Bad Things(15)

“Nice to meet you,” Jared said, and I saw the piercing in his lip as he spoke.

“You too,” I told him.

“How do you know my brother?” he asked, propping his arm on the back of my chair.

“He’s crashing at my boss’s place. We met earlier today, actually.” It felt weird to say that. I felt like I’d known him for a lot longer than a day already.

“Wanna dance?” Jared asked.

“Hey now!” Tristan said, throwing an arm around his brother’s shoulder. “I’ve been waiting all night to dance with her. You don’t just get to walk up here and cut in!”

He was smiling as he said it, which let me know he wasn’t serious, but serious or not, Jared backed off instantly.

“Of course, bro!” Jared said. “It just seemed like a waste to me, that she’d be sitting in here, instead of dancing in there.”

Tristan finished his drink and set the glass down hard on the bar. He shrugged out his suit jacket, draping it over the back of his chair. I tried not to stare at the sight of him in his tight black T-shirt, and the display of tattoos on his hard muscled arms, but it was distracting.

“By God, you’re right!” he declared. “Let’s go, Danika! We’ve wasted precious dance floor time drinking!”





CHAPTER FIVE





Tristan didn’t waste any time after that, pulling me straight into the chaos of the dance floor. House music was playing, which wasn’t always my favorite, but I could work with it. Whatever the DJ was doing had a good beat, which was all I needed.

I smiled as Tristan moved in front of me, facing me to dance. It was a mischievous smile, because I knew, just absolutely knew, that I was about to blow his mind.

I didn’t do the Vegas bump and grind thing that people called dancing. I was a trained dancer. I’d trained in ballroom, salsa, hip-hop, and club dancing. Hell, I’d even trained in belly dancing. Although my obsession was hands-down ballroom, I had my club freestyle down to a science.

I started with one little hair toss just to get his attention. I raised my hands above my head, and began my own scintillating version of a gyrate.

The floor was crowded, but I had just enough room to work. I put one hand on his chest while I twisted my hips. He was dancing, and the man had some moves, but his jaw went a little slack when he got a load of mine. He recovered quickly, though, and swiftly made his best effort to keep up with me.

I went for it. Shaking, popping, stepping, and twisting. We danced until I felt sweat dripping down my spine, and then we danced some more. Tristan was right there with me the whole time, and as I laughed and spun and just let loose, I tried hard to identify what I was feeling just then. After a time, I realized that I was just having fun. I couldn’t remember a time when I’d enjoyed myself more. I danced often, to train, and to stay in shape, but I never did it for fun. This was fun.

Tristan was flirty, but he never crossed a line, never brushed up in ways that a man might try if he was making a move on a woman. I felt a strong attraction to him, I think any woman would have, but I appreciated that he’d said friend, and he seemed to mean it. I wasn’t sure even I could have resisted him if he’d been hell bent on seduction.

The house music melded from one beat into the next, heavy on the bass. I couldn’t tell how many songs we danced for, but I was a sweaty, happy, hot mess by the time Tristan finally dragged me back into the lounge.

“I win. You quit first,” I told him.

He sent me sidelong smile. “Was it a competition? I didn’t know. Let’s just get a drink before we head back out. I’m nowhere near quitting.”

The guys were just where we’d left them, and Cory slid us waters as we walked up.

“Shots,” Tristan said.

Cory grinned. “More Diablo coming right up.”

“How long were we out there?” I asked Jared.

“A long time,” he said, checking the faceplate on his phone. “Over two hours.”

I laughed, grabbing my water for a long drink. I’d known we’d been out there for a long time, but I’d never have guessed two hours.

“My turn?” Jared asked, watching me with a very interested glint in his eye.

“Hell no,” Tristan answered for me. “Danika and I have a competition going tonight. We’re dancing ’til one of us drops.”

I had no problem with that. I had a competitive nature, and I just knew that I’d be winning.