Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 103159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 413(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 413(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
After finding out what everyone wanted, Dustin and Ryan went to the bar to get drinks.
I glanced across the table and smiled at Kipton. “Crazy date, huh?”
She smiled and nodded. “Your mother and I really wanted to know what Sarah was going to say before she was cut off.”
My eyes went wide. “You made my mother watch the Truth Booth?”
“Oh shit,” Rose uttered, shaking her head at me. “You done messed up now, cuz.”
A look of anger moved across Kipton’s face, and I swore her eye twitched. “I didn’t make your mother do anything. She was the one who wanted to watch it.”
“I asked her not to.”
It was Rose’s turn to correct me, apparently. “No, you told her not to watch the dates. You didn’t say anything about the Truth Booth. And man, Sarah had me fooled. I liked her at first.”
I nodded. “Me too.”
Kipton glanced toward the dance floor. “I’d love to dance…”
Rose laughed. “Honey, don’t worry. I give it three minutes before someone asks.”
Blushing, Kipton pushed Rose lightly on the shoulder. When I looked to the left, I saw Monty Peterson making his way toward our table. I knew he wasn’t going to ask Rose; she couldn’t stand the guy. That meant he was about to ask Kipton to dance.
I quickly stood and moved between them.
“Want to dance?” I asked. She glanced up with a surprised expression. “Unless you don’t want to dance with me.”
“No. I mean…” She looked at Rose, who smiled and turned away. When she met my gaze again, she smiled sweetly. “Yes, I’d love to dance, thank you.”
I reached for her hand, helping her up. Once she turned, I placed my hand on the small of her back and led her to the dance floor. As we passed Monty, I shot him a better luck next time look.
The song changed to a slow tune as we walked to an open area. With a wicked smile, I drew her into my arms. The way Kipton fit against my body was pure perfection.
“I’ve never heard this song before,” Kipton said, her blue eyes meeting mine.
“Really? It’s one of my favorite groups, oldie but goodie.”
She shook her head. “Who’s the group?”
“Lifehouse. The song’s called ‘You and Me.’”
All she did was nod before she moved her gaze to stare at my chest.
“Are you nervous to dance with me, Kip?”
Her head snapped up, and she laughed. “Why would I be nervous to dance with you?”
“You suddenly seem shy.”
With a roll of her eyes, she replied, “I think you have me confused with one of the contestants.”
That caused my smile to fade. “That’s impossible.”
A look of hurt appeared on her face.
“I didn’t mean that in a bad way, Kip.”
She waved off my words and looked around the dance floor.
“Speaking of…are the dates planned ahead of time?”
Looking back at me with wide eyes, she replied, “Yes! You figured that out today too?”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “You didn’t know?”
She shook her head. “I had no idea, but when I saw the horses ready to go for the ride, I knew there was no way. I asked Jack, and he said they had to plan ahead of time or they wouldn’t be able to pull some of them off. He also told me all the tokens in the bucket say the same thing.”
“Do they pick the girls as well?”
“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “He did swear to me they don’t do that. I believe him.”
We danced in silence for a bit before the song changed to a faster one. “Do you know how to two-step?”
She mock gasped. “Of course, I do. Six years of dance classes. I can do any dance you throw at me.”
“Is that a challenge?” I asked with a grin.
Winking, Kipton replied, “Only if you want it to be!”
I took her hand, lifted it, and spun her around while she let out a laugh that felt like it went straight to my heart.
“Can you do the jitterbug?” she yelled over the music.
“The jitterbug?” I asked with a laugh.
She moved closer to me and stood on her tiptoes to speak directly into my ear. “Also called the country swing?”
When I shook my head, Kipton’s smile grew bigger.
The next two dances were a sad attempt on my part to learn how to do the jitterbug, or the country swing, whichever you wanted to call it. But I’d never had so much fun dancing with anyone like I did with Kipton. It was clear she danced a lot, and she laughed a lot while trying to instruct me, but never in a frustrated or exasperated way.
After dancing at least five songs, Kipton called out, “I’m thirsty!”
I guided her off the dance floor and back to the table. We all soon fell into easy conversations. I liked seeing how easy it was for Kipton to fit in, especially with my sister. I had no idea why that was important to me, maybe because she was my friend, and I wanted my family to like her as much as I did.