D: Why the long face? Who’s the party pooper now?
My eyes shot toward the dance floor, quickly scanning all the people. Just a little to the left of where they’d originally been, Danicka waved at me. I grinned and waved back before turning my attention back to my phone.
I don’t have a long face. You having fun?
I watched out of the corner of my eye as she stopped dancing, the glow of her phone lighting up her face as she bit her lip.
D: I am, but it’s hot in here. Wanna go outside?
I didn’t even bother texting back. “Danicka’s hot and wants to step outside. I’ll be back,” I said to Brody as I stood up from the booth and straightened my shirt.
Brody spread his arms out to the side, resting them on top of the booth, and raised an eyebrow at me. “Remember what I said.”
“Yes, Dad,” I answered with an eye roll.
Dani had started dancing again and didn’t notice me walking up behind her. I reached out and grabbed her hand, trying not to laugh when she jumped and spun around. She couldn’t hear me over the music, so I just tilted my head, motioning toward the door. She nodded and held one finger up, signaling for me to wait a minute. Letting go of my hand, she ran over to the table, grabbed her beer, kissed Brody on the cheek, and ran back with a big grin on her face.
Brody’s eyes widened as he gave me a thumbs-up.
Before I could even reach for it, she put her hand back in mine and led me to the front door. As we got to the front of the bar, I reached around and opened the door, stepping back with my hand resting on the small of her back.
What had been a hot and humid day had turned into a cool and breezy night.
“Wow! It really cooled off, huh?” Dani sighed happily as we walked over to the bench out front.
“Sure did. You having a good time?”
“I am! Kinda crazy that we ended up here, on this bench, huh?”
“Definitely a little ironic.” I laughed, thinking back a couple of months to when I offered her a job on that same wrought iron bench.
“I’m so glad I ran into you that night,” she said as she pulled her knee up and turned to face me.
I pulled my knee up, mirroring her. “Me too. And I’m even gladder that Sadie had too much to drink and got lost. You were so pissed at me that if you didn’t need my help, I doubt we’d be sitting here right now.”
She pulled her lips into a tight smile. “You’re probably right. I can be a little stubborn sometimes.”
“A little?” I teased, raising my eyebrows.
She bit the corner of her top lip and nodded with an excited twinkle in her brown eyes. “I’m so glad that in spite of my stubbornness, you guys didn’t let me go home and be grumpy by myself.”
“Ellie can be quite persuasive.” I laughed.
A soft gust of wind blew strands of her dark hair across her face as her eyes fell to her lap, and she picked nervously at her bright red nail polish. “I didn’t come here to hang out with Ellie, Andy. I see her all day, every day.”
I took a deep breath and held it, worried that if I opened my mouth to talk, I would say the wrong thing. I couldn’t see her face, but I had a feeling she was going somewhere I really wanted her to go.
She continued, “What really changed my mind is when you said you were coming.” Finally she looked up at me, but something about her gaze was different. Her eyes were focused on mine as much as mine were on hers. Dozens of people talked and laughed as they walked past us, but the way we were staring at each other was like we were the only two on the whole street.
“Well, I have a confession to make, too.” I paused and cleared my throat. “I almost never go out after work, especially on Fridays. I’m usually in too much of a hurry to get home and see my kids, but when I realized we were going out for your birthday, I didn’t think twice about it.”
Danicka’s cheeks flushed, and while there was a chance it was because of all the alcohol, I was pretty sure it was because of whatever was shifting between us at that exact moment.
“Listen, Dani—” Before I could even get a sentence out, she leaned forward and rested her lips on mine. My initial shock quickly disappeared as I closed my eyes and kissed her back. The kiss was soft, hesitant even, both of us clearly a little nervous about the line we were crossing, but that imaginary line vanished the second she opened her mouth and invited me in. I put my hand on the back of her head and gently pulled her closer, eager to keep kissing her. My tongue slipped to the front of her mouth, where her tongue met mine. She tasted like beer and mint and two months’ worth of tension exploding right there on that bench where it all began in the first place. Someone catcalled to us from across the street as her hand wove through my hair, but we were so lost in that moment and in each other that we didn’t care.