Frankie started doing a super awkward hip-thrusting move that was drawing way too much attention, but I couldn’t quit laughing. She didn’t stop either. Not until I was clenching my belly and had almost completely forgotten about Carson.
Because that was the kind of friend she was.
“Hey there, cowgirls.”
Frankie and I both stopped laughing and looked up at Eli Scott. I knew who he was because almost everyone did, but I had never spoken to him before.
“Hi,” Frankie said dismissively and reached out for my hand.
But Eli’s attention stayed on me. “It’s Allie, right?”
“Yeah.” I nodded as I answered.
“I thought so.” He grinned, and I had to admit that it did something to his face that made him even more handsome than before. “If your girl wouldn’t mind me cutting in, I’d love to dance with you.”
As soon as the words passed his lips, a much slower song with a heavy beat rang through the speakers. Frankie squeezed my hand. I didn’t know if she was telling me to say no or yes, but I knew what I wanted to say.
“I’d love to.”
I pulled my hand away from Frankie’s and placed it in Eli’s outreached one. He tugged me toward him gently until my chest pressed against his, and I let my body move with his to the music. He was much better at this than I would have guessed.
“I love your costume, by the way.” He tipped the front of my cowgirl hat with the tip of his finger before he let it trail down my back and rest there.
“Thank you.” I smiled, but I couldn’t keep the thoughts of what Carson had to say about it at bay. Here I was dancing with this guy who was far too attractive for his own good, and I was still thinking about what Carson had said. “And what exactly are you supposed to be?”
I leaned away from him slightly so I could get a good look at his costume. He was dressed in a dark dress suit with a vest included, and he wore a flat cap on his head that covered most of his sandy brown hair.
“Thomas Shelby.” He looked down at me like I was supposed to somehow know who that was. “From Peaky Blinders.”
“I’ve never seen it.” I shrugged, and he pressed one of his hands into his chest.
“It’s only the best show ever.” He sounded offended that I hadn’t seen it. “I guess I know exactly what we’re going to have to do on our first date.”
My stomach flipped at his words, and I couldn’t stop the stupid grin that I knew was taking over my face. Eli Scott was hot, and I didn’t know how to react to him suddenly being interested in me. “I don’t remember agreeing to a date.”
“Are you sure?” He cocked his head to the side and pulled me in closer to him so our bodies were touching.
He was staring down at me like I had never been looked at before. I didn’t have much experience when it came to guys, but I knew one thing for sure. The look he was giving me was one of want. Having someone look at me with such an open and easy desire was overwhelming and so attractive.
“I could have sworn you just asked me to introduce you to Peaky Blinders.”
“What if I hate it?” I asked as he continued to sway us to the music.
“Then we’ll have to end it right then and there. We could never go on after that.” He was so playful and charming, and I felt light dancing in his arms.
“I feel the same way about Gilmore Girls, you know?”
He curled his top lip, and I laughed. “Does that mean we’re going to have to binge-watch it after Peaky Blinders?”
“Only if you plan on getting serious,” I joked because I knew that nothing was probably going to come of this after tonight, but it was nice to pretend.
Just for a few minutes, I could imagine myself curled up on a couch with him watching whatever he wanted to watch and begging my heart to slow down. I wanted that. I wanted it far more than I realized.
“It’s a date then.” He stepped back as the song ended and brought my hand to his mouth. He pressed a gentle kiss to the back of my hand and winked at me. “Next Tuesday, we’ll meet up at six.”
“Okay.” I nodded as I stared at my hand that was still near his mouth.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to me.
“Give me your number so I can text you.”
I typed it in without hesitation, then watched as he typed in Gorgeous Cowgirl before saving it.
“I’ll let you get back to your friends.” He nodded over my shoulder, and when I turned around, I spotted the entire group along the edge of the room, including Carson. He was staring daggers at the two of us, but I attempted to avoid his gaze altogether. Eli pushed my hair over my right shoulder as he leaned forward and whispered, “I’ll see you on Tuesday.”
Goose bumps trailed down my arms. Then just like that, he was gone.
“Excuse me, but he’s hot.” Josie was watching me as I stepped up beside her.
Carson scoffed, but I ignored him.
“He is.” I couldn’t stop smiling. “He’s charming too.”
“You girls have really poor taste in men.” Olly rolled his eyes at us.
“I’m dating your best friend, remember?” Josie asked.
“I do” —Olly nodded his head dramatically— “and he’s about as charming as a wet noodle.”
“I can hear you, asshole.” Beck was far from offended. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Josie and nuzzled his face into her neck. From the details Josie had shared with me, Beck was more than charming.
“It seems that you have really poor taste in friends then, Olly, because you’ve somehow managed to pick two charmers.” Olly laughed at my comment, but Carson didn’t. Instead, he cocked his head to the side and studied me. I tried to avoid looking at him at all, but he was so unnerving.
“You picked me as your friend once upon a time too, remember?”
I was shocked by his comment. Carson had said plenty to me over the years, but he never brought up the past. I had almost convinced myself that we didn’t have one.
“I do.” I nodded and memories of us bombarded me. Memories of how much I used to care for him and how close we used to be. It was the memories of him that made me feel anything at all for him anymore. “And look how that ended for me.”
I could feel everyone watching us, but suddenly, I didn’t care. I was desperate for Carson to say something more, to be mean if that’s all he was capable of. I just needed something more.
He had become a master of hiding his emotions, and I used to be able to read them so well. I would give anything to be able to see past that mask he wore these days.
“You ended up exactly where you wanted to be, Allie.” His fingers skimmed over his jaw as he talked to me, and I couldn’t stop myself from watching every inch of the movement. “Don’t forget that you’re the one who put yourself there.”
He was so full of crap. I didn’t put myself anywhere. I was his friend, I was in love with him, and he had dropped me like I was nothing.
“That’s not how I remember things.” I balled my hand into a fist. “But of course, that’s how you do. You’ve never done anything wrong in your life, Carson. Have you?”
“Besides ever wasting my time on you?” He looked up at the ceiling like he was thinking and hadn’t just wounded me to my core. “No. I don’t think so.”