Dancing Hearts

by Heather Dahlgren

  “I’ll be there.” With that we share one more quick kiss and I wait until she is safely in her jeep before I walk off to get in my truck. Damn it, I think I’m going to have to take a cold shower when I get home because my dick is so hard it is making it difficult to drive.

  AFTER MY AMAZING LUNCH WITH Cooper, I called Rowan and asked her to come over. I’m sure she will be excited to go out tonight, so I figured if we were already at my place, we could just get ready easier since she will want me to do her hair anyway. I’m sitting on the couch waiting for her and thinking about my lunch with Cooper. At the concert, I was physically attracted to him, but after this lunch, I can honestly say that the attraction is so much more. Not only is he hot as hell with his muscles, tattoos, and his incredibly handsome face, but now I know about some of his life. With the way he takes care of his mom, even though he didn’t say much about it, I can tell he is an unbelievable son. The loss of his father is heartbreaking, but his stepping up to the plate like he has just proves he is a great man. When he showed me his guitar tattoo, I wanted to lick it. His tattoos are so unbelievably sexy. Listening to him talk, the way his muscles flexed while he was moving had my pussy aching to be touched. When he kissed me goodbye, I felt my panties getting wet when he pushed his cock against me. I’m glad he pulled away because in that moment I wouldn’t have cared if I was naked as long as he was fucking me. A knock on the door pulls me from my dirty thoughts.

  “Hello?” Rowan obviously has a key to my apartment.

  “Hey, Ro.” She plops down on my ugly blue couch and turns to face me. She has a smile on her face.

  “Well, don’t be a bitch, tell me about lunch.” I laugh and fill her in on everything. “Wow, Em, he sounds even more amazing.” I can’t help the huge smile on my face.

  “Seriously, he really is amazing. He invited us to his bar tonight, and there is going to be a live band there. What do you say? Do you want to go? Please say yes because I really want to see him again.” She throws a pillow at my head to make me shut up.

  “Duh, of course we are going to go. Maybe his hottie friend, Hunter, will be there.” I raise my eyebrow at her.

  “Ro, you wanted nothing to do with him at the end of the concert. Why the hell would you want him to be there?” She throws her head back and sighs. She is looking at the ceiling but decides to answer me.

  “Honestly, I don’t know what my problem is. I think he is hot as hell, but every time he tried to make a move I pushed him away.” She finally turns her head to look at me.

  “Why do you think that is? Is there someone else you are interested in, someone from work?” Maybe she just needs a little shove in that direction.

  “I thought maybe I could get something going with Bruce, but I found out yesterday before the concert that he has a fiancé. I guess I’m just upset about it, but I want to be with someone. Maybe Hunter is just the guy.” My poor friend. We both have the shittiest luck with guys. She may be right. Hunter could be someone that she could try to be with. I rest my head next to hers and give her a sad smile.

  “Listen Ro, I think the best thing for you is to try to move on. I figured you had something holding you back. How about you just go tonight with the intention of having a good time? We’ll take a cab, get our drink on, and have some laughs. What do you say?” She reaches over and gives me a one-arm hug.

  “You’re right; let’s just go and have a good time. Whatever happens, happens. Now let’s start to get ready. I’ll shower here and borrow an outfit.” I laugh at her excitement.

  “Girl, we have hours. How about we relax and order a pizza for dinner, then we can start to get ready?”

  We spend the next several hours watching an all-day marathon of Sandra Bullock movies, eating pizza, and just hanging out on the couch. After Hope Floats is over, we decide that we need to start getting ready for our night. I shower first, because let’s face it, if I don’t, I’ll never have enough time after doing her hair. I made sure to shave within an inch of my life, just in case, and scrub my body twice. I just want to make sure. I’m now sitting on my bed blow drying my hair. I figure I’m going to throw in some curls tonight. I’ve got my cut-off jean shorts laid out with a red tank top with sequins. I’m going to pair it with my red cowboy boots.

  Once my hair is dry, I put the tank top on before curling it, this way I won’t mess up my hair. I am halfway through curling my hair when Rowan comes in the bedroom with a towel on her head and one around her body. She walks over to my closet and starts flipping through it. I laugh as I continue with the curls. “Rowan, what are you looking for?” She turns around to look at me.

