"Where'd you meet him?"
"At Starbucks. It was crowded and he asked if he could share my table. We ended up talking for three hours."
"I love that!" I grin at him, spinning away.
Ten minutes later, just as I'm starting to believe that I might be a truly gifted dancer, or maybe it's just the wine, I'm not really sure, a big dark haired guy in a tight black t-shirt grabs my hand and tries to pull me into him. I nod no, pointing at Landon and when Landon sees what's going on, he grabs my hand and attempts to pull me back. Apparently, this guy isn't going to take two no's for an answer though because he tugs me harder and I go stumbling against his body. There's a slight struggle as Landon tries to pull me away from him and the beefy guy in black tries to turn my body so that he can put his massive frame between me and Landon.
Suddenly, the guy who has hold of me is flying backwards and I catch sight of a livid looking Jake, his hand on the back of the guy's collar, hauling him to the edge of the floor. Jake says something close to his face and the guy raises his hands in a mock surrender and goes sauntering away. I stand still, looking at Jake's angry face. That expression…
Jake watches him leave, his jaw tense and then returns to me. I feel slightly off balance. It must be the alcohol. I shake it off and smile brightly at Jake. "My hero," I croon and when Jake looks down into my face, he must see that I'm really tipsy because he shakes his head slightly, smiling now and puts his arms back around me. I grin up at him and we start moving again.
An hour later, I'm sweaty and breathing hard and I think my feet may need to be put to rest, separate from the rest of my body.
Jeff joined us on the floor a few minutes after Jake hauled the big guy off of me and we've all been having a blast together.
Jake leans forward and says something to Landon and Landon nods, blowing a kiss my way which I return. I wave at Jeff and he waves back and then Jake is taking my hand, leading me off the dance floor.
I ask him to wait for a second as I use the restroom and then give him a quick kiss as I head inside. After I do my business and freshen up at the mirror, I walk out. I look around confused, Jake is nowhere in sight. I finally spot him by the door, his face tight as he talks closely to a woman I can't see completely because her head is turned and there is someone standing behind her obscuring most of her body. All I can make out is brownish hair that's pulled up and long, shapely legs. She turns and walks out the door and he looks towards the restrooms, a nervous expression on his face. He doesn't see me because I'm already coming towards him, squeezing through a group of people by the bar.
He goes over to the bouncer and says something to him quickly and then as he looks up and sees me approaching him, his face registers a fleeting look of surprise but then softens and he takes my hand.
"Ready?" he says.
"Who were you talking to?" I ask, frowning slightly.
He looks at me and pauses for a second before answering. "Just some woman who was drunk, making a scene. The bouncers called her a cab and I just lead her to the door. Hold on, let me get a glass of water for you at the bar before we leave."
"I'm okay," I say. "You looked mad."
"Not really. She was just being kind of belligerent. She tried to make a pass. I said no. That was that."
"Now, trust me on the water, you'll be glad you drank it tomorrow morning, especially since you're working." He orders a water when we get to the bar and then watches as I suck the whole thing down. I smile up at him when I'm done, putting the glass on the bar.
"Take me home," I say smiling. "Before I have to beat more women off of you." He laughs, shaking his head.
We walk to the door and Jake leans in and says something to the bouncer and within minutes, the bouncer signals to Jake and the valet is bringing his car around and we're on our way home. He seems a little tense for a few minutes but as we laugh about Landon's hilariously dramatic dance moves, he relaxes. We reminisce about how he was doing them to crack us up, lip synching and being completely over the top. I don't think I've laughed that much, ever.
When we pull into Jake's garage, he shuts off his car and instead of getting out, he looks over at me and takes my face in his hands and starts kissing me, deep and wet. He feels so good and I'm kissing him back with equal enthusiasm when he pulls me on top of him and I press down and that feels great and so I keep doing it when suddenly, I hear the sound of material tearing. We both stop, confused, and when I pull slightly off Jake, I realize that the seam at his crotch is torn straight down the middle, gaping open. "Oh my God," I breathe, "Your boy part is like the Incredible Hulk."
He raises an eyebrow. "Boy part?"
I nod. "Is he angry?"
"Not yet. But if you keep referring to him as a 'boy part,' he could get there. He's all man. You don't want to see him get angry."
"Oh, I definitely want to see him get angry."
He laughs out loud and then says, "Come on, let's get you upstairs."
He helps me out of the car and then leads me towards the entrance to the lobby. As we walk past the front desk, Jake places me directly in front of him to hide his torn pants and walks pressed against me, saying, "Hey Joe," as the night man looks at us, a confused expression on his face. I get a fit of the giggles and Jake rushes me to the elevator, practically pushing me inside and then following quickly. I laugh all the way upstairs.
When we get inside Jake's apartment, we stumble against his wall, still laughing, Jake's body pressed against me. As I watch his beautiful face, smiling at me, I turn serious. "Jake, I've never really been silly a lot in my life and so I want to thank you for that. I know that sounds kind of crazy and maybe even a little dumb, but, really, it's a big deal to me so, honestly, thank you for tonight."