“I got moves,” I tell them.
“You got something.” Olivia laughs.
The four of us are laughing it up until Mike and Olivia get called away.
“Thank you,” Whitney says. When she looks up, her big blue eyes hold so much emotion.
“Anytime you need to get your groove on, I’m your man,” I say, keeping it light.
Her shoulders relax, letting me know that I read the situation correctly. She’s not ready to talk about it.
“Favorite music?” she asks.
I hide my grin behind my glass. The easy banter is back. I just need to steer clear of touchy subjects. “I admit I like them all. I can listen to anything, but more often than not my radio ends up on a country station.” I wink at her. “I am a country boy after all. What about you?”
“Everything, but I really like country too.”
That’s how we spend the next hour, volleying questions back and forth. Her favorite food is pizza, mine is steak. Her favorite color is green, mine is blue. On and on we learn little things about each other while drinking beer and passing the time. I’m not able to drag her back out on the dance floor, but that’s okay because she’s still smiling.
“You need a ride?” Mike asks me.
I nod. I’ve had way too many to get behind the wheel. I’m not rip-roaring off-my-ass drunk, but I’ve had enough to know that driving is not a good idea.
“You can ride home with Liv,” Mike tells Whitney.
“Good plan,” she tells him. “Aaron, thank you for keeping me company. I’m sure this is not what you planned when you came here tonight, but I appreciate it.”
“I just wanted a beer. The company was an added bonus.” I hand Mike my card. “Hers too.” I point to the empty glass in front of Whitney.
“She’s on the house and so are you tonight.”
I start to argue but the look he gives me has me sliding my card back into my wallet. We walk the girls to Olivia’s car, and then we are on our way.
“Thanks, man.”
“For what? You’re the one who gave me free beer all night.”
“We’ve been worried about her. She’s changed since she lost her mom. I heard your conversation get heavy, then you being all crazy on the floor. That’s not your usual routine.”
“She was tearing up and I can’t handle tears. I did what I thought needed to be done. McKinley talks highly of her. After tonight, I can see why. She’s good people.”
“Hell yeah, she is. She is my cousin after all.”
We shoot the shit the rest of the drive. “Here, man.” I lay a twenty in the cupholder.
“Take that.” He tries to hand it to me, but I hop out of the truck.
“Thanks for the lift and the drinks, man.” I wave over my shoulder and head into the house.
Another week down and I didn’t think it was possible, but it was better than the first. I think my favorite shoot this week was a five-year-old little boy. I went to their house and he insisted his picture be taken with what felt like every piece of farm equipment they owned. He was the cutest little guy ever with a great personality. I took a lot of candid shots that I cannot wait to show his mom.
“Great job this week, Whitney,” McKinley says.
“Thank you. This really is my dream job.” It’s Friday night, and she and I are cleaning the studio, getting everything ready for next week. Neither one of us have anything on the books this weekend.
“Knock, knock,” a deep voice says. Turning, I see that it’s Evan.
“Hey, babe,” McKinley greets him. “What are you doing here?”
He leans in for a kiss and she obliges him. “Aaron and I were talking and it’s hot as hell. We were thinking a trip to the pond tonight. You up for it?”
“What about the kids?” she asks. I can see that she really wants to go, but first and foremost McKinley is that mom who will always put her kids first. Reminds me a lot of mine.
“Your mom volunteered to keep Walker. We can take Lex. You know she loves it.”
“Does she know?” Her eyes light up.
Evan laughs. “No, I wanted to run it by you first.”
“We’re almost done here, so tell Aaron—”
“Tell me what?” he says, walking into the studio.
“I was going to say, tell you that we will meet you there in an hour. I need to get home and pack a bag for Walker and get Lex ready.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’m going to run into town and grab some lunch meat and stuff to throw in the cooler.”
“Here, man.” Evan pulls money out of his wallet and hands it to Aaron. He doesn’t take it.
“I got it.” He turns to look at me. “Hey, Whitney. You up for some night swimming?”
“Have you ever?” McKinley asks.
“No.”
“I thought you would spend a week or so here in the summers?” Aaron asks.
“I did, but Olivia and I would spend that time playing Barbies and with Aunt Jenny’s makeup.”
Aaron rubs his hands together. “Yes! A newbie. You’ll love it.”
“I don’t know about that. I’ve never swam in a pond or lake or whatever,” I admit.
“Then you have to come with us. Everyone needs to try it at least once,” McKinley tells me. “If you don’t like it, you just hang out with us. Come on, please,” she tries to persuade me.
“Okay,” I concede. “I have to run home and grab some clothes.”
“Perfect. Meet us back here in an hour. Actually, let’s make it two.” McKinley looks over at Aaron. “You good with that?”
“Yep. Makes more sense actually. It’s more fun after the sun goes down. I’m headed to town, so that gives me more time anyway.” He bumps fists with Evan, and then he’s gone.
“Do I need to bring anything?” I ask McKinley and Evan.
“Nope, just yourself. Aaron will pick up food and drinks. We just have lunchmeat sandwiches and chips, that kind of thing. Very low-key.”
“Are you sure I’m not intruding?” I’m a little leery about swimming with . . . critters. Not to mention, I don’t want to intrude.
“Never. The more the merrier. Lex will be excited to have you there. You know you are her new best friend, right?”