Nate (A Texas Jacks Novel) (5 page)

Eventually, Halley makes it back to us, sans hot guy, and puts our drinks on the table. Just as she goes to sit down, her favorite song comes on, and she jumps to her feet, ready to hit the dance floor. Unfortunately for me, she starts pulling me with her. I don’t want to dance with her for two reasons: one, I’m not that great of a dancer, and two, she may embarrass me on this one. The embarrassment would only be due to my shy nature.

I note an older song by Tracy Byrd come on as I also hear the DJ spit out, “Come on, ladies! Time to shake what your mamas gave you.” It’s a fun, get up and start moving kind of song.

So here’s my dilemma: when the chorus to
Watermelon Crawl
comes on, Halley may or may not grab her own ‘watermelons’ to emphasize their greatness. The last thing I need is unwanted attention from some of the men out here on the dance floor. But, I see that I have no choice as she has a good grip on me, leaving a couple of our other friends, who stopped by for a chat, to watch our table. With a roll of my eyes, off we go to do the Watermelon Crawl.

Tucker, Holt, and I are still upstairs at our table, watching everyone on the dance floor as the song,
Watermelon Crawl,
starts to play. As I scan the dance floor, I notice a really good looking woman, with blonde hair, making her way up the stairs, dragging her friend with her. I watch them make their way to the front of the railing and start to dance. Although, good looking girl’s friend isn’t really doing much but swaying a bit to the music.

When the chorus comes on, I about choke on my drink when the hot girl grabs her ‘watermelons,’ giving them a bit of a squeeze when she hears, “watermelons on the vine,” and says something at the same time. I think she’s singing the words to the chorus, but I can’t be sure.

I look over to Holt and Tucker, wondering if I was the only one to see what just happened. Though— it would seem they hadn’t as both are giving me funny looks.

“Hey, man, you good? Or do I need to bust out my mouth-to-mouth skills?” Tucker eye’s me with a mix of amusement and concern.

I point to the ladies and say, “If that hot girl stops grabbing her ‘watermelons,’ I won’t need your mad skills. Check out the blonde with the long ponytail over her shoulder, and the brunette next to her.”

They both turn their heads to the side so they can look out at the dance floor over the railing. I catch their eyes widening a bit as they see the same ‘dance move’ I just witnessed. Tucker chuckles, while Holt sports a big grin on his face. The other woman seems a bit embarrassed, maybe, but it’s hard to tell up here. By the way she darts her eyes around the dance floor, then looks up to where we’re sitting, I’m thinking that’s an affirmative.

But it’s in that moment, when she looks up at our table, that I notice just how beautiful she is. I decide to sit here for a bit and watch her, just to make sure she doesn’t have a boyfriend with her. I would love to meet her, but I don’t want to ambush the poor girl, so sitting up here safely hidden in the shadows is what I plan to do.

The guys and I watch for a little longer before she finally makes her way off the dance floor. I watch her the whole way back to her seat, as much as I can. She seems to be sitting with a few other girls, and now it looks like the bouncer, Dave, has made his way over to her chair. He wraps an arm around her, and I wonder if there’s something going on between them, or if they’re just friends.

I turn to my right, where Holt is sitting, and he seems to be staring at the blonde. “Hey Holt, have you ever seen those ladies in here before?”
If he has, how is it that I’ve missed them? Was I that blind?

Maybe our paths just haven’t aligned until tonight.

“The blonde one and her dark-haired friend to the left are in here all the time. I’ve only seen the brunette a few random times,” he tells me.

I look at both Holt and Tucker and ask, “What do you either of you know about her and Dave? Is there something going on there?”

They both just look at me and shake their heads.
Well, it looks like it may just be time to head downstairs for another drink and a round of pool.
As luck would have it, their table is pretty close to the pool area. This will allow me to get a better look at her, and to scope out any other guys checking her out.

It’s time to check out the competition, and find out who this little lady is.

H
ALLEY,
N
AOMI, AND
I
ARE
sitting at the table when a slow song comes on, and they are approached by two guys to dance. They readily accept, leaving me to watch over the table. I’m relieved when I don’t get asked to dance. I prefer to sit here and people watch, checking out which couples have hooked up, and seeing others have a good time. While watching a couple flirt off to the right side of the dance floor, I notice movement from the corner of my eye. I look over my shoulder, where the most handsome man I’ve ever seen appears in my line of sight.

I barely register his two friends following behind him down the stairs as I blatantly stare at him. Quickly, before he notices, I turn my head back towards the dance floor. However, I can still see him out of the corner of my eye. My eyes trail behind him as he slowly makes a path to the bar, noting how tall he is as I carefully scan his body, from his boots to the top of his dark head. He makes it over to the bar with his laidback, easy paced walk, and leans against the bar top. He looks over the side of his shoulder, and pasted on his tan, rugged face is a killer smile aimed right at me, as if he knows I’ve been watching him all along. I quickly duck my chin down and hide a small smile as my cheeks tint with red. I’m sure it’s from being caught in the act of gawking.

I look up again after a few short minutes, but his back is now facing me as he’s ordering a drink. While I have the chance, I check out his appearance a little more. He’s wearing dark jeans, black boots, and a blue and green plaid, long sleeved button up shirt. I’m pretty sure that through my dazed stare earlier I noticed that he had on a big, silver belt buckle, as well.

I slowly avert my eyes to scan the pool tables for his friends.
They couldn’t have gone too far
. Sure enough, I find them fairly close to our table. The dirty blond one is looking my way with a knowing smirk on his face, basically telling me that he busted me checking out Mr. Tall and Handsome at the bar. I give him a small smile and look back to the dance floor to see where my friends have gone off to. That’s when I feel someone’s eyes on me. I slowly turn around, and guess what? I was right—only, he’s not where I thought he was. Now he’s standing just a few inches behind me, with a grin on his face. I gulp, then meet his eyes and give him a timid smile back when he asks, “Mind if I sit here for a moment?”

Well, if I’ve learned one thing—besides the fact that this woman is beautiful—it would seem that she’s shy, as well. That’s refreshing, for a change. I don’t mind putting in the legwork to get to know her better.

Setting my drink on the table, I pull a chair out and plant myself in it, sitting across from her so I don’t come off too strongly at first. I reach across the table and offer her my hand. “This is the part where I introduce myself and you smile, and then you agree to take a spin on the dance floor with me. I’m Nathan, by the way. So, darlin’, may I ask what
your
name is?”

Okay, I might have laid that one on a little too thick.
What can I say?
I think I’ll be pulling out all the stops with this one, if she lets me. She reaches across the table and takes my larger hand in her small, daintier one, giving it a firm shake before pulling it back and tucking it neatly in her lap.

“My name’s Charlotte,” she replies shyly, “and I would love to dance with you, but I’m saving this table while my friends are out dancing.”

Well, will just have to see about that.

I look over my left shoulder at my friends, who are now looking our way, and smile, nodding my head slightly to Charlotte. With the single gesture, I’m basically letting them know I will be foregoing our game to talk to Charlotte until one of her friends gets back. Then I plan to whisk her out onto the floor, preferably with some helpful prodding from the other girls.