Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 20430 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 102(@200wpm)___ 82(@250wpm)___ 68(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20430 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 102(@200wpm)___ 82(@250wpm)___ 68(@300wpm)
But I think I want her out there with me.
My heart hesitates when I see a man sit down across from her.
And then I get confused because that man is familiar. “Hey Jennings, isn’t that your friend Danny?”
“Hmm?” He perks up and looks over to where my line of sight is resting. “Oh yeah, that is Danny.”
“Who’s the girl with him?”
“That’s Cassidy, I think.”
“Cassidy, huh?” I sigh. “Hell of a catch for Danny.”
Jennings shakes his head. “You’re a forgetful one, aren’t ya? Danny’s gay, Cash.”
I raise an eyebrow, and never before has a man’s sexuality made my heart come alive before. “Well then, that changes things.”
“Are you about to come out of the closet on me, man? Danny’s a good guy, but don’t think I’d ever see him with a guy like you...”
I shoot Jennings a death glare. “Why don’t we go over and pay them a visit? And you can learn the hallowed art of being a wingman, Jennings. Maybe you could talk to Danny, have a sit-down and catch up on things for a bit as I have a word, and perhaps a dance, with his lovely friend.”
Jennings laughs and nods along. “Oh, you want Cassidy, huh? I guess I can play along, big brother. I’ll go talk to one of my best friends. I make such huge sacrifices for you, I know.”
“Stop being dramatic and let’s go.”
I glance into the mirror behind the bar and try to make sure my hair’s straight, doing what little maintenance I can do on the fly.
I just saw this girl two minutes ago and she’s making me preen myself?
Goddamn, she must be something special.
2
CASSIDY
This isn’t where a girl like me belongs.
I grew up in a pretty sizable city. It wasn’t New York or anything, but the population at least had six digits.
Burly has four digits at best.
There’s loud country music pounding through the saloon. It’s not what I’m used to, but it’s not like I hate it or anything. In fact, it’s kind of nice and I’m getting into it, in between bouts of my anxiety.
“You look like you’re having some sort of panic attack, Cass. Just chill. Calm down. Everything will be okay,” Danny says from the other side of the booth.
“Easy for you to say. You’re used to tiny towns like this.”
Danny shrugs, although he’s made my transition to small-town living a little simpler. “Why are you fretting? No one here bites. No matter how much you’ve heard about banjos and the like, rural towns aren’t scary, Cass.”
“It’s just the small-town thing is all. I’m kind of worrying about making a fool out of myself in front of people I have to see regularly. If I do that in the city? It’s no big deal. I’m probably not going to run into anyone there ever again.”
My friend blows a raspberry, or rather he tries to. It’s more like he spits. He’s had quite a few drinks already. It makes me worry that the only real thing to do in a place like Burly is get drunk. “You’re being overdramatic. These small towns have community. Real strong community too. People learn about one another. Help one another. You don’t get that in big cities.”
People do seem happy here. They’re talking and laughing. The crowd is older than I’m used to, but there’s plenty of twenty- and thirty-somethings. I guess when the town is so small, you can’t really segregate into different scenes, so everyone piles into the same place and deals with it if they happen to dislike country music.
I’m not one of those people who dislike it, but I guess I understand why someone would.
There’s also a particular type of guy here. Lots of ten-gallon hats. We’re in Washington, but this far out, the differences between Washington and Texas begin to break down. All the girls are wearing flaring dresses, dancing along to the music and letting them spin and flap up with their movements. Me showing up in skinny jeans is a big part of why I feel like an outsider.
“Danny and Cassidy, how the hell are you two doing tonight?”
Jennings, Danny’s friend, stands at the edge of the booth with a huge smile on his face. I’ve run into him a few times since Danny has been trying to integrate me into the small-town life of Burly, and he’s friendly enough.
But my focus isn’t on Jennings. He’s handsome and all that, but my fascination is settling on the man beside him.
Kind of scruffy, but in a good way. A solid jaw, piercing brown eyes and a killer grin. He’s looking right at me and taking me in entirely. It’s kind of obvious that his gaze is rolling down my body and checking me out, taking advantage of my choice of skinny jeans to get a better idea of my curves.