"Am I the beginning of your adventure?"
She smiled and then nodded. "Yes, Eli, you are."
Lila Kate
DANCING WITH ELI at this bar wasn't my first time to dance at a bar. I had once before while in college. A friend on the dance team had her twenty-first birthday party at the local haunt. I went. I danced. I left early and arrived home before midnight sober. But that was the old me.
"I think I'd like another drink," I told Eli after our dance.
He smiled as if I was amusing. "Anything in particular?"
I almost said a martini and stopped myself. "Whatever."
He chuckled and I watched as he held his hand up signaling a waitress who was carrying a tray of little shot glasses filled with Jell-O. She came over and he took two glasses off her tray. "Thanks."
Then he handed one to me.
"What's this?" I asked holding the cup of Jell-O in front of me.
"A Jell-O shot. It's even better than a bar drink. It's a club drink."
The club he was referring to was different than the club I had grown up in and I knew that. I figured why not. I tasted it slowly.
"It's a shot, Lila. Don't savor it. Just down it."
Not wanting to disappoint him or me, so I did as Eli said.
When I was done, I thought it tasted yummy like strawberry Jell-O.
"What did you think?"
"I liked it."
He handed me the shot glass he was holding. "I never was one to think a guy looked right doing a Jell-O shot. Take this one."
And I did.
I wasn't sure what liquor was in them, but my head felt lighter, and I felt happy. Eli took both cups, held his hand up again and placed them on the tray the waitress was carried over to us.
"Ready for another dance?" he asked.
I stepped back into his arms and we danced. This time I wasn't aware of anyone around us, and I wasn't concerned. I enjoyed myself. Moved by the music, I let go of my inhibitions. I laughed. I heard my own laughter and it felt right.
It wasn't until three dances later when Eli took a drink off a tray and drank it that I wondered what time it was. I should call my mom. I should call Nate.
Then I realized that was the old Lila Kate. This was the new one.
Our dancing continued. Our movements got sexier. The touching became more intense and my heart rate sped up a bit. I enjoyed being near Eli. I liked the way his hands slid over my hips and cupped my bottom. When my breasts brushed against his chest, the contact felt like electricity had pulsed through me. These feelings were all new things for me. I'd tried to feel this before. It had never happened. I was always so tense and unsure. But Eli was easy to trust, and the way he smiled could attract a nun.
His head lowered, and his breath was hot on my neck. I shivered as it tickled my ear. "Go somewhere with me."
I slowed our dance to a halt. This was it. My chance to do something truly wild. To break free of the old me. To become someone else. I needed this. I wanted this. I wanted Eli, and it had been awhile since there was a guy that attracted me. It wasn't just the shots either. I'd liked him before I started drinking.
"Okay," I answered loud enough that he could hear.
He bit softly on my earlobe. "I'll get your purse from Larissa."
I nodded and walked off the dance floor with him.
He got my purse from his aunt who he'd handed it to when we left the bar for the dance floor. Then he came straight to me. "Your car here?" he asked.
"Yes."
"I'm not sure either of us should drive just yet. Walk with me down the beach."
I had to agree. I wasn't sure I should get behind the wheel, and he had drunk more than I had. His hand slipped over mine then our fingers threaded. We walked in the moonlight across the road and down to the beach in silence. The music from Live Bay faded in the distance.
It was secluded and peaceful on the shore. I'd been on our beach many times at night. But never with a guy. Not like this. It was almost magical.
"You swim in the Gulf much? Or are you on the East Coast?"
"I'm on the west, and no. I enjoy the beauty but I don't get in it much."
"Where in Florida do you live?"
I wavered here, not sure what I should say. I wanted to leave that girl behind. Rosemary Beach was small but it was elite. Everyone knew that wealthy and famous people lived there. He'd wonder. He'd ask questions. I'd reverted to Lila Kate Carter in moments. I didn't want to be her again.
"A small little town. Nothing special."
He nodded. "Okay. I won't push."
I sighed. It sounded like I was keeping it from Eli because I didn't trust him. I was out here alone with him. That was trust right there. "It's not that. It's . . . I don't want to be her anymore. I want to be different. I want to be someone new."