  “I wanted to wear your blue strapless dress and your black heels.” I roll my eyes. Of course, she wants to get dressed up. I’m more about comfort, but Rowan will suffer through the heels just to look good.

  “It is right next to the green one; just move it over.” She pulls it out of the closet and steps into it.

  “After I blow dry my hair, will you straighten it for me and put that braid in the front that wraps around my head?” I want to jump up and down that she wants such an easy thing. I can actually take more time on myself tonight.

  “Yep, no problem.” I spend the next forty-five minutes finishing my hair and doing hers. I’m happy with how both turned out. I put on my makeup, a bit heavier than normal, but what the hell, I’m going out. I’m completely dressed now, cowboy boots and all. I look at myself in the mirror, liking what I see. My breasts are showing just enough cleavage, legs look long … well, long for me, my hair is a riot of messy curls, and my makeup is perfect. I turn to look at Rowan and she is stunning as always. Her hair is straight with that simple braid wrapping her head, her makeup is flawless, and although I think my dress looks a bit too short on her, she pulls it off. “Looking hot, my friend.” I say and whistle. She does a full spin, then checks me out.

  “You look sexy as hell. Cooper is going to be happy to see you.” She gives me a wink and I laugh. We make our way to the kitchen, and I grab two shot glasses out of the cabinet. She grabs the vodka out of the freezer and pours us each one. We raise our glasses. “To a night full of fun, drinks, and sexy guys.” I’ll drink to that shit. We both take our shot as the cab pulls up outside.

  “Alright my fanny, let’s go have some fun.” We link arms and make our way to the cab. When we get in, I tell him the name of the bar, and thankfully, he knows exactly where it is since I forgot to look it up. It only takes about twenty minutes to get there, which blows my mind because I can’t believe how close we live. We get out of the cab, and I admit that I am starting to get butterflies at the idea of seeing him again. I take a deep breath and we make our way to the door. It is almost ten o’clock, so when we walk in, the band hasn’t started yet, but there are so many people here it is unreal. I grab Rowan’s hand so that we don’t lose each other in the crowd. There is a huge bar to the right, tables throughout the whole bar, and a big stage to the left with a makeshift dance floor in front of it. I push my way to the far end of the bar where I see someone has just left. I rush to get there before it is taken and breathe a sigh of relief that we make it before someone else. Rowan and I squeeze into the tiny spot, and I am looking all over for Cooper. I have no idea how the hell I’m going to find him in this crowd. I see a bartender working his ass off behind the bar. He is cute with tattoos covering any skin I can see, plus his eyebrow is pierced. He looks in our direction and nods, letting us know he sees us.

  I turn to take in the huge crowd of people. People are making their way to the dance floor, couples holding hands, girls bouncing with excitement for the band, and guys trying to play it cool. There are people pouring in the door and I smile thinking about Cooper. Not only does his bar have a cool old-fashioned feel to it with all the wood, but it obviously is successful. “What can I get you ladies?” I turn to see the cute bartender checking out Rowan, and I suppress a laugh. This girl has them falling at her damn feet.

  “I’ll have a Sex on the Beach.” Row
an goes to speak and I feel someone step up behind me.

  “I’ve never wanted to go to the beach more in my life.” Cooper. I turn, practically smacking into his solid chest. He has that sexy ass grin on his face, his eyes taking in every inch of me, causing my heart to start pounding. “I’m so glad you could make it, doll. You look beautiful.” Damn, his smooth voice washes over me like a wave. He is wearing what he had on this afternoon, those sexy jeans and his shirt with the bar’s name.

  “Thank you. You are looking hot yourself.” He gives me a smirk and grabs my hand.

