With a smile, he took the T-shirt off and winked. Then he grabbed me and tossed me onto the bed, where we made up a little more of that lost time.
Anson
THE SOUND OF the music coming from the dance hall caused my entire body to buzz.
“Do you miss Nashville?” Bristol asked me. I couldn’t help but notice the look of worry on her face that disappeared as quickly as it came.
“No. I miss this. A small dance hall with a local band playing and moving you around on a dance floor.”
She smiled and replied, “I’ve missed it too.”
We opened the door to one of the oldest dance halls in Texas, and it felt like another missing piece of me was complete. The band played on the stage, which was at the very far end of the hall. I watched as couples glided over the dance floor. Some looked completely in love, others were laughing with each other, and some looked miserable as hell.
“There’s Mindy! And Drake! Nick’s here too!” Bristol shouted as she tugged me toward our friends.
“Hey!” Bristol said as she wrapped Mindy in a hug. “You look adorable.”
Mindy blushed and quickly stole a peek at Drake. When I looked over at him, I grinned. The way he looked at Mindy screamed that the guy was head over heels in love with her.
“You see it too?” Nick asked me.
I laughed and nodded. “Hard not to with the way he’s looking at her.”
Nick grinned then took a drink of his beer. “I’m happy for her. That husband of hers was an asshole.”
Grams had filled me in on all the town gossip when I got back. First up had been Mindy finding out her husband had been having an affair. I had known Drake had a thing for Mindy back in school and never did understand why he ended up with Rachel when he could have had Mindy. Now he and Rachel were divorced, and Mindy and Jim were getting divorced. Fate had a funny way of doing things.
I looked back at Bristol who had her hand on Mindy’s baby bump, which seemed to be growing rather quickly.
“How far along is she now?” I asked Drake when he walked over and handed me a beer.
“Almost six months.”
I smiled and took a drink. My eyes locked on Bristol. She looked so happy, and when she leaned over and said something to Mindy’s stomach, I felt a jolt of lightning hit me right in the chest when I realized I wanted a baby. With Bristol. I hadn’t wanted to admit it to myself, but I was secretly hoping Bristol might be pregnant. But I wasn’t exactly ready to say, ‘hey, let’s have a baby!’
“Dude, are you okay?” Nick asked over the music.
I smiled. “Yeah, I’m perfectly fine.”
Drake stood and said, “If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, I’m going to ask Mindy to dance. I’m thinking she won’t want to be twirled on the dance floor for much longer, so I’ll take advantage of it while I can.”
Nick and I both laughed.
Drake asked Mindy to dance, and her cheeks turned pink as she nodded. Bristol watched them as they walked out to the dance floor. Then she turned to me and crooked a finger so I’d come to her. I set the beer bottle down on the table and quickly swept her up into my arms, which caused her to laugh.
“Let’s show them how it’s done, shall we?” I said as I wrapped my arm around her waist and damn near carried her to the dance floor while she laughed. The band must have taken a break since it was a DJ now up on stage.
I spun her around and a huge smile broke across Bristol’s face. I pulled her close to me as we started to two-step across the old wooden floor.
“I love this song,” I said, “it reminds me of us.”
She looked up at me. “Really?”
“Sorta pisses me off I’m not the one who wrote it.”
A sexy grin appeared on her face. “Who is this?”
“His name is Jonny Houlihan. The song is called ‘I Was Made for Loving You.’”
Her head tilted, and I loved how her eyes sparkled. She didn’t say anything, and I knew she was listening to the lyrics. I drew her closer to me as we danced in between other couples. The way she fit against me only reminded me of how much we belonged together. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for this woman. She was back in my arms, and there was no way in hell I was going to let her go.
The song ended, and Bristol looked up at me. “I like that song. A lot. I can see why you wished you had written it, but from what I’ve heard, you’re a pretty damn good songwriter.”
I laughed. “I did happen to see those articles in your scrapbook about those awards I won.”