Series: Peach State Stepbros Series by Riley Hart
Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 79283 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79283 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
If this happened with anyone else, I would talk to Taylor about it, but now it’s Taylor who has me feeling this way. And I know I can talk to him, I will talk to him, but talking is always a whole lot easier when he prods me along.
“I know you better than that. Even if it was true, I wouldn’t tell you…”
“Wait…so how do I know if you’re letting me win or not? I will kick your ass if you do that, Taylor Martin Falkner.”
“That’s not my middle name.”
“That’s beside the point,” I reply, and he laughs, then drops his forehead against mine.
Tell me. Tell me what this is. Tell me you’re feeling more too.
Or I could just ask him. Look at me. That’s growth. Yay. “So…about what—”
“Taylor! Can you come help me for a minute?” Marty asks, and Jesus, why is it always him? There is a good chance one of us might murder him one day.
“Hold that thought. I’ll be right back.”
I nod as Taylor slips away with Marty, who basically just ruined my life. Or, you know, maybe not, but still.
“How come you’re not dancing?” Colin asks me. Why couldn’t Marty have asked for his help instead of Taylor’s?
“I don’t know,” I reply, but he’s right. That’s my kind of thing.
“You look confused.”
“Um…thanks?” I’m not sure how else I’m supposed to respond to that, but Colin just laughs.
“I used to be confused too.”
“No offense, buddy, but I think you still are.” What the hell is he getting at?
“That’s what you think, but you’ll see.” He pats my shoulder in a way that says, aw, poor Brenner, before slipping away, I assume to find his boyfriend.
As I push away from the wall to go do…who knows what, I see Taylor heading toward me, only to be intercepted by Sadie.
She takes his wrist and drags him to the dance floor. Her mom is smiling but looks pretty tired. Taylor turns my direction, a look on his face that says, help! but also, it’s clear he wouldn’t deny this kid because he’s seen a kindred spirit in her. Taylor does everything in his power not to let people down.
Unless he’s had a drink or two in him, Taylor isn’t much of a dancer, which is proven by how awkwardly Sober Taylor is moving to the fast beat of the song Lance is playing from the DJ table.
His gaze finds mine again, and even from a distance, I’m pretty sure he’s blushing, while trying to dance because a girl he doesn’t know asked it of him.
And there go the butterflies again.
All it takes is one quirk of his finger and I’m heading his way, while also laughing, because I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t laugh at him.
“Nice moves, Tay.”
“Shut up and dance with me.”
“Guys, you have to look my direction when you speak,” Sadie tells us.
Shit. I’ll have to be better about that. It strikes me then that that might be why they’re so close to the speaker. Sadie is using the vibrations to dance. That also explains the iPad she’s carrying.
I glance up to see her mom lingering close, and the knowing look tells me she sees I’m putting it all together in my head.
I make sure to face Sadie as I say, “He’s a terrible dancer!” He’s not, really, but it’s fine to give him shit.
“Let’s see your moves,” she replies, and I can tell she’ll be a force to be reckoned with when she’s older.
No way I’m not taking my moment to shine, though, so I start dancing. I take Taylor’s hands, trying to get him to move with me.
“I’m not dancing with you. You just said I’m terrible. You didn’t think that at Crave.”
No, no I didn’t. But I ignore that. With my hands on his hips, I say, “Loosen up. Pretend…” I throw a glance at Sadie and switch direction. “Just don’t be so stiff.”
He laughs, and there’s not a doubt in my mind that he knows I was going to make a joke about fucking.
Sadie is in her own world. It’s clear she loves dancing, and as unsure as she was about coming inside, she’s living it up now, throwing her arms up in this carefree way that is contagious. When I let go of Taylor, Sadie grabs his hands, twisting the two of them and getting him to move faster, to get into what we’re doing. She does a circle around him, Taylor spinning to follow, but she ducks under his arm and he drops his head back and laughs, just getting lost in the moment while I can’t help but get lost in him.
We stay out there for a good twenty minutes, dancing and laughing until my stomach hurts.
When I take Taylor’s hand again and lift it, Sadie winks at me, walks under our arms like a bridge, and then just…keeps going.