Southern Pleasure (Southern Heart 1)

“Hey, McKinley, what are you drinking?” Mike asks.

“Just water for now.” He raises his eyebrows, but I ignore him. Even though I’m in my hometown, I don’t like to drink alone, meaning I don’t have someone designated to make sure my ass gets home safely. It’s a rule my roommates and I made in college and I still live by it.

Mike slides a cold bottle of water toward me. I reach out to grab it, and he pulls it back. “You still owe me a dance.”

I smile and nod. I’ll give him his one dance, but that’s all he’s getting, regardless of how charming he thinks he is.

“Let’s dance,” Olivia says, pulling my behind out onto the dance floor. The band is a local cover band and they’re really good. Olivia and I dance for five or six songs straight, so many that I lose track. A slow one comes on and I mimic taking a drink. She nods her agreement and we make our way through the crowd back to the bar.

Mike sees us approaching and places a bottle of beer and a glass of water on the counter. I chug the water and hand it back to him to throw away. The slow song ends, but the band slips right into another. “You ready for that dance?” Mike asks me.

“Let’s do this,” I say in reply. I’m trying to keep our interactions as friendly as possible. I don’t want him getting the wrong idea.

Mike steps out from around the bar and reaches for my hand. I place mine in his and allow him to lead me to the dance floor. He stops at the edge and pulls me against him, resting his hands on my hips. I take a step back and rest my hands on his shoulders.

“So how’s the studio coming along?”

“Great actually, thanks for asking. I’m staying busy.” I look around at all the people in the Tavern. “Looks like business is good,” I say, making small talk.

“Yeah, I really couldn’t be happier with the crowds. It took a while to get the word out, but once I started booking bands, that changed quickly.”

“People do love live music,” I say.

“Listen, McKinley—” he starts to say, but the song ends the lead singer starts talking to the crowd. I release a deep breath.

I once again mimic taking a drink, so we can leave the dance floor. I said one dance. When we reach the bar, Evan and Aaron are sitting there talking to Olivia.

“McKinley, thank you for the dance.” Mike pulls my hand to his lips and kisses it with a wink.

Son of a bitch!

The first thing I see when we walk into Mike’s is him and Kinley dancing together. From her stance, it looks as though she’s keeping her distance and they’re talking. It doesn’t look the least bit romantic, but it still burns my ass that he has his hands on her.

I know what it feels like to have her in my arms.

Olivia greets us with a smile and a drunken, “Hey y’all.” She pulls Aaron down to her level and kisses his cheek, only offering me a wave. Not that I care. Aaron can have her. She’s never hid the fact that she wants him. I have my eyes on forbidden fruit.

I focus my attention on Aaron and Olivia. They’re talking about Morning Star. “She pulled through. So far, the vet comes out weekly to check her and all is well,” Aaron explains.

From the corner of my eye, I see Kinley and Mike approaching us. I watch as he kisses the back of her hand, and I have the overwhelming urge to beat my fist against my chest and go all Tarzan on his ass. I’m about to do just that when he drops her hand and steps back behind the bar. I watch as Kinley wipes her hand on the back of her short-as-hell shorts. The same shorts she was wearing out at my house just a few hours ago.

I try to bite back my grin at her obvious annoyance with Mike, but it’s just not possible. “What’s got you all smiles?” Aaron asks.

“Nothing, man. Just nice to get out and clear my mind,” I tell him. It is. Misty’s appointment today really messed me up. I’m worried sick about my unborn daughter while she’s off doing God only knows what.

I tried again today to give her money, but she refused. I reminded her she’s carrying my baby, and her reply was, “You don’t need to keep reminding me, I know.” I hate how she’s not taking care of herself, and I despise it even more that I can’t do anything about it. Yes, she signed the papers, but there is no real proof she’s not eating. Just a suspicion I have, not to mention the doctors worry over her lack of weight gain.

The four of us stand at the bar and chat about nothing important while Mike continues to watch Kinley. He keeps offering her a beer, but she continues to refuse him. Finally, the band slows things down. Olivia pulls Aaron to the floor, leaving me along with Kinley. She’s been acting like earlier didn’t happen, and I don’t know how I feel about that.

Leaning in close, so she can hear me over the music, I ask, “Will you dance with me?”

She doesn’t answer. Instead, she reaches for my hand, laces her fingers through mine, and pulls me to the dance floor. We don’t stop at the edge where she was dancing with Mike. She guides us through the crowd and stops on the opposite side where the lights are low. Placing her hands behind my neck, she gently runs her fingers through my hair.

With my hands on her hips, I pull her as close as I can get her and clasp my hands together on her lower back. I don’t want her slipping away easily. Kinley leans forward and rests her head against my chest, and that simple act has my heart hammering. I watched her with Mike, and this was not how they danced; she’d kept her distance.

She wants to be close to me.

I take wha