Chapter 24
Thankfully, Abraham had cleared out his cab, so I didn’t have to squeeze in the middle again. I was still given shotgun, however.
“You can have the front, Evey,” I offered.
She shook her head with a mischievous smile. “Oh no, that’s fine. I need to talk to Callie, anyway. You take the front seat.”
And, so here I was, once again standing outside his truck, wondering how I would get in while maintaining my dignity.
“I’ve got you,” Abraham said from close behind. His large hands wrapped around my waist, almost overlapping in the middle, and I grabbed his wrists.
“No, really, that’s not necessary,” I insisted.
He leaned over until his mouth was next to my ear. “If I don’t help you in this truck, how do you think you’re getting in it? You gonna’ jump?” His voice held a note of amusement I didn’t appreciate.
I huffed. “No, I’m not going to jump.”
“Then let me help you.”
“I don’t need help,” I answered instinctively.
He sighed, ruffling my hair, his minty breath making my heart race. “It’s just me, El. You can let me in. You can let me help.”
I froze.
Could I let him in?
Could I let him help?
Was I brave enough to let down my walls? Would I be strong enough to
withstand the fallout when things went south with him? Because they would go south. They always did.
“Let’s go! We’re gonna’ be late,” Evey called from the cab of the truck.
I sighed and loosened my grip on his wrists. “Okay, you can help me up.”
His hands tightened on my waist. “It’d be my pleasure.” His deep voice rumbled through the small space between us.
Without warning, he lifted me several feet in the air with ease, and sat me on the passenger seat. Abraham’s heated eyes landed on my bare thighs, and I pulled the dress down as far as it would go. He shook his head and shut my door before climbing in on his side.
As Abraham drove down their long driveway, I realized we were missing a sibling. “Does Bea not go to Del’s shows?”
Abraham shook his head. “We all go. She and Del are already there.”
Great. Something else to look forward to tonight.
“How far away is this place?”
“Not too far, maybe twenty minutes at most.”
I nodded, and fell silent, watching shadows of thick trees fly past the dark windows.
“Are you excited?” he asked me a while later.
“I don’t know,” I confessed. “A little nervous I guess. I’m not used to going to places like this. I don’t know what to expect or if I’ll fit in or anything.”
He took a long glance at me out of the corner of his eye and shook his head. “You have nothing to be nervous about. You look beautiful.”
My cheeks heated, and I looked out the window again. “You said that already,” I reminded him.
“And I’ll probably say it again tonight.”
I shook my head, but couldn’t get the smile off my face.
A few minutes later we pulled up to a dark building with bright red letters proclaiming it was a “BAR”. When we walked up to the front door, we had to pass through a large gray cloud of cigarette smoke produced by a group of loud men of varying ages and sizes.
Abraham’s gentle hand on the small of my back led me through the group and into the dark confines of the building. A long bar top ran along the far wall manned by three bartenders in crop tops and cut off jean shorts. To the right was the stage where another artist stood playing a keyboard and singing what sounded like a country song. Small tables ringed a large open space where people were dancing and swaying to the live music.
Abraham led me toward a table near the dance floor. To my dismay, Beatrice was already there with a scowl on her pretty face.
“Thought you were gonna’ miss her opening number,” Beatrice called when we were within earshot.
Abraham shook his head, and took a seat, leaning back and extending an arm to rest along the back of my seat. “Nope. We made it.”
“Well, maybe if you weren’t coming all the way from Raleigh, you could have been here earlier.”
I shrunk a few inches in my seat.
“Would it have mattered? Evey was out there anyway. And besides, we’re not late so I don’t know why we’re discussing this.”
“Evey shouldn’t have been out there either.”
Did she not see me sitting right here?
“Elizabeth needed her there.” Abraham said between gritted teeth.
“Elizabeth should have just stayed out here and not inconvenienced everyone.”
“Excuse me–” I began, already fed up with her shit, but Evey cut me off.
“No one’s inconvenienced Bea. I had a ton of fun getting to know our new pack member”
“She’s not pack yet,” Beatrice ground out.
Abraham cut in. “I’m over this conversation. No one was inconvenienced, no one was late, so drop it.”
Beatrice crossed her arms over her chest and flopped back in her chair.
Awkward.
Del chose that exact moment to take the stage, thankfully ending the discussion.
“Hello everybody!” she yelled into the microphone, and I sent another silent thank you to Abraham for the earplugs. Things were really loud with them in, but I’m sure they’d be earsplitting without them.
“How’re y’all doin’ tonight?” Del asked, eliciting a round of cheers and whistles from the crowd, including our table. Del’s pale pink dress fluttered with her movements, the material sparkling in the stage lights. “My name’s Del, and I’m gonna’ sing y'all a few songs,” she said, strumming a few strings on her acoustic guitar. “Some of em’ y’all know and love, and a few of them I wrote and I hope you’ll love.” Another round of cheers erupted, and Del fell silent.
As soon as the noise died down, Del began tapping on the body of her guitar, the rhythm familiar. The beat got louder and louder until she started singing. After a few words, I realized it was a song I knew; “We Are Young” by Fun. She tapped out the notes of the song until she got to the chorus and began to play the guitar. Her voice was beautiful, hitting every cord, doing the song justice while putting her own spin on it.
I swayed in my seat, foot tapping to the beat and sang along with her. When the song was over, she transitions to another recognizable one. Her acoustic rendition of OutKast’s “Hey Ya” was unlike anything I’d ever heard, and now I was openly dancing in my chair.
