A smug smile crept across her face. “You think I’m too good for you.”
Unbelievable. She really didn’t get it. “I can’t think of a single guy I know that’s good enough for you.”
The smugness melted away, replaced with a touched, appreciative smile. “Thanks, Trav,” she said, setting her empty bottle on the bar. She could really put them back when she wanted to. Normally I would call that sloppy, but she carried herself with such confidence . . . I don’t know . . . anything she did was hot.
I stood and grabbed her hand. “C’mon.” I pulled her to the dance floor, and she followed behind me.
“I’ve had a lot to drink! I’m going to fall!”
Now on the dance floor, I grabbed her hips and pulled her body tight against mine, leaving no room between us. “Shut up and dance.”
All the giggles and smiles left her face, and her body began to move against mine to the music. I couldn’t keep my hands off of her. The closer we were, the closer I needed her to be. Her hair was in my face, and even though I’d drunk enough to call it a night, all of my senses were alert. The way her ass felt against me, the different directions and motions her hips made to the music, the way she leaned back against my chest and rested the back of her head on my shoulder. I wanted to pull her to some dark corner and taste the inside of her mouth.
Abby turned to face me with a mischievous smile. Her hands began at my shoulders, and then she let her fingers run down my chest and stomach. I nearly went insane, wanting her right then and there. She turned her back to me, and my heart beat even faster against my rib cage. She was closer that way. I gripped her hips and pulled her tighter into me.
I wrapped my arms around her waist and buried my face in her hair. It was saturated with sweat, and combined with her perfume. Any rational thought disappeared. The song was ending, but she showed no signs of stopping.
Abby leaned back, her head against my shoulder. Some of her hair fell away, exposing the glistening skin of her neck. All willpower vanished. I touched my lips to the delicate spot just behind her ear. I couldn’t stop there, opening my mouth to let my tongue lick the salty moisture from her skin.
Abby’s body tensed, and she pulled away.
“What, Pidge?” I asked. I had to chuckle. She looked like she wanted to hit me. I thought we were having a good time, and she was angrier than I’d ever seen her.
Instead of letting her temper fly, she pushed through the crowd, retreating to the bar. I followed, knowing I would find out soon enough what exactly I had done wrong.
Taking the empty stool beside her, I watched as Abby signaled to Cami that she wanted another beer. I ordered one for myself, and then watched her chug half of hers. The bottle clanged against the counter when she slammed it down.
“You think that is going to change anyone’s mind about us?”
I laughed once. After all that bumping and grinding against my dick, she was suddenly worried about appearances? “I don’t give a damn what they think about us.”
She shot me a dirty look, and then turned to face forward.
“Pigeon,” I said, touching her arm.
She jerked away. “Don’t. I could never get drunk enough to let you get me on that couch.”
Instant rage consumed me. I had never treated her like that. Never. She led me on, and then I gave her one or two little kisses on the neck, and she freaks out?
I started to speak, but Megan appeared next to me.
“Well. If it isn’t Travis Maddox.”
“Hey, Megan.”
Abby eyed Megan, clearly taken off guard. Megan was an old pro at tipping the scales in her favor.
“Introduce me to your girlfriend,” Megan said, smiling.
She knew damn good and well Abby wasn’t my girlfriend. Ho 101: If the man in your sights is on a date or with a female friend, force him to admit to lack of commitment. Creates insecurity and instability.
I knew where this was going. Hell, if Abby really thought I was a criminal-grade douche bag, I might as well act like one. I slid my beer down the bar, and it fell off the edge, clinking into the full trash can at the end. “She’s not my girlfriend.”
Purposefully ignoring Abby’s reaction, I grabbed Megan’s hand and led her to the dance floor. She complied, happily swinging our arms until our feet hit the wood. Megan was always entertaining to dance with. She had no shame and let me do anything to her that I wanted, on and off the dance floor. As usual, most of the other dancers stopped to watch.
We usually made a spectacle, but I was feeling exceptionally lewd. Megan’s dark hair slapped me in the face more than once, but I was numb. I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist, and then bent back, stretching her arms over her head. She smiled as I pumped her in front of the entire bar, and when I set her on her feet, she turned and bent over, grabbing her ankles.
Sweat poured down my face. Megan’s skin was so wet, my hands slipped away every time I tried to touch her. Her shirt was soaked, and so was mine. She leaned in for a kiss, her mouth slightly open, but I leaned back, looking toward the bar.
That was when I saw him. Ethan Coats. Abby was leaned in toward him, smiling with that drunken, flirty, take-me-home smile I could spot in a crowd of a thousand women.
Leaving Megan on the dance floor, I pushed through the mass that had gathered around us. Just before I reached Abby, Ethan reached over to touch her knee. Remembering what he’d gotten away with the year before, I balled my hand into a fist, standing between them, with my back to Ethan.
“You ready, Pidge?”
Abby put her hand on my stomach and pushed me to the side, smiling the instant Ethan came back into view. “I’m talking, Travis.” She held her hand out, feeling how wet it was, and then wiped it on her skirt in dramatic fashion.
“Do you even know this guy?”
She smiled even wider. “This is Ethan.”
Ethan extended his hand. “Nice to meet you. “
I couldn’t take my eyes off of Abby while she stared at that sick and twisted f**k across from her. I left Ethan’s hand hanging, waiting for Abby to remember I was standing there.
Dismissive, she waved her hand in my direction. “Ethan, this is Travis.” Her voice was decidedly less enthusiastic about my introduction, which just pissed me off more.
I glared down at Ethan, and then at his hand. “Travis Maddox.” My voice was as low and menacing as I could manage.
Ethan’s eyes grew wide, and he awkwardly pulled back his hand. “Travis Maddox?”
I stretched my arm behind Abby to grip the bar. “Yeah, what of it?”
“I saw you fight Shawn Smith last year, man. I thought I was about to witness someone’s death!”
My eyes narrowed, and my teeth clenched. “You wanna see it again?”
Ethan laughed once, his eyes darting back and forth between us. When he realized I wasn’t kidding, he smiled awkwardly at Abby, and then walked away.
“Are you ready, now?” I snapped.
“You are a complete ass**le, you know that?”
“I’ve been called worse.” I held out my hand and she took it, letting me help her from the stool. She couldn’t have been that pissed.
With a loud whistle, I signaled Shepley, who saw my expression and immediately knew that it was time to leave. I used my shoulder to cut through the crowd, shamelessly knocking over a few innocent bystanders to let off steam until Shepley headed us off and took over for me.