I stared into the mirror, blinking rapidly. The reflection I saw wasn’t what I’d been used to seeing over the past few months. Savannah had insisted that I let her style my hair. I didn’t usually bother doing much to it. It was fairly long, midway down my back, and a mousy brown colour. I normally just threw it up on top of my head in a messy bun, but looking in the mirror now, it hung around my shoulders in loose waves.
“Thank you, Savannah. I can’t believe how different I look, and how different I feel. I love it. I haven’t felt this good in months.” I told her truthfully.
“I’m glad you like it. Are you sure I can’t do your makeup?” She asked smiling sweetly at me.
“I’m sure,” I told her laughing. I didn’t wear much makeup and was happy to just wear my usual mascara and lip gloss.
I’d chosen a strappy dress with tiny flowers all over it. It fell midway down my thighs, and my boots looked amazing with it. Savannah had lent me a bag that matched my dress perfectly. I twirled in front of the mirror and smiled. I’d been a bit apprehensive about going out tonight, but now I was looking forward to it. Aside from the possibility of Brody and Josh turning up of course.
I looked over at Savannah. She looked incredible. She was wearing her new dress; it was black and strapless with small red poppies on it. Her new boots looked great with it, and she had curled her hair like mine.
“Savannah, you look amazing. You’ll be fighting those cowboys off with a stick.” I joked.
“I could say the same for you.” She said raising her eyebrows at me. “Come on, let’s go.”
Uncle Ryan gave us a lift into town and dropped us off outside the Brass Hall. We were meeting Rose and a few of Savannah’s other friends inside. There was already a small queue to get in, and when we reached the front, we showed our ID’s to the doorman who stamped our hand with a bright red stamp that read UNDER 21.
The inside of the bar was impressive. Loud music filled the room and tables were scattered around where people sat drinking and chatting. In the centre of the room, there was a large dance floor with the bar along the back wall. There were a few people dancing, but most were standing around the bar with drinks in their hands. In the corner of the room, there was a small stage where a band was setting up ready to play.
Savannah tugged on my arm. “This way Lib.” She shouted in my ear, gesturing with her head to a table right on the edge of the dance floor. I looked over and saw three girls waving in our direction. As we got nearer I recognised one of the girls as Rose, who I’d met earlier.
“Hey, guys,” Savannah said as we sat down. “This is my cousin Libby. She’s over from England for a few weeks. Libby this is Harper and Ava, and you’ve already met Rose.”
“Hi,” I said shyly.
“Nice to meet you, Libby,” Harper said smiling at me.
“Hi, Libby. I’m just headed to the bar. Do you want a drink?” Ava asked me.
“Ava and Harper are twenty-one. They can get you a proper drink if you want one.” Rose said looking over to me.
“Oh, no thanks. A diet coke will be fine.” I told her. “Thanks, Ava.”
“Can I get a vodka and coke please Ava,” Savannah asked winking at me.
“I’ll help you with the drinks.” Harper offered, standing and following Ava to the bar.
Just as the girls returned with our drinks, the live band began to play. “Thanks for the drink Ava,” I told her taking a sip.
“No problem hun.”
We spent the next hour chatting and drinking. The girls had been asking me all about England and what it was like to live there. I told them that it was rainy and cold most of the time, and nothing like living in Texas! They seemed nice, and we all got on really well.
All of Savannah’s friends were beautiful, and it seemed most of the guys in the bar thought so too. There was a constant stream of men coming up to the table and trying to either buy them a drink or get them to dance. The girls were having none of it though and soon sent them on their way.
Suddenly Savannah jumped up, pulling on my arm. “Let’s dance.” She shouted in my ear.
While we had been chatting, the bar had gotten busier and was now packed. We fought our way through the crowds to the middle of the dance floor. I didn’t recognise the music playing, it seemed a great song to dance to, though, so I closed my eyes and started moving my body to the music. I’d forgotten just how much I loved to dance. Mia had taught me everything I knew about dancing. I smiled to myself thinking that she would have loved it here. I realised that this was the first time I’d thought about her and not felt incredibly sad.
I opened my eyes and smiled at Savannah, she too was swaying her hips, her hands up in the air. I looked around and saw that she was getting plenty of admiring glances from the many guys on the dance floor.
After dancing for about ten minutes, I felt a pair of arms snake around my waist and I was pulled backward onto a hard chest. I tried to turn around and pull away, but the grip they had on me was too tight. I made eye contact with Savannah who must have seen how uncomfortable I was. She made her way over to me, her face a picture of anger.
“Hey!!” She shouted. “Get your hands off her, she doesn’t want to dance with you.” She pushed against the man’s shoulder, and he reluctantly let me go.
“Is there a problem here Savannah?” I heard a voice say from behind us.
We spun around to see Brody standing there, his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes were fixed on the man standing next to me.
“Brody, am I glad to see you,” Savannah said with a sigh of relief. “This jackass here had his hands all over Libby.” She flung her arms towards the mystery man who was now backing away with his arms up. He’d taken one look at the size of Brody and obviously decided he didn’t want to dance after all.
“She’s taken. I get it, man. I’m out of here.” He said turning quickly and disappearing into the crowd.
“You okay Lib?” Brody asked me moving closer.
“I’m fine, thanks, Brody, he just took me by surprise that’s all.”
“Let’s get a drink,” Brody said, grabbing my hand and leading me off the dance floor. I turned to check that Savannah was following and saw that she was looking straight past me towards the bar. I followed where she was looking and saw Josh leaning up against the bar waiting to be served.
I tugged on Brody’s hand, and he turned to look at me. “I’m just going to head to the loo with Savannah,” I told him. “We’ll meet you at the bar in a minute.” He nodded his head and walked into the crowd towards Josh.
“Looks like you need five minutes. Where are the toilets?” I asked Savannah who finally took her eyes of Josh and looked at me.
She took a deep breath, looking at me gratefully. “Thanks. They’re over there.” She gestured to the corner of the room.
We fought our way off the dance floor passing the bar as we made our way to the toilets. I looked over at Josh and saw that his eyes were fixed on Savannah. He wasn’t looking at her like he wasn’t interested. In fact, he was looking at her like he wanted to devour her. I smiled to myself as we entered the toilet.
“Urgh, I hate how good he looks in those jeans and boots,” Savannah said exasperatedly. “I’ll no doubt have to watch some girl hanging all over him later!”
“You’re looking pretty good yourself Savannah. Why don’t you show him what he’s missing?” I told her fluffing my hair in the mirror.
“What do you mean? He’s not missing anything Lib. He’s not interested remember.”
“I’m not so sure Sav,” I said cautiously. I didn’t want to get her hopes up if I was wrong. “Maybe if he sees you flirting with someone else, it might make him realise he is interested, and if not you might meet your Prince Charming instead,” I told her winking.
“Prince Charming Libby. Really? There is no such thing. I really doubt he’d care if I was flirting with someone else. He never has before.” She scoffed.
“You sound just like Mia,” I told her smiling. “Let’s go back out, more drinks and dancing is needed I think!”
She smiled and followed me out. As the bar came into sight, I saw that there was now someone else standing with Brody and Josh. He was tall, at least six foot two with dark brown hair. It was fairly messy but in a sexy way, and it was styled to look like he’d spent the day running his fingers through it. On his legs were dark denim jeans and he was wearing cowboy boots underneath them. His light blue t-shirt was stretched tight across his chest, his arms bulging out of the sleeves. I could make out the bottom of a tattoo that was just visible on his right arm. He was stunning. I stopped walking, and Savannah ploughed into the back of me.
“Lib, what’s wrong? Why did you stop?”
“Savannah, who is that with Brody and Josh,” I asked. I couldn’t seem to pull my eyes off him.
“That’s Mason, he works on the ranch. You know you’re staring don’t you Lib?” She said laughing.
“I’m not staring!” I exclaimed feeling my cheeks flush.
“Why are you blushing then.” She teased. “He’s been working at the ranch for about three months. No one really knows much about him other than he’s been in prison. My Dad knows what for but he won’t tell us, he says it's Mason’s business. I do know he’s older than Brody and Josh, though, twenty-six I think.” She paused. “He’s a bit of a player though Lib. He lives on the ranch, and I quite often see women leaving his place early in the morning….” She took a deep breath, looking over to Josh. “Let’s get this over with.”
I followed Savannah to the bar. Brody, Josh, and Mason were chatting and didn’t see us coming. Savannah tapped Brody on the shoulder, and he turned around, kissing her on the cheek.
“Hey, you’re back. What do you want to drink?” He asked looking between Savannah and me.
“Vodka and coke for me, please. Diet Coke Lib?” She asked me.
“Yes please,” I responded looking up to Brody. I looked across to Mason and saw that he was looking at me with a smirk on his face.