Evey noticed and held out a hand. “Let’s go dance!” she called, and although this was out of my comfort zone, I took her hand, and let her lead me to the middle of the dance floor.
At first I only swayed back and forth awkwardly, moving my hips in time to the music. Soon though, I had my hands in the air, jumping around and matching Evey move for move. We laughed and sang along with Del, clapping our hands in time to the beat, and gave her an uproarious round of applause when she finished.
Her next song was also upbeat, but I didn’t recognize the words and assumed it must be one of her originals. She’d sung the last couple of songs beautifully, but I could tell her heart was really into her own music. As I danced, I watched how her presence lit up the dark room and shone out across the space. She was magnificent.
“Are y’all havin’ a good time?” she asked the crowd who answered with screams and whistles. She smiled, a dimple appearing on her right cheek. “I had a special request tonight, and it’s gonna’ slow things down a bit. So if you got a honey here, bring em’ out on the dance floor, and show em’ a good time!”
The crowd yelled again, a few of them, including Evey and I, vacating the dance floor to make way for the couples. On our way back to the table, Abraham intercepted us.
His massive frame commanded any space he was in, and people swerved to avoid him. Men and women alike gave him a double take as they passed. I greeted him with a smile he returned instantly. “You think I could cash in on that dance with the prettiest lady here?”
I bit my lip as it curved up in a smile. Abraham took my hand and led me back to the dance floor. He spun me until I faced him, grasping my hips, and bringing me closer. Once we were only inches apart, he started swaying to unheard music.
“Why are we dancing if the music hasn’t started yet?” I asked.
He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “I already know what song she’s gonna’ sing, so I thought I’d get a head start, and make this dance last as long as possible.”
My face heated, and I was thankful for the dark room. “Were you the one who requested it?”
He only nodded as Del strummed the first few chords of the next song. As promised, it was slow, and Abraham was already moving us to the beat. When Del opened her mouth and sang the first few words, I recognized Rihanna’s “Love On The Brain”.
With Abraham’s hands on my hips, my arms hung loose at my sides. I’d never danced with a man before, and I was feeling out of place, and confused about what was expected of me.
His large hands slid up from my hips to my shoulders, and down my arms until he held both of my hands. He settled them on his shoulders before grasping my hips again, pulling me closer.
For the whole first verse, I stared at his broad chest. The third button down on his shirt to be exact. We swayed back and forth as we felt each other out and found our rhythm together.
When I finally braved a look at him, he was already staring at me, his blue, blue eyes bright in the dim room.
We swayed to the beat, our eyes locked in place, silent confessions passing between us. Words and thoughts I was too afraid to admit, let alone speak. His face inched closer to mine, and I stood transfixed.
A deer in headlights.
Completely at his mercy.
His face lowered until it was only a fraction of an inch away from mine. I could feel his warm breath. His bottom lip grazed mine, the soft warmth shooting bolts of electricity through my veins.
Del sang of desire and yearning as Abraham rocked our hips to the beat. I could relate entirely.
I was captivated.
Consumed.
Drowning in him.
Then with a smile, Abraham grabbed one of my hands and spun me around so my back was to him.
I laughed in surprise, His chest pressed against my shoulder blades, his hips aligned with mine. We swayed again, but this time more purposefully than before. The song played on, Del sang her heart out, and I tried to control my racing pulse.
Abraham held one of my hands while the other gripped my hip, tugging me closer. Until there was nothing between us.
No space.
No pretense.
No subtext.
Just our bodies, and the silent words they spoke for us.
He leaned over, caging me in further, and rested his chin on my shoulder. His stubbled cheek pressing against mine, the gentle scrape of his facial hair igniting an inferno inside me.
“Elizabeth,” he whispered in my ear. I tilted my head, hair falling away from my face and down my back. He leaned closer and ran the tip of his nose along the length of my neck from shoulder to ear. I shivered with sweet anticipation. “Will you go somewhere with me tomorrow?”
I waited until I had my breathing under control before answering. “Did you have somewhere in mind?” My voice was breathy, and so unlike my own. I met his electric eyes. They were so close.
We were so close.
Not just to each other, but to something.
Something big.
Important.
Life-altering.
Abraham spun me back around. All pretenses gone, he pressed the small of my back until my entire body was plastered against his. His hand wrapped around the back of my neck, fingers tangling in my hair.
“There’s somewhere I want to take you. Something I want to show you. Will you go with me?” His eyes were sincere, hopeful, and a little cautious. As if he didn’t dare to hope I’d say yes.
And, for a split second, I considered turning him down. For just a fraction of a moment, I remembered who I used to be. The lawyer who had no friends, and no life. The single woman who lived alone with her cat and cared only for the next case that fell on her desk.
But, I wasn’t that woman anymore.
In the past week, I’d changed.
Shifted.
He’d changed me. His family had changed me. After that split second of indecision, I remembered that woman who’d died instead of me, and the promise I’d made her.
I reached up and placed my hand on the side of his face. His eyes closed for a moment, his broad chest rising and falling with a stuttering breath.
It floored me.
Ruined me.
That I had such an effect on this strong man. That my touch could make him react like that, shook me. From the core of my being, I was changed.
Abraham’s eyes were now open, and staring at me, the hopeful light dimming by the second. I gave him a big smile and stood on my tiptoes so I could whisper in his ear. His scent filled my senses, and I inhaled. Reveling in him for a second before I gave him my answer.
“Yes. I’d love to.”