My anxiety started to rear its ugly head. When I had been staring Riley, it had been almost easy tuning it out. Now that I was facing away from him, my surroundings came into focus.
Women looked like they wanted to claw my eyes out. The guys looked like they would have loved to take Riley out of the equation. It all felt like too much.
Riley must have sensed that my attention moved elsewhere.
“Are you thirsty?” he asked.
Not really, but I needed a distraction, something to do, to keep me from sinking into this moment further. I needed to pull my head above water before I drowned.
I nodded.
“I’ll be right back,” he shouted in my ear over the music as he approached the bar.
I stood by myself, letting my anxious thoughts eat me alive. Most of the girls had on dresses that were worth more than a few of my paychecks. Their make-up looked professionally done, and don’t get me started on their hair. While my dress was cute, it had costs thirty dollars from Target. My make-up was bought from the drug store, and I had done my hair myself.
The guys looked at me like they were a predator and I was the prey. At this moment, I would have preferred the showdown between me and the mountain lion. I did not like being here without Riley even for a moment.
When this fake relationship was over, I wouldn’t be able to come back here.
I was only alone for two minutes when I was approached by a guy, and I saw a girl sashay toward Riley at the bar.
“Hello, gorgeous,” the guy said.
“Hello,” I said politely.
“Would you like to dance?” he asked me.
I shook my head as I answered, “I’m sorry, I am here with someone.”
This guy was cute, but he had nothing on Riley. His blond hair had been gelled back, and he was clean shaven. He had a strong, angular-looking face. He looked like he could be a model, but Riley looked like a movie star. Riley had more than just classical good looks.
“I noticed,” he said, and his eyes turned a little dark.
“Doesn’t mean he can’t share one dance with me,” he pushed.
“I’m sorry, I’m not comfortable with that. Perhaps a different time?”
“Come on, one dance,” he pressed.
He tried to turn on the charm and take a step closer to me. He reached out to grab onto my wrist.
I was about to say no again, and I took a step backward. I felt a familiar presence behind me.
“I believe she was about to say no, again,” Riley said.
Tension danced around in the air like smoke dancing through the wind. It was tangible and scary. The two men were puffing up their chests like they were about to throw down over who got to dance with me.
What was going on? This couldn’t be all about me.
“If you ever want to dance with someone else,” the guy said directly to me, “I’ll be around.”
Then he turned around and walked away.
“Wow, the nerve of some people,” I said.
“The nerve of him,” he answered.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