“And who do we have here, Savannah? I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of meeting your friend before?” Mason spoke to Savannah but never took his eyes off me. As gorgeous as he was I was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable, but God was he gorgeous. Now I was up close I could see that he had the most amazing green eyes and just the right amount of stubble on his face.
“This is our cousin, Libby,” Savannah told him. “She’s staying with us on the ranch for a few weeks. Libby this is Mason.”
“Hi,” I said, holding out my hand for him to shake. He didn’t shake it, though. Instead, he pulled it to his mouth, his lips brushing my skin. “Hi, sweetheart.” He whispered. Goosebumps travelled up my arm, and I felt my face flush again. He must have noticed my reaction as I heard him chuckle. I quickly pulled my hand away and dropped my head.
Brody turned from the bar and handed me my drink. “Thanks,” I muttered feeling like an idiot.
“Hey! Don’t I get an introduction?” I heard a voice say.
“Erm sure,” Savannah said. It was her turn to blush this time. “Josh, this is Libby, our cousin from England. Libby this is Josh, Brody’s best friend.”
Again, I put my hand out for him to shake. He too pulled it to his mouth and kissed it. Maybe it was a southern thing, and all the men here did it. I’d have to ask Savannah later. What I did know was that my body didn’t react to Josh kissing my hand like it had when Mason had kissed it. Savannah had told me that Mason was a player and after all the heartbreak I’d seen Mia go through, someone like Mason was the last person I should be attracted too.
I turned my attention to Savannah who was sipping her drink and stealing glances at Josh. I put my hand on her shoulder and spoke in her ear. “Shall we dance?” I asked her. She nodded her head as she finished her drink, reaching between Josh and Brody to put her glass on the bar.
“We’re going to dance Brody. Thanks for the drinks.” She told him.
“We’ll be keeping an eye on you.” He told us. “Stay where we can see you.”
“Brody we’re not twelve, we’ll be fine.” She dismissed his request rolling her eyes.
“Savannah.” He said sternly.
“Fine!” She threw her hands up in the air. “We’ll be right there then.” She pointed to the edge of the dance floor which was in full view of the three of them.
She pulled on my arm, and I turned to follow her, catching Mason’s eyes which were still on me. My stomach fluttered, and I gave him a small smile as I headed to the dance floor.
“God, Brody is so annoying!” Savannah moaned to me. “I swear he still thinks I’m a child!”
“Jack’s the same,” I told her laughing.
“What was that back there with Mason?” Savannah asked me smiling. “I saw how he was looking at you.”
“Nothing, he was just saying hi. I’m not interested if he’s a player. That’s the last thing I need.”
“You like him, though don’t you?” She pushed.
“I’m not blind Savannah, he’s gorgeous, but if he’s a player like you say, then he won’t be interested in me. I can’t give him what he wants.” I shrugged my shoulders swaying my hips to the music.
“Well, he hasn’t taken his eyes off you since he kissed your hand.” She smirked at me looking over my shoulder towards the bar.
“What?” I asked spinning around. I looked over towards the bar, Savannah was right, Mason was still watching me. He lifted his drink in the air and smiled at me. My stomach fluttered again and I found myself smiling back at him. I’d waited a long time to feel this kind of attraction to someone, and there was no way I could deny the pull I felt towards him. I’d spent hours trying to convince Mia not to fall for the bad boy type. If what Savannah had told me was right, I was doing the exact thing I’d told Mia not to do. I wouldn’t let anything happen between us, though. I couldn’t get hurt. I didn’t think my heart could stand it.
I spun back around to face Savannah. “Like I said, he’s probably only after one thing, he won’t be getting it from me.” I wasn’t sure if I was trying to convince myself or Savannah.
“Enough about Mason, didn’t you see Josh staring at you while we stood at the bar?” I asked her, guiding the subject away from me.
“He wasn’t staring at me. He barely spoke to me…” She trailed off. “And he’s definitely not staring at me now.” She said turning her back to the bar.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Josh talking to a pretty blonde girl. There was also a girl hanging off Mason, and he didn’t look like he minded. I turned back to Savannah not wanting to watch, hating the jealousy bubbling in my stomach. I had no right to feel jealous. I’d only just met him. I didn’t even want to like him.
Savannah had moved further into the centre of the dance floor, and I went over to join her. It wasn’t long before we’d caught the attention of two guys who began dancing closely with us. I saw Savannah look back towards the bar before she flung her arms around the shoulders of one of the men, slow dancing with him. His friend made his way over to me.
