Page 21 of Entangled With You

“Zach?” She stood on tiptoes. “Aw, Zach came to see me.” She smiled. “He’s the best.”

I hugged her and announced, “I’m so glad you're in my life,” crossing over into drunken love declarations.

A second later Zach snuck up behind her and swooped her in his arms and nuzzled into her neck. “Hey, girl.”

I turned to my guy. Magnus — hot, magnificent, but also, you could tell, kind of freaking out a little. Glancing at me in pieces, wincing at the lights and sounds. Trying to smile, but a little like a grimace. I put him out of his misery by throwing my arms around his neck, pressing up on him and saying, “I missed you.”

“I missed ye too.”

Zach leaned in. “We’re going to dance to two songs, then head home, cool?”

Magnus said, “Aye, tis okay with me, Chef Zach.”

Hayley danced over. “Are you ditching me?”

“I’m totally ditching you. See this hot guy in the skirt? He wants me. He wants to take me home. In a limo. So yeah, consider yourself ditched.” I grinned. "Besides, there’s another limo outside that will take you and the girls home.”

“If I go home!” She waved over her shoulder as she danced back to the floor.

I turned to Magnus. “Will you dance with me? We can do that swaying thing we did at our wedding reception before we were so rudely interrupted?”

“Nae, the music is much louder and faster, we should partake of some real dancin’, my lovