right hand goes to your left. Your other hand goes up near my shoulder blade—yep, just like that. Now pretend you’re wearing a tie. Line your tie up with my right shoulder so we’re a bit off center. Yes! That gives our feet space to move together.”

I tried like hell to ignore the way my heart started pounding when I touched her body.

“Our elbows will touch like this, and my hand rests right about here. On your, um…your…um shoulder.”

Her cheeks turned bright red as she stared at my chest and then slowly looked up to meet my eyes.

“Something wrong?”

“No,” she answered, shaking her head. “Um, let’s do the quick, quick, slow, slow steps again.”

We did them a few times, both staring down at our feet.

“Okay, let’s start going counterclockwise in a circle,” she said. “If you’re dancing at a club or bar, the rule of thumb is the faster dancers stay on the outside, while the slower ones stay on the inside. At least that’s what I’ve read.”

“I’m guessing I’d be on the inside of the circle.”

She chuckled and glanced up at me. “Maybe for a little while, until you got used to it.”

“How do you know I won’t step on your feet?”

“Well, as long as I stay in sync with you, you won’t. I can actually feel you move by putting pressure on where I’m holding your hand, and where my hand is on your shoulder. Does that make sense? You go to the beat of the music, and I follow you.”

I nodded.

After a few minutes of walking and doing the quick and slow steps, Greer stopped. “Okay, ready to turn me?”

I stared at her. “Turn you into what?”

Greer laughed and rolled her eyes. “Turn me in the dance.”

“Whoa, I think you’re giving me more credit than I deserve. I’m still mastering the quick, quick, slow, slow.” The song changed to a slower one, and I pulled Greer against me. “Or we could simply slow dance like this.”

Our bodies pressed together, and we swayed from side to side as I let my hand move to the middle of her back.

Greer caught her lower lip between her teeth and smiled. “This is nice too.”

“It is,” I agreed. “And I don’t have to think as hard.”

She laughed and dropped her forehead onto my chest before she looked back up at me. “You’re a good dancer, Hudson.”

I tipped my head in a thank you. “As are you, Greer. Maybe we should take our skills and go out dancing in a real bar.” With a quick look around, I added, “Not that I don’t like your rooftop bar.”

“That would be fun, to go dancing with you.”

I lifted a brow. “Oh yeah? You’d be down for it?”

She let out a soft chuckle. “Yes, but aren’t you supposed to be writing a book, Mr. Higgins?”

Leaning down, I placed my mouth against her ear and whispered, “All work and no play isn’t any way to live, Greer.”

There was no denying the chemistry that licked around our bodies as I drew back and caught her gaze. I fought the urge to kiss her, still not sure if we should take it to that next level.

“No, I guess not.”

I pushed her out and spun her before pulling her back in.

She gasped. “Whoa, now that was a turn!”

“Did you doubt my skills?” I asked.

“For a few brief moments, I did, yes.”

It was my turn to laugh, drawing her body closer to mine while we danced across her roof under the stars and moon.

Greer

I wasn’t sure how long Hudson and I sat on my roof and talked. We started a fire in the pit, grabbed a few blankets, and sat on the cushions and talked about everything. It was so easy to have a conversation with him. We talked about books, politics, places we’ve been in the world, and places we still wanted to see. Hudson told me about his first kiss and how he nearly broke her nose by coming in too fast. He asked me questions about the bookstore and Boggy Creek, and we made a promise to go dancing next weekend when his parents came into town.