“Hi, darlin. You want to dance?” He asked.
“Sure, why not,” I replied linking my arms around his neck. “I’m Libby,” I told him.
“Chase.” He said in my ear. “You’re a long way from home? What are you doing here in Marble Falls?”
I didn’t get a chance to reply as I felt someone tapping my shoulder. I turned to see Mason standing behind me.
“Mind if I cut in?” I heard him ask Chase.
“Actually, I do,” Chase replied.
“Tough. She’s with me.” Mason told him, pulling me out of Chase’s arms and into his own. His arms looped my waist, and I instinctively reached up and put my arms around his neck. My head came level with his chest, and I rested my forehead there. He smelt incredible, a mixture of aftershave and soap. “I think the lady’s made her choice.” I heard him tell Chase, dismissing him.
I looked over to Savannah to see that she too was being taken out of her dance partner’s arms by Josh. I couldn’t tell what they were saying, but I could tell the conversation between them was heated.
I looked up to Mason, his eyes sparkling under the lights of the dance floor. He licked his lips, and my eyes instinctively dropped to his mouth, the corner lifting in a cocky smile as he watched me. That smile pulled me out of my Mason haze. I tried to push myself out of his arms, but he held me tightly. “What was that?” I asked him annoyed.
“What was what sweetheart?” He asked smiling at me.
“That!!” I gestured in the direction that Chase had gone. “I was dancing with Chase and then suddenly you turn up!” He’d let me pull away from him, and I crossed my arms across my chest glaring at him. “Well?”
He leaned in towards me, his face in my hair and his breath tickling my ear. “I decided I didn’t like seeing you in another man’s arms.” I shivered as I felt his lips on my ear.
Angry at my body’s reaction to him I tried to push him away. “Well don’t look then!” I screeched at him. “It’s not your decision to make, I don’t belong to you, Mason. We’ve only just met.”
He laughed, twirling a piece of my hair around his finger. “God, you’re beautiful when your angry baby.”
“I’m not your baby!” I turned and stormed off the dance floor. I was angry but turned on at the same time. I was frustrated by my reaction to him. I heard Savannah calling my name, and I stopped and turned, expecting to find her. Instead, I saw Mason right behind me with that cocky smile on his face again.
Savannah suddenly appeared beside me. “Libby, do you mind if we go? I think I’ve had my fill for tonight!” She asked me seemingly as angry as I was.
“With pleasure,” I told her linking her arm. “We haven’t spent much time with your friends. Let’s go and say goodbye before we go.”
We headed to the other side of the bar where the girls were still sitting at the same table. They had been joined by a few guys, and they looked like they were having a good time. We told them we were leaving and made our way outside. It was just after 11 pm, but it was still warm.
“Are we getting a taxi home, Savannah?” I asked. Before she could respond Brody and Mason had joined us outside the bar.
“No one is getting a taxi. I’ll drive you home. We’re all going to the same place” Brody announced.
Great! The last thing I wanted was to be stuck in a car with Mason. If I had a panic attack in front of him, I would be so embarrassed. I tried to get Savannah’s attention to let her know how uncomfortable I was. I soon realised I couldn’t get her attention without Mason and Brody knowing something was wrong.
“Can I sit in the front Brody?” I asked, ignoring Mason. “I get car sick in the back.” I didn’t, but I was able to control my anxiety better in the front. Being in the back brought back too many bad memories.
“Of course, Lib, the car is just down here.” Brody replied motioning down the street with his hand.
“Where’s Josh, Brody?” Savannah asked quietly.
“He’s gone home, he was mad about something. Couldn’t get him to tell me what, though.”
I grabbed Savannah’s hand, and she gave me a sad smile in response. I’d have to speak to her when we were alone and find out what had happened with Josh.
The ride home was thankfully uneventful, and I managed to control my breathing and avoid a panic attack. I’d noticed Mason giving me a funny look once or twice in the car. He’d sat behind Brody so could probably see my hands clasped tightly on my lap and my deep breaths in and out.
Savannah had fallen asleep on the way home, and Brody had carried her into the house leaving me alone with Mason. As he made his way over to me, I started to walk backward not stopping until my back hit one of the pillars holding up the porch. He stopped right in front of me, reaching up to tuck a loose piece of hair behind my ear. He leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. “Night sweetheart.” He whispered in my ear. “Sleep tight.” He turned and walked away leaving me standing by the porch, heart racing and palms sweating. I had a feeling it would take me a long time to fall asleep tonight.