Page 2 of The Second Dance
“Prospecting?” I say, watching Dusty saunter across the bar to chat up a trio of pretty girls.
“Looks like it.” Skyler says, but he’s got his eye on my dad.
I glance at my dad and, with great effort, try to be reasonable. He’s young in the grand scheme of things. He still has his good looks. His life shouldn’t be over just because mom took a torch to it.
Still. It’s hard to watch.
I look away, knocking back my shot and motioning for Tia to bring another round. “Kind of shits on your view of marriage, am I right?”
Skyler huffs a short laugh of agreement, but mercifully changes the topic. “How’s Cody doing in school?”
“He fucking loves it. Joined that damn frat, though.”
“Phi Beta Phi?”
I nod.
Skyler shakes his head. “Has it changed since we were at UNL?”
“No. It has not. They’re all still spectacular douche bags.”
“I guess it’s good to know some things never change.”
“I guess so. I met some of them when I was moving Cody in. Typical Greek assholes. But that was dad’s house when he went to UNL. So, of course, he’s over the God damn moon about it.”
Dusty cuts the conversation short by turning up with three pretty traveling nurses.
It’s kind of intriguing to flirt with complete strangers. Plus, they won’t stick around for the next thirty years to haunt me with memories.
Dusty leans in, murmuring in my ear. “The blonde’s name is Peyton. Happy Birthday, bud.”
He knows my type. Short and curvy.
I’ve dated other girls, other types, but I always come back to the same well.
You never forget your first love.
And mine rewired my God-damned brain.
2.
Andy
It’s a little chilly for March, but that’s Nebraska. The temperatures swing so fast it can make you dizzy.
I smooth my skirt, push my sleeves up, and march into the restaurant with a professional coolness that only goes skin deep.
Inside, I am a tangled ball of nerves.
“Don’t fuck this up, Andy.” I whisper to myself before waving cheerily at my mark.
The donor.
A bitter, freshly divorced millionaire.
She sits alone at the bar. Elegant and long-limbed.
It’s hard to gauge exactly how old she is because while her face is pretty and youthful, that cardigan set and those jeans are decidedly geriatric.
