his hand in my mouth. His eyes darkened as I sucked and wetted it in preparation for the salt. My eyes lifted to his through my lashes as I released him and moved to get the salt.
“Keep that up and we won’t be staying much longer.” A giggle escaped me. Clinking my shot glass with his, I gave a wink. That wasn’t such a bad idea. Together we licked up the salt, shot back the tequila and bit into the lime.
Corey shook his head and tipped back his Rolling Rock, doing everything possible to get rid of the taste of tequila. I, of course loved it and was ready for another one. It seemed all the women in my family were just born with our love of tequila.
“Don’t make me do that again.” Corey groused half-amused.
I laughed and shifted on my stool to lean in closer to him.
“But if I asked you to, you would—wouldn’t you?” He smiled around the mouth of his beer bottle. Once done, he pressed his alcohol flavored lips against mine. The taste of Corey mixed with my favorite beer was—yummy. When he pulled back I let my tongue roam my lips to savor any remnants of the combination.
“I would, but not without some kind of payment in return.”
I smiled; placing a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
We ordered another round of beer and continued talking about random things that held no real meaning. He filled me in on the latest funny thing that Sanders had done and I shared stories about the Inn. The best was when Corey dove in to talking about his sisters and their childhood. The absolute adoration he had for them was endearing. He shared the way they used to beg and plead until he finally agreed to play their games—whether it was house, Barbie’s, or some other made up children’s fantasy.
Corey very briefly mentioned his father left them so he quickly took up the ‘man of the house’ role. My heart lurched forward as I saw the broken expression that was normally well hidden, venture out at the mention of his dad. I longed to ask more and console his loss—a loss I could relate to my core, but it was clear he didn’t want to pursue that topic.
To lighten the mood I decided to tell absolutely ridiculous stories of the ‘Many Adventures of Dani and Gabby.’ We’d certainly caught ourselves in numerous embarrassing and hilarious situations over the years. Watching Corey absorb everything I said and react positively and with greater affection to my borderline crazy side, was addicting. A few hours into the night, my cheeks ached as a grin was permanently cemented across my face. During our time at the bar, Corey made sure to signal the bartender so we were never out of beer. I was so absorbed in our conversation, I lost count of how many I had, but now my body tingled with numbness and I felt fantastic. While Corey took a bathroom break I let myself take in the bar; the dance floor became more active and the DJ’s selection had greatly improved with songs that made my body want to move.
Right when Corey returned to his stool and placed a kiss on my lips, a number filtered into the room that I could not ignore. It was Salt N Peppa’s song “Push It” that made me jump off the stool with an overwhelming need to let the music flow through me. My hand wrapped around Corey’s wrist and I tried to drag him onto the floor with me. Amusement flickered in his eyes but he still turned me down. He did, however, promise a fresh drink would be waiting upon my return. Thankfully—courtesy of half a dozen or so Rolling Rocks—the courage and confidence pumping through my body sent me to the floor. Almost immediately I found a group of women around my age who knew the dance as well as I did. Together we reenacted the original video moves; people surrounding us cheered us on while we swayed smoothly to the beat.
A woman’s hand grabbed mine and together we danced and twirled to the pounding sound coming through the speakers pulling me into a bubble of musical bliss. The music eventually slowed down into K-Ci and Jojo’s song “All My Life,” which has always been one of my favorites. Whoever this DJ was—he was great—you could never go wrong with old classics. I wanted to stay and dance