Page 12 of The Encounter
“You’re welcome.” He glanced back over the railing to the sea of people below. “If you’d like to go down there, you’re more than welcome to. Please don’t let me stop you.”
She looked at him in confusion. They had just agreed to stay up on the balcony and now he was suggesting going down. Then it dawned on her. He was suggestingshego down—withouthim. For a split second, she wondered if he was trying to get her to go since he was already getting bored with her, but she immediately dismissed the idea. She didn’t bore him.
He looked at her intently and waited for her response.
“I’m just fine up here.”
A grin spread across his face. “I’d like to take you out sometime.”
Her heart jumped. Jace Locke was asking her out on a date. At that moment, she wished she had Kayla by her side. Not that she would have been able to talk to her about it right in front of him anyway, but just because Kayla would give her a look, telling her what to say. Obviously, she knew Kayla would tell her to say yes, but she still wanted the affirmation.
Then a nagging feeling hit her. What about the paparazzi? Was she ready to be tossed into the spotlight and for her life to end up in gossip blogs? Did she want every skeleton in her closet pulled out for everyone to see? What about that time in New York? No. No one would find out. She hadn’t broken any laws or done anything excessively embarrassing otherwise.—Except the one time when she was caught having sex in a car at a park in New Jersey. It was night and a police officer patrolling was making sure they weren’t stranded. They definitely weren’t. And now it was going to end up all over some random Joe Blow’s gossip column. All because she was dating Jace Locke.
But she wasn’t dating Jace Locke. Certainly not yet. Then she realized he was still waiting for an answer and giving her an amused smile. How long had she been sitting there lost in her thoughts, thinking about the time in the park?
“Uh, yeah. That sounds good.”
Could you sound any more like a loser?!
He smiled again and pulled out his phone. “Can I get your number?” He handed her the phone so she could enter it, and then she handed him hers.
She looked out over the dance floor and spied Kayla and Robert grinding up on each other. She smiled to herself. Kayla looked to be having a good time, and she suspected that she and Robert were probably going to make it exclusive soon. She reminded herself to ask Kayla about it later.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go down there?”
Maddie snapped her head back toward Jace. “I seriously don’t care. I was just watching Kayla and Robert. They seem to be really hitting it off.”
Jace looked over the balcony as well. “Yes, they do. Robert really likes her.”
“Did he tell you that?”
He smiled. “I can tell.”
Maddie watched them dance for a few more minutes before Jace stood up and took her hand. Pulling her up, he led her to the small dance floor in the VIP lounge.
He rested his hands on her hips and started swaying. She glanced over at Haley and was slightly embarrassed, but Haley wasn’t paying them any attention. She was busying herself with who knows what behind the bar. Somehow, dancing with him and being the only ones on the dance floor made her feel self-conscious. When she was on the dance floor with a large crowd, she felt invisible. But here? She felt exposed. She slowly swayed with him, but her body remained tense.
“You look a little uncomfortable,” he said directly into her ear.
She flushed. “I’m sorry. It’s just weird that it’s only the two of us out here.”
He stopped moving and pulled her close to him. “We’ll stop.”
“No, it’s okay. Maybe I just need a little liquid courage.”
“Same as before?”
“Maybe a shot would be nice. Do one with me?”
He smiled and nodded, taking her over to the bar. Haley stopped stacking cups and leaned over the bar to hear his order. He said something to her, and she quickly whipped out a bottle of tequila and poured it into two shot glasses.
Sliding them across the counter, she set two limes down on a plate and smiled before she went back to work.
Jace handed one to Maddie and took one for himself. He held his up in a toast. “To getting to know one another.”
She smiled at that and clinked her glass against his before licking the salt off the rim and downing the shot. It burned against her throat, and the bitter liquid caused her face to pucker. She quickly bit into her lime to counteract it. After they both set their glasses down, she took his hand and walked back to the dance floor.
This time, she didn’t feel as self-conscious. She wrapped her arms around his neck and swayed with him to the beat. He matched her rhythm perfectly.
