“I guess you have Tucker to thank for that. Apparently, I’m not all that great when it comes to baseball. Isn’t that right, Tucker?”
“Your words, not mine.” The waitress returned, and as she placed the drinks on the table, he leaned over to me and whispered, “You might want to take it easy. Those are pretty strong.”
“Thanks, but I’ll be just fine.”
“I’m sure you will.” He picked up his beer and took a quick sip. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Consider me warned.” I probably should’ve listened to him, but I was being stubborn—another side effect of the alcohol. With an eye roll, I picked up the drink and took a nice, long slug.
“So, Kaci … Are you here alone tonight?” Coach Michaels asked.
“No. I’m with my roommate and some other friends. I think they’re over there somewhere,” I told him as I continued to sip on my drink.
“Do you make a habit of this?” Tucker asked with a condescending tone.
I looked over to him with confusion. “A habit of what?”
“Going out partying with your friends? I remember you mentioning that you had a great time last Saturday, and I was just wondering if this was something you did often.”
“Umm, actually … No. I don’t. Call me boring, but I’m usually too busy to party or whatever you want to call it.” I blamed my honesty totally on the alcohol, otherwise I never would’ve said, “And I wouldn’t have bothered going out at all last weekend if I’d known you weren’t coming.”
His eyes grew wide at my confession. “About that. I really was planning to be there, but my dad got sick.”
“What?”
“Yeah. We were at the hospital until the next morning.”
“Oh, Tucker. I’m so sorry.” I felt terrible. I’d been holding a grudge against him for days with absolutely no reason. I shouldn’t have assumed the worst and just given him a chance to explain. “Is he okay?”
“He’s fine now.”
“I had no idea.”
“No way you could know, especially since you wouldn’t give me a chance to explain.” My cheeks blushed with embarrassment, and when he noticed my reaction, he said, “It’s really not a big deal. I just wanted you to know.”
“I really am sorry.”
He smiled. “Don’t be. It was just a misunderstanding, and like you said, things happen.”
I took another long sip of my drink, trying to drown my embarrassment. The citrus flavor reminded me of a Long Island Iced Tea, which was equally as strong as this concoction. I really liked it and was disappointed to see that I’d finished it. “This was really good. I think I’ll go get another one.”
“Oh, no you don’t.” Just as a slow song was coming on, Tucker stood up and reached for my hand. “Let’s dance.”
“Dance?”
Without any further explanation he gave me a slight tug, and as soon as I was on my feet, he led me out onto the dance floor. Once we were in the middle of the crowd, I considered resisting him—but the way he was looking at me, it was like no one else was in the room—like someone had flipped a switch and the music suddenly faded and the people around us simply disappeared. It was just him and me. He pulled me in close and placed his arms around my waist, and when our bodies touched, a jolt surged through me like I’d just been struck by lightning. Afraid I might lose my balance, I wound my arms around his neck and tried to steady myself. I’d never felt like this with any man, and I began to wonder what the hell was in that drink.
Tucker didn’t seem to notice the affect he was having on me as he continued to sway to the rhythm of the music. Lost in my own world, I rested my head on his shoulder as my entire body melted into his arms. He smelled so good and felt so right that I found myself wondering what it would be like to kiss him. My mind was instantly swimming with a million inappropriate thoughts that I had no business dreaming up. Realizing that my raging hormones were screwing with my head, I pulled away from him and said, “I’ve got to … um … go to the bathroom.”
Leaving him standing there, I plowed through the crowd; as I passed Jess, I reached for her arm and pulled her along with me to the restroom. “Hey! What’s wrong?”
I waited until we were behind closed doors. “Tucker Michaels. That’s what’s wrong!”
“What do you mean?” A knowing smile crossed her face. “I just saw you two dancing, and from the looks of it, you both seemed to be having a pret-ty good time.”
“That’s just it. I was having a good time … a really good time. I do not need to have a good time with him, Jess. He’ll just end up doing something to make me mad … or worse. He’ll end up breaking my heart.”
“Stop being so dramatic, Kaci. Are you attracted to him?”
“Umm … yeah. You could say that.”
“I thought so.” She smirked. “Remember our conversation about you living a little?”
I already knew where she was going with this little lecture when I huffed. “Yes.”
“Well, here’s your chance.”
“But, Jess. I can’t start something up with a guy like him.”
“Nobody said you should. It’s called a one-night stand for a reason. He’s a hot guy. You’re a beautiful girl. Now, go have some fun … and stop worrying so much.”
“I’m not sure if I can do the whole one-night stand thing, Jess.”
She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a condom. As she placed it in my hand, she replied, “Sure you can, and who knows? You might actually enjoy it, but you’ll never know unless you try. Go get yourself another drink, down it, and then ask him back to our place.”
“You’re serious about this?”
“Absolutely. I’ll be at Zach’s.” She adjusted my hair and then my shirt as she continued, “If you need anything, just give me a call, otherwise, you have the place to yourselves.”
With that, she opened the bathroom door and motioned me forward. “If this goes bad, it’s all on you.”
“It’s not going to go bad. Trust me.”
Without any major stumbles, I made it back over to the bar and ordered a shot. As soon as the bartender brought it over to me, I picked it up and quickly downed it, grimacing as the burn of the alcohol hit the back of my throat. I took a deep breath, trying to gather up my nerve, and was about to go look for Tucker when I heard, “Is everything okay?”
I turned around and found him standing behind me. I quickly replayed Jess’s little speech in the back of my mind, and when I felt the courage building up inside of me, I blurted out, “Do you want to go to my place?”
“What?”
“My place?” I repeated. “Do you want to go there … with me?”
Tucker