Page 44 of Fake It For Love (Faux Love)
Ryan looked horrified. “Uh, I don’t know.”
“Give us a few,” I said. “We’ll meet you over there.”
“Across the street,” Norah said. “It’s open air on the beach! It’s amazing!”
“Okay,” I said with a smile. “We’ll be there soon.”
“Yes!” Norah exclaimed and was clearly on her way to being drunk. “Hurry!”
She walked away and practically fell into Tony’s arms. He looked my way once before pulling Norah out of the restaurant. “Fuck that,” Ryan said.
“You don’t want to go dancing?” I teased.
“No. I don’t dance.”
“Everyone dances,” I said.
“Some people shouldn’t,” he replied. “You know those big inflatable things that have really long arms and they sway in the wind?”
“Like the ones at car dealerships?” I questioned.
“Yes. That’s what I look like when I attempt to dance. I have no rhythm. I’m completely uncoordinated. Two right feet. All of the dancing afflictions. I have them. I don’t dance.”
“Oh, come on,” I cajoled. “It’ll be fun. Besides, you could just stand on the dance floor and look good. That’s the thing about guys. They can get away with standing and swaying while ladies slither and grind against them.”
He groaned. “I’m not sure that sounds any better.”
“We’ll make an appearance,” I said. “If you hate it, we’ll go.”
“I don’t remember you being such a social butterfly,” he said.
I held up my glass that was almost empty. “I’m not, but this helps.”
“Ah yes, the liquid courage solution,” he said.
“Drink up.”
We both finished our drinks in record time. He didn’t look thrilled with the idea of going to a bar with a bunch of people. I couldn’t say it was the highlight of my day, but I didn’t want to be the antisocial friend hiding in the room the whole time. I could go out and be seen before fading away. That was how it usually was when Norah and I went out. She was the life of the party and I was the girl faking it until it was an acceptable time to steal away.
We walked out of the restaurant and into the thick humid air. It wasn’t hard to find the bar. The sound gave it away. Music pumped and people laughed and shouted to be heard over one another. Ryan and I made our way inside the main bar area. Our old classmates had taken over a large part of the bar. I spotted Norah and Tony outside along with quite a few of their friends. The place was packed and rowdy. I was suddenly the one ready to bolt. This was so not my scene.
“I didn’t realize the dress code was beach attire,” Ryan said close to my ear.
I nodded and tried not to grimace. There was a whole lot of skin showing. I had the distinct feeling of being in a meat cooler. Skin was everywhere. Any single person looking to hook up for the night could meander through the crowd of bouncing boobs and asses and pick out the pound of flesh they wanted to go home with. It was a little uncomfortable. I appreciated the fact everyone was so confident in their body, but damn. It wasn’t a bad thing to leave a little something to the imagination.
“Where’s the mystery?” I muttered.
“What?” Ryan spoke loudly next to my head.
“Nothing,” I said and shook my head.
“Drink?” he asked.
I bobbed my head up and down. “Yes!”
He grinned and grabbed my hand to pull me through the sea of bodies. I wasn’t sure if I was smelling the actual ocean or a strange combination of the sea clinging to bodies drenched in cologne and sunscreen. This was so not my scene. I didn’t know why I’d pushed him to come out. I sure as hell didn’t want to be out here.
“Two mojitos,” Ryan said to the bartender.
