Flirting with Forever: A Hot Romantic Comedy(45)

“I wouldn’t go that far. Although I could just trail behind and watch you in those leggings.”

I leaned closer. “I knew you were looking at my ass.”

He turned to speak in my ear, his breath hot against my skin. “Can you blame me? It’s a very nice ass.”

“Honey, you have no idea.”

He growled low in his throat. Sparks shot through my veins, exploding between my legs. If we weren’t careful, the other chaperones would be pulling us apart, as if we were the hormonal teenagers.

A woman across the gym waved to Dex.

“That’s Kristin, Riley’s friend Katie’s mom. I should go see what she wants.”

“I’ll be right here.”

Dex walked over to Kristin and I took the opportunity to check out his ass. It was thick enough to bite into and his thighs were magnificent. It had been hard to resist the temptation to slide my hands up his legs while I’d been massaging his calf.

I caught sight of Riley with a small group of girls, giggling together. She grabbed one of them by the wrist and gestured to the dance floor. A moment later, all four girls were running to dance with the rest of the crowd.

There was something satisfying—even a little exhilarating—in watching her have so much fun.

Dex started back toward me but before he’d gone two steps, he was intercepted by a woman in a leopard halter top and fake leather pants that cut into her round hips in just the wrong spot. Her hair was up and it was embarrassingly obvious the ponytail was fake. The color didn’t match the rest of her hair.

She was the horny divorced mom who’d been all over Dex at the art show.

Poor guy. She blocked his way, standing in front of him and moving to the side when he tried to go around her. His discomfort was so clear but she seemed to have no idea. If she was delusional enough to think those pants were doing anything for her, she had to be delusional enough to think Dex was attracted to her.

Part of me wanted to whisk her out of here and take her shopping. She probably had a cute figure but she had no idea how to dress it properly. And the fake hair was just too much.

Dex met my gaze, his eyes pleading with me to save him. I tilted my head and watched while she tried to sidle her way closer. He moved back and tried to sidestep again, all to no avail.

I decided to take pity on him. Putting on a friendly smile, I sauntered over and tucked my hand in his arm. “Hi. I’m sorry, I think we met before but I don’t remember your name.”

The woman’s expression fell. “Aimee.”

“Nice to see you again.” I searched for something I could compliment. Her earrings were the best I could do. But just because I didn’t like her outfit, and quite honestly her whole vibe was trashy, there was no reason for me to be cruel to her. “Those earrings are pretty on you.”

She touched her ear. “Oh. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Have a nice night.”

Dex took the cue and led us away.

“How did you do that?” he asked.

“Just a little territory marking.” I squeezed his arm. “Even someone as clueless as her can’t ignore a woman who touches you like this.”

“Should we hold hands again to drive the message home?”

I took my time, sliding my hand down his forearm, indulging in the soft touch until he clasped my hand with his.

“The neighbors are going to talk.”

He shrugged. “I don’t care.”

That made two of us.

“Riley’s going home with Katie after the dance,” he said. “She doesn’t have an overnight bag but Kristin said she can borrow some of Katie’s stuff. I’ll pick her up tomorrow afternoon.”

“Which one is Katie?” I asked, pointing to Riley and her friends.

“The one in pink.”

I watched Riley laughing and dancing with the other girls. She was having fun—and that was great. But I knew the strands of middle school girl friendships could be thin, at least until you found the right friends. I wasn’t so sure about this Katie.

“Be careful with Katie,” I said.

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Intuition, I guess. And there’s the question of how Ryan Hutchison got the photo of Riley sleeping. Somehow I don’t think she stole Katie’s phone and raided her pictures.”

“You think Katie did it on purpose?”

“Maybe, maybe not. It could have been perfectly innocent. She shared it with someone who shared it with Ryan. But girls can be mean at this age, even if they’re normally sweet.”

“Yeah, there were some girls Riley hung out with in sixth grade who seemed like good kids. But as soon as seventh grade started, they ghosted her. Or at least I think that’s what happened. She never tells me very much.”

My heart hurt for her. This could be such a tough age. It reminded me to tell my friends how much I loved them. “Hopefully Katie is one of the good ones.”

“I hate that I can’t protect her from everything. As soon as you said to be careful with Katie, my first instinct was to go cancel the sleepover. Sometimes I wish I could keep her in a bubble until she’s twenty-five. Or maybe thirty.”

Although Riley wasn’t my daughter, somehow I understood exactly how he felt. I squeezed his hand. “It’s a tempting idea, isn’t it?”