  “Roy, keep an eye on Rowan here. I’ll be back in five minutes.” Rowan turns her head to look at us. “Hi, Rowan. I just need to talk to Emma for minute. Be right back.” She looks at me and wiggles her eyebrows. She couldn’t care less now that she has the full attention of Roy the bartender. Cooper leads me to a door that says private and pulls me inside. He closes the door and pushes me against it. He slams his mouth on mine and I greedily open for him. I move my hands to his ass, sticking them in his back pockets. I love doing that. He runs his hands down my body and grabs my left leg, wrapping it around him. I feel his cock press against my now aching pussy and I moan into his mouth. He growls and the kiss becomes even more aggressive. My nipples are hard and my pussy is so wet now. He pulls away and starts kissing down my neck. I run my hands up into his hair.

  “Cooper,” I whisper. He continues a slow path of kisses to the top of my breast. When he reaches them, he begins to suck, lick, and nip. Holy fuck, it feels so good. I throw my head back, banging it on the door in the process. “Oh, Cooper.” He once again pushes his hard cock against me and I begin to grind myself on him. We are like teenagers dry humping, but I don’t give a shit because it feels so good. He pulls back and I lift my head to look at him. He has pure lust in his eyes. It makes my pussy that much wetter.

  “Fuck, I wish we could stay here, doll, but I need to go introduce the band. I needed to say hi properly first though.” I smile at him and he winks, placing my leg back on the ground.

  “This is the best hi I’ve ever gotten.” I want to say so much more, like fuck me on that desk, or let me rub my pussy on your face. However, I figure that is probably not the best thing, so I just stick with that.

  “Emma, I’ll be honest here. I haven’t stopped thinking about you, and when I saw you standing there in this sexy as fuck outfit, I needed a minute alone with you. I am really happy you came tonight.” I push up on my tiptoes and kiss his lips.

  “I’m really glad I came tonight too.” We make our way back out to the bar so he can introduce the band. He walks me back over to Rowan and kisses my head.

  “I’ll be right back.” He makes his way over to the stand, and Rowan puts her arm around me.

  “That was either the fastest screw ever or one hell of a hello.” We both laugh. I don’t take my eyes off of him climbing up on the stage; he really is like a damn God. A sexy, tattooed, smooth talking God.

  “Oh Rowan, that was just one hell of a hello.”

  “Thank you all for coming tonight.” The crowd in the bar goes crazy. They are screaming, whistling, and clapping. Once it calms down a bit, he laughs into the microphone. “I’m Cooper and this is my bar.” The screams from the girls are deafening. I don’t like the jealous feeling that I get because of that. Shit, we aren’t anything to each other. I shouldn’t get jealous of that but I am. “Tonight, we are lucky enough to have Wicked Union with us.” If I thought it was deafening before, I was wrong. It is like being at a concert. “Please help me welcome this kick ass band.” The band begins filing on stage, and I have that excited feeling I get when we are at a concert. I can’t wait to see what they play and how they sound.

  “Damn, Em, this is so much fun already and the band hasn’t even started. Did you happen to notice the bartender? He is fucking hot.” I smile and look over at Rowan.

  “I noticed, Ro. I think he may think the same thing about you.” She sips her drink and looks over her shoulder toward Roy. My girl may just be going home with a bartender tonight.

  “Holy shit, what a great crowd, thanks y’all. We are going to start with one of our own, but we will mix it up with some other songs too. Are you ready?” Everyone is screaming and I find myself joining in. I look over and see Rowan leaning on the bar talking with Roy. The band starts and damn, they are amazing. It’s like a rock country beat and I can’t help but start moving to the beat. The singer’s voice is rough and sexy; the guitar, the bass, and the drums are playing flawlessly. The music is flowing through me, causing my heart to dance along to the beat. I feel a hand on my shoulder and I spin around startled. Cooper is leaning on the other side of the bar smiling at me. I turn my body to face him.

  “What do you think?” I lean into the bar so he can hear me over the music and the crowd.

  “They are unbelievable. I love their sound.” He shakes his head, agreeing with me. He turns his head and looks at the other end of the bar.

  “I’ll be right back.” I watch him move to a customer and quickly hand them a couple of beers. He starts moving back and is once again stopped to serve someone. This goes on for the entire first song. Roy is rushing around helping him at this point.

  “Those are two very busy guys.” I smile at Rowan, turning my attention back to Cooper. I must admit I wish that I could have more of his attention, but that is a selfish move. This is his bar, his livelihood. I decide to just hang with Rowan and enjoy Wicked Union.

