A broad smile crosses his face just as the first beats of Ginuwine’s “Pony” begins to play. His hands are on my hips as we begin to move. It only takes a few beats for us to find our rhythm. Finding the give and take of our hips. He thrusts forward; I thrust back. Lance has got some moves and I’m enjoying them. I turn, placing my back to his front, as he snakes his arms around my waist. I raise my arms in the air and wave my hands from side to side. Lance thrusts forward. Taking the hint, I grind back against him as we fall right back into rhythm in this new position.

Lost in the moment, Lance places his head in the crook of my neck. I can feel his hot breath against my already heated skin. I lean my head back against his chest, allowing him better access. I don’t know why I do it, but I open my eyes. Standing in front of me is Maxton and the girl from the bar. Her back is facing me, which means I have a direct line of site to Maxton. Our eyes lock, neither one of us willing to look away. The image of his smirk comes to my mind and I want him to know he doesn’t affect me. I want him to know what his cocky ass is missing out on. I bring my arms down behind my head and wrap them around Lance’s neck. I exaggerate the sway of my hips as I rock against him. My eyes never leave Maxton. His jaw clenches and it takes everything I have to not let the smile break across my face. Take that!

Childish behavior, yes I know. I also know that guys like him deserve a taste of their own medicine. The beat changes as My Darkest Days’ “Porn Star Dancing” blares from the speakers. Lance places his hands on my hips and spins me to face him. He pulls my body tight against his and we again find our rhythm. I don’t know if Maxton is still behind me; I don’t know if he’s watching. I do know I want to continue to give him a show. I twist my hips and bend my knees as I lower myself to the floor. My hands are resting on Lance’s hips. I hope it looks like I’m using him as my stripper pole. As I work myself back up, Lance moves in as close as he can and we sway our hips to the beat. I straddle one of his legs and just let go. I clear my head of worry and sadness. I just feel the beat of the music and enjoy holding onto the muscular arms of my dance partner.

The song ends and a slow one begins. I gently pull away from Lance and look toward the bar. I’ve managed to work up a sweat. “Let me buy you a drink,” he says over the music.

It’s so loud I nod my agreement. Lance places his hand on the small of my back and leads me to the bar. I perch myself on a stool while Lance stands behind me. He’s close; I can feel the heat radiating from him. “What can I get you?” he asks.

“Just water. Thanks.”

Holding up two fingers, he says, “Waters,” once he has the bartender’s attention.

After guzzling half of my bottle of water, I survey the crowd. I’ve lost track of Nicole and Brighton. I finally spot them heading back to our table. “Hey, I need to go check in with my friend; would you like to join me?” I ask Lance. I’m having a good time with him. He’s gorgeous and has killer moves. From what I can tell, he’s a nice guy. He has yet to make a rude comment or hit on me. He’s exactly what I needed tonight.

“Lead the way, Kens,” he says, already adopting my nickname. He’s so laid back it’s refreshing.

After making our way through the crowd, I take my seat. Lance takes one of the two empties beside me. Brighton looks up and a bright smile crosses his face. “Lance, how the hell are ya?” He holds his fist out across the table. Lance meets him in the middle and they “bump.”

“Good, man. Just working, same old same old. I haven’t seen you out much lately,” he tells Brighton.

Brighton looks at Nicole and winks, almost as if Lance is confirming what he’s been telling her for months. That he’s been busy. “Yeah, Max has been renovating the bar, hiring new staff, things like that. We’ve been knee-deep in it for the past few months. Everything is finally back up and running, so I convinced him to take a night off from it all.”

“Max is here? I haven’t seen him,” Lance comments just as Max plops down in the vacant seat between Lance and Brighton.

“Hey, man, I was just asking about you. It’s been a while,” Lance addresses Maxton. He offers up his fist, Max half-heartedly returns the gesture.

I avoid making eye contact with either of them. Instead, I turn to Nicole. She immediately starts talking about me and Lance on the dance floor.

“You two were hot!” she says. Her shoulder bumps against mine as she winks.

Before I can even answer, Maxton raises his voice. “I need another beer.” Loudly, he scoots his chair back from the table.

Good riddance, asshole!

FUCKING LANCE. SERIOUSLY? She turned me down cold but was grinding all up on him. It’s bad enough I had to watch her sexy curves move against him. Had to watch him slide his hands against her flat stomach, bury his face in her neck. Watching the show has me frustrated, not even the warm willing blonde could get me to tear my eyes away from them. I can’t believe she brought him back to our table. She did it to rub it in my face, I’m sure. To make matters worse, her friend, Bright’s girl, just had to give us a play by play of how hot their little show was.

I’m standing at the bar waiting for my beer when Bright walks up. “What’s up?” He sounds more annoyed than concerned.

“Needed a drink, man.” My answer is clipped. I’m not in the mood to shoot the shit.

“If you say so,” he quips.

I don’t say anything else and neither does he as we wait for the bartender to deliver our drinks. I continue to pretend that Bright doesn’t know me better than I know myself.

Bright takes his drinks back to the table. I decide to take up residence at the bar. I’m pissed off that I’m letting this chick and her decision affect my night. So what if she turned me down; there are plenty others willing and able. I tell myself it’s because I haven’t been out in so long and her rejection hit my ego. Hell, I’ve never been turned down before. The feeling of rejection is not one I am accustomed to.

I feel a warm hand on the back of my neck. I can smell her, the blonde. She’s back and ready for whatever I’ll give her. I need the release; it’s been months. I pull a twenty out of my wallet and throw it on the bar. Standing from my stool, I snake may arm around her waist and bring my lips to her ear. “Ready to get out of here?” I breathe against her ear.

Her answering purr is all I need. I drag her out to my truck, sending Bright a message that I will be back to get him in an hour. I’ve had a few beers in quick succession, so driving for a while is not an option. Instead, I have blondie pull the truck around to the back of the building. It’s dark and secluded. Perfect for what we are about to do.

As soon as she parks the truck, she’s crawling across the seat and is straddling my lap. She leans down to kiss me and I turn my head. If you kiss them, they think it means more than what it actually is. It’s just a release. We’re just two consenting adults enjoying each other for a small amount of time. Women do whatever they can to get their claws in you and then you’re sunk. Hell, just look at my dad. My mother destroyed him. No way will that ever happen to me. I always have the upper hand. Speaking of that, I need to make sure she understands exactly what this is.

“Hey,” I say, grabbling ahold of her shoulders and pulling her body away from mine. I need her to look me in the eye. I need to be certain she knows the score. “This is just for tonight. I don’t want you to get any romantic ideas about us; this is just sex,” I say bluntly. If she changes her mind, I’m good with that.

She runs her hands up my abs and licks her lips before she says, “Just sex, got it. Now can we get to the sex part?”