Chapter 6
“It still fits,” Willa said, pulling up the zipper on the back of Kate's dress. “Like a fucking glove,” she added with a satisfied nod as she stared at her friend's reflection in the mirror. Kate's body looked amazing in the form-fitted red silk and sleek black heels. The low, drape-style front of the dress was mimic low on her back and the straps were delicate and fine. She knew that a well-placed slip of a finger could have the dress on the floor around her feet in no time at all. Not that that's what this night was about. Or was it?
Had Hope's letter been a polite version of the “you need to get laid” conversation? Kate had wondered, and kind of agreed. It had been a while. Her last real relationship was in college and the handful of guys she'd dated since had never went far. The statistics about sexually transmitted diseases alone made her leery about random hook ups.
“How do I do this?” Kate asked as Willa touched up her make up. Courtroom chic and night-on-the-town chic were too very different things.
“Do what?”
“Go out. Be fun. Not be a stick in the mud.”
“You're going to be fine,” Willa said. “I remember Law School Kate being pretty fun.” After college, Kate, Willa, and Hope all shared a small house in the cheapest area they could find that was still safe in the city. Kate couldn't help but smile when she'd thought about all fun they'd had together. It was where she and Willa formed their love/hate relationship.
“Yeah, but Law School Kate wasn't trying to make partner.”
“Forget about that for tonight,” Willa suggested. “Let's just go have a few drinks. Maybe dance a little. You won't always look like that in a dress, Kate. Enjoy your tits being where they should be and not yet sagging for a night, huh?”
Kate laughed and nodded her head before Willa held it still and put a coat of gloss on her lips.
“That will stay all night,” she said. “No need to reapply.” Apparently her inner lip gloss salesman was still present.
“Thank you.”
“You bet!” Willa went over to the bag she'd hung on the back of Kate's bedroom door and took out her own outfit for the night. A sexy, blue jumpsuit that she belted with a thin gold belt that matched her heels.
“That's incredible,” Kate said. “Only you could pull it off, but it's gorgeous.”
“You think?” Willa looked at herself in the full-length mirror in the corner of the room. “I made it.”
“It's really pretty,” Kate said, admiring the craftsmanship. “I didn't know you could sew.”
“I can do a lot of things,” Willa said, looking over shoulder with a wink.
“I guess so.” Kate laughed.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Ready as I'll ever be.”
* * *
Concordia was just as crowded as Kate had expected it to be. She tucked her brown hair behind one ear as they walked into a large open room filled to max capacity. The entire back wall was a wine rack, complete with a library style ladder that stretched up two stories. There had to be at least a thousand bottles of wine. Sleek tables and chairs were scattered around the room and there was a small dance floor on the far end where a house band was providing the night's soundtrack.
“This place is happening,” Willa said loudly into Kate's ear as they made their way toward the table where Greyson, Vanessa, and Chris were waiting. Kate hadn't expected him to come. Not only did she have to go out of her element in a dress that made her feel over exposed, now she had make nice with him.
Great.
“Hi,” Greyson said, scooting over to allow Willa and Kate to stand at the table. “You two look great.”
“Thanks,” Willa answered for them.
“Did we seriously have to have a reservation to stand around a table?” Kate asked.
“That we did,” he told them.
“Isn't this fun?” Kate rolled her eyes, earning a chuckle from Greyson.
“It's really hard to get a reservation here,” Chris chimed in. “I've been trying for months.” Kate suddenly understood why he was there. Wearing a tan colored suit and a white t-shirt with his slicked back hair, he looked like he was auditioning for a reboot of Miami Vice.
“You have?” Vanessa asked, looking visibly surprised.
“Yeah, for work,” Chris told her dismissively. “I thought my clients might like it.”
“Clients?” Kate said. “Aren't you a dentist? You take clients at night?” She glanced at Vanessa, trying to read her expression. Surely she could see the lies written all over Chris's face. Surely she wasn't that blind.
“No, but I have colleagues that I like to impress. Running a business is about more than the day to day. You have to network.”
“Oh.” Kate tried not to roll her eyes. He was so full of shit she could smell it. She watched the skepticism wash over Vanessa and felt relief when Vanessa pulled Chris aside and started questioning him in private.
“Let's go get a drink,” Willa said, tugging Kate's arm.
“I'll join you,” Greyson said, quickly following the two women to the bar.
“How much you want to bet he wanted to bring another woman here?” Kate asked as they settled in front of the bar to order.
“You don't know that,” Willa defended. “Besides tonight is not about him, it's about you. See anything you like,” Willa said, directing Kate's attention to the crowd. “Any cuties catch your eye?”
“Was that in your letter? Get Kate laid?”
“Oh my God, no.” Willa's wide eyes were a sure sign of surprise, but Kate wasn't buying it. “It should have been.”
“Unbelievable.”
“What?” Greyson asked, handing each of the ladies a wine glass with the night's special in it.
“The prices in this place,” Kate said changing the subject. She loved Greyson and all, but discussing her lack of sex life was not something that they usually did.
