Secret Moves(8)

It could be because they had the three girls with them tonight, he reasoned to himself. It would be rude to leave their little group for some stranger when he'd agreed to enjoy the company of his friends.

He smiled as he watched Kris dance some steps while Ari, Sam, and even Dylan copied her almost effortlessly. He laughed out loud as Adam tried to follow, missing a beat here and there. But after about a minute, Adam was in perfect rhythm with the others.

Ever since he had been laughed at by his cheerleader crush when he was seventeen, he'd refused to dance in front of anyone. When he was younger, it had been a big ego thing. He didn't want to look uncool. Sure, there was still a little bit of that now, but frankly, he attracted more girls sitting down than being up on his feet, moving about ungracefully. He'd never found any motivation strong enough to make him want to dance.

He inhaled sharply, feeling curiously jealous that his friends were having such a great time with Kris. He realised he wanted to take his dance lessons with her seriously, if only to enjoy the warmth of her exuberant personality up close.

"Trey!"

He turned his head to see a pretty redhead whose long, shapely legs were showcased by her short, tight dress and sparkling stilettos. He hid a sigh. Why was it that when you so wanted something not to happen, it seemed like it almost always did?

"Amber. Hi," he said in greeting, as he stood up to kiss the woman with whom he'd had three nights of casual sex the previous month. He aimed for her cheek, but Amber cupped his face and smooched him on the lips. When he was free to move his head, he found himself checking the dance floor and exhaling a sigh of relief that his friends were enjoying themselves too much to have witnessed what just happened.

"So, how've you been, Trey?" Amber purred as she sat on the lounge. She tugged at his hand so he would sit down beside her.

"I've been well, thanks," he answered. "And you?"

"Not bad. Although I've been quite disappointed—I haven't seen you here in weeks. What have you been up to?"

"Oh, you know, the usual," he replied vaguely. He'd learned long ago not to encourage personal conversations with women who might read something into nothing.

Amber smiled, but a frown appeared with it. "What's the usual? I hope you still consider this your favourite club. I'd sure miss you if you stopped coming."

"I have several favourites, as you know. But I've just been busy with work. That's why I haven't turned up here lately," he responded politely. How could he make her leave without appearing rude?

"That's good to know. You know how much I absolutely love it when you come," Amber said in a seductive tone.

"Yeah, it's good to be here again. This place always has a good atmosphere," he replied, ignoring her sexual innuendo.

A bartender stopped in front of them and handed Amber a cocktail drink, then handed him another bottle of beer. Damn. Amber had bought him a drink.

"Thank you, Bert," they both said to the familiar man who went out of his way to serve regulars like them.

"Thanks for this," he said to Amber. "You didn't have to. I haven't finished my other drink yet." He gestured to his still half-full bottle.

"Well, stop drinking that one and drink my one instead," she said flirtatiously.

"Trey?" another female voice said from the other side of him. He stared at the face that looked familiar, but the woman's name escaped him. He remembered, though, that she was someone Dylan had a one-night stand with before he met Ari. If his memory served him right, she was the desperate one who rang Dylan every night for days after their one-night stand.

"Hi," he said with a warm smile, welcoming the intrusion in spite of who the girl was.

"I thought it was you," the lady said.

Amber put a possessive hand on his thigh and greeted the other woman with a saccharine-sweet "hello."

He exhaled audibly and tried to gently remove Amber's hand from his leg, but Amber took that opportunity to grab his hand tightly and place it on her exposed thigh.

Oh, great, he thought sarcastically.

"I didn't mean to intrude, guys," the other woman said, giving Amber an understanding smile. "I just thought I'd stop by to say hi and to see if Dylan's here with you."

"Oh, right." Trey scanned the dance floor for Dylan. He spotted him dancing intimately with Ari in a darkened corner of the room. "There he is, with his girlfriend," he said, pointing to the sweet couple.

"That's his girlfriend?" The disappointment on the face of Dylan's admirer was obvious.

"Yes, that's his girlfriend."

"Are they, um, serious?"

"Yes, they're pretty serious. In fact, they're moving in together," he said, hammering the point.