  “Ro, these guys are really fucking good.” She shakes her head.

  “Let’s grab another drink and go dance.” Brilliant idea. She flags down Roy and orders us another round. Once we have them, we make our way to the packed dance floor. They are playing another original song titled Where’s the Party. Just like the last few songs, the beat is great. This song has more of an upbeat dance feel. Rowan and I start dancing, throwing our free arms in the air, and sipping on our drinks. We continue this for the next three songs. Two of them are cover songs: Toes by Zac Brown Band and Cruise by Florida Georgia Line. They did an amazing job, and I was so impressed. They are now playing a slower original song Love Here, and even though most of the crowd are dancing with a partner, Rowan and I just slowly sway to the beat. The song is almost over when I feel an arm wrap around my waist. I know without turning it is Cooper when I see the tattoos on his arm. I lean my head back on his chest and we sway to the beat together.

  “It is killing me watching you out here while I’m working. Watching your sexy body move to the music is making it hard to think with the head on my shoulders,” he whispers in my ear. I grin, knowing exactly what he means. I place my hand on top of his, linking our fingers. I turn my head so that I can see him. He is so fucking sexy looking down at me. My pussy clenches just from being this close to him. I spin in his arms and he quickly wraps his arms around my shoulders. I place my hands in his back pockets.

  “You really have a great bar, Cooper, and this band is so damn good.” He leans down and kisses my lips, working his way to my ear.

  “Thank you, Emma.” Just his sexy smooth voice in my ear is turning me on. We are slowly moving to the beat of the music, staring at each other. It is beginning to feel more intimate, not just sexual. I smile at him and he leans down to press another kiss to my lips. This time I bite his bottom lip, licking it afterwards. I am rewarded with a soft growl. It makes me want to do so much more, and explore every inch of his solid body. Just as I am pushing my tongue into his mouth he pulls away. I open my eyes to see what the hell is going on. He is looking over his shoulder, talking to one of the waitresses. Fuck, it’s like every time we have a second together, he is needed again. He shakes his head and turns back to me with a pouty face. “I need to get back over to the bar; they are having a problem with a customer. I’m sorry.” He kisses below my ear where he was just whispering, and before I can even formulate a response, he is walking toward the bar. I feel my body sag, so I blow out a sigh.

  “Hey, don’t get all mopey. Th
at guy has it bad for you. He is just busy, Em.” I turn my disappointed face toward Rowan.

  “I know, Ro.” I don’t want to admit to even her that I am sad he keeps having to walk away. It’s ridiculous to even have those thoughts. “Let’s go to the bathroom and freshen up.” I grab her hand and walk toward the back where I noticed the bathrooms were. We have to walk down a darkened hallway, and I’ll be honest, if I wasn’t holding Rowan’s hand, I probably would just hold it. When you enter the hallway, the noise lessens dramatically, and it is dark except for a door at the end of the hallway leading outside. It has a small bit of light coming in the tiny square window. I shake off the creepy feeling and push open the bathroom door. The light is bright compared to the hallway, so I squint when we first walk in. We both make our way to different stalls. “Not going to lie, that hallway is something you’d see in a fucking horror film. Gives me the creeps,” I say. She laughs and I brace myself for her response.

  “Emma, you are unreal. Stop being such a baby. It’s a dark hallway, that’s it.” We both walk over to the sink to wash our hands.

  “I know it’s just a hallway, bitch. I’m just saying it was creepy, that’s all. Anyway, fill me in on what Roy boy was saying to you.” She smirks at me through the mirror, reapplying her lip stick. It actually amazes me what she can fit in a wristlet purse. I look at myself while I wait on her to answer. Everything is still looking good. I turn back to her and lean against the sink, raising my eyebrows. She laughs as she is running her hand through her hair.

  “Well, he didn’t invite me to his bed if that’s what you’re getting at. We just talked about how sexy we both are.” I throw my head back laughing. She’s so full of shit. “Alright, we just talked normal meeting someone conversation, how old we are, and what I did for a living because obviously, I know his. Where we live, shit like that. Although we were pretty much eye fucking while doing it.” Now that I believe.