“I'm buying tonight,” he said. “Least I can do for all the help you've all been to me over the past few weeks. I don't know what I would have done if I was alone.”
“You don't have to,” Kate said. “There's no place else any of us would rather have been,” she told him with a smile. A smile that hid the guilt that she wished she'd have done more since Hope passed. She made a mental note to be more present for her friends. It was one that she constantly made, but had yet to really find a balance with.
“We should probably get back to Ness,” Willa said, pointing out that Vanessa did not look like she was having a great time. As they approached the table her smile grew.
“You okay?” Kate asked Vanessa when they were back at the table.
“I am now,” she said. “He can't get off his phone long enough to even have a conversation.”
Kate looked at Chris who was letting his eyes flip back and forth from his phone screen to the crowd and bit her tongue. “Forget him. We'll have a good time.”
Vanessa shook her head, before the two of them joined Greyson and Willa's conversation. The wine kept flowing as the night went on and the four of them were having a great time. Kate didn't even protest when Willa and Vanessa pulled her onto the dance floor for a few songs.
“See you are fun!” Willa teased when the band announced that they were taking a thirty-minute break.
“I have my moments,” Kate said, tucking her arm through Vanessa's. “And you... Did you see how well your wife moves, Chris?” she said as they made their way back to the table.
“I saw,” he said, dismissively. “You about ready to go?”
“I guess,” Vanessa answered. She slipped her arm from Kate's and gave her and Willa quick shrug before she was following Chris out of the club.
“I know,” Willa said when Kate turned to tell her exactly what she thought of Chris.
“He didn't even tell Greyson thanks for the drinks. What an asshole.” Kate turned to get Greyson's thoughts on the night, but found instead the back of man blocking her view. Broad shoulders that tapered down to an ass that looked mighty fine in the jeans he was wearing. She trailed her eyes up to a head of dark thick hair. From behind, he was definitely worth a second look.
“Kate,” Greyson said, breaking her stare. “There's someone I'd like you to meet,” he said, the tall stranger turned to face her. And what a face it was. Dark eyes and strong features. Full lips with a grin already tugging at them. “Kate this is Deacon Yates,” Greyson said. “We went to college together.”
“Nice to meet you Kate,” Deacon said, swiftly taking her hand in his. For a split second she thought he might kiss the back of her hand—and she kind of wanted him to—but then she remembered what year it was. “I've heard a lot about you.”
“You have?” Kate said, feeling the need to compose herself. Every nerve ending in her body was on high alert. All of them begging her to scoot closer to him.
Close your mouth before you drool.
She cleared her throat when Deacon dropped her hand. “You know Greyson lies when he drinks, right?” Kate joked, hoping to slice the tension between them. It was a good kind of tension. A kind that Kate hadn't felt in a very long time, and completely overwhelming.
“For my sake, I hope he's telling the truth tonight.” There was deviousness to his smirk that intrigued Kate.
“What exactly did you tell him?” Kate said, looking over Deacon's shoulder at Greyson.
“Just how fantastic I think you are,” Greyson said. “Hey Will... let's get another drink.”
“Let's,” Willa agreed, giving Kate a waggle of her eyebrows as she walked away, urging her to keep talking to Deacon. With that Kate's buffers suddenly disappeared leaving her and Deacon alone.
“My friends are pushy,” she said, laughing nervously.
“I don't mind,” he said, leaning an arm on the table to close the distance between them. “After hearing Greyson sing your praises for twenty minutes and seeing you on the dance floor I'm more than happy to keep you company.”
“You were watching me dance?”
“How could I not?”
“I'm not the most graceful thing on two legs.”
“Looked pretty good to me,” he said, continuing to make Kate's heart race. “Looks,” he corrected.
“My view isn't too shabby either,” Kate said, feeling the wine in her system make her much more upfront than normal. “So tell me something about yourself, Deacon,” Kate suggested.
“What do you want to know?” he asked with a teasing grin.
“Everything,” Kate replied quickly. Flirting had never really been her thing, but he made it easy. And, Hope had told her to be spontaneous, right? She let her words tease and toy with the man standing in front of her until both of them were laughing and the casual exchange of hand touches and smiles were effortlessly floating between them.
“That could take all night,” he replied, as the band picked up their instruments and began their next set with an upbeat number, complete with a drum solo in the front that drowned out his words before they hit Kate's ears.
“What?” she said, leaning in to hear her as the music and crowd noise increased. She leaned in closer to him. The spicy, clean scent of him nearly causing her to lose focus altogether. His hand went to the top of her arm as the stood almost nose to nose in the crowded space.
“That could take all night,” he said into her ear. She could almost feel his lips on her skin and man did she want to. Especially when he was saying things about all night in her ear. Who was this guy? It was something Kate desperately wanted to find out. “You want to get out of here?” Normally, Kate would have held her hand up and demanded that a guy back off, but something about this night felt different. Maybe it was the alcohol. Or the dress. Or the sinfully sexy man standing in front of her. Or perhaps, it was Hope's words running on a loop in her head.
Live a little.
“Yeah, I think do.”