Fire In His Eyes (Secrets & Seduction #1)(36)

On Thursday, I arrived at Victor’s apartment a little after eight. He was outside to greet me. He swept me into his arms, and kissed me with all his might. “You look gorgeous in that red dress,” he said as we parted.

“You look great, too, Vic.” He had on dark blue jeans, tight, and a grey t-shirt.

“Let’s go upstairs and have a drink. A bunch of us are all coming out, some of the people you met from the barbecue, and Kat, too. We are going to The Honky Tonk, you remember, we went to that place once before?”

“I remember,” I said but was momentarily worried. “You don’t think I am overdressed?” I was wondering about my clothes.

“Always,” he teased, “But the dress looks awesome with your tan legs. I love that you never flaunt all your assets. Just one at a time. It makes guys wonder what the rest looks like.” My dress was a simple halter dress, sleeveless, conservative, but short.

“You are such a tease. But really, is the dress ok?” I didn’t want to be out of place if his friends were all in jeans.

“Don’t worry about it. Michael’s girl, Tina, she has a dress on, too.” He started walking me to the door, grabbing my overnight bag from the backseat.

I was relieved when we got to the apartment to see that Tina did indeed have a dress on. It was a green tight little thing that showed off her legs, cleavage, and half her back. Kat was wearing jeans, and so was Maria, but hers was paired with a tank top with a silvery concoction of flat discs really dressing up the outfit. Cute, I thought, I really liked it.

By nine thirty, we climbed into two cars and made our way to The Honky Tonk. We were in Kat’s car. “Going to sing with me tonight, Monica?” she asked playfully.

“Hell, no!” Victor laughed, “Not if I have any say so.” Everyone in the car laughed.

I punched him lightly in the arm for teasing me. “I don’t sing that badly.”

“Yes, you do,” Kat and him said together. They both laughed harder. I pouted and sunk down in the middle of the backseat between Victor and Michael. Tina was in the front with Kat.

“No pouting,” Victor teased. “I will sing to you, instead. How about that?” He laughed again gazing into my eyes. He looked so happy and carefree right now. I loved seeing him like this. I loved him.

I noticed a look from Kat to Michael in the rearview member. It was a surprised, pleased expression. It made me feel good to see it. I felt like his friends genuinely liked me.

“I’d love that,” I stated and put my head on his shoulder for the rest of the ride to The Honky Tonk. Kat kept giving me looks from the rear view mirror. She smiled, and I smiled back.

We got to the bar, and Victor immediately took me to the dance floor. This was the first time we had ever danced a fast song together. And, he could really dance. The way his shoulders moved when he danced was really a turn on. Some of the guys were calling him to play a game of pool. “Do you mind?” he asked.

“Not at all,” I said. “I’ll go sit with the girls.”

“I’ll get you a drink first; be right back.” He kissed my cheek and then went to the bar as I made my way over to the table, where Kat, Tina, and Maria were sitting. Victor came with my drink, kissed me on the top of the head, and then went to join the guys. I loved that he was so affectionate.

I chatted with the girls. Both Kat and Tina were in the military, Maria was not. Tina and Kat, I found out, worked in the same office, shipping and receiving. They talked shop for a while, and then Maria heard a song she liked and grabbed Tina to go dance with her. That left me and Kat. We sipped our drinks and watched the guys play pool. Victor made a great shot. He was in front of me, and wiggled his butt while making it because he knew I was watching. Kat and I both laughed. I turned to her, when she said, “You’re the first girl he has brought around us in the last past eight months that has not been a one night stand, you know?”

“I didn’t know that?” I said surprised. I liked her even more now for telling me that, too.

“Yeah, you are. He likes you a lot. In fact, none of us have seen him this happy in a long time. When you are around he is like his old self again,” she paused, “better than his old self, actually.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I’m glad. I know he puts a lot of pressure on himself. I like to see him like this. So relaxed.” I was careful with my words. I didn’t want her to think I was prying.

“I can’t say much, Monica,” she paused and searched my eyes. “I know things he hasn’t told you, and I have been friends with him for nearly ten years. I don’t want to break his confidence, but I like you. You’re a nice girl, and I think you should know by now, he is pretty f*cked up in the head sometimes.”

“I know that he has a lot on his mind,” I told her. “But he doesn’t really confide his problems to me, and that’s okay for now. We enjoy each other’s company a lot,” I blushed.

“You’re good for him. He told me you said he should go back to the military.” Kat fiddled with her bottle of beer nervously.

“Yes, I did. He loves it, and misses it. He hates what he does now,” I said watching her.

“We’ve told him to come back for months, but he listened to you, so that is good. At least he is seriously considering it now. He never should have left to begin with. Thanks for that.” She took a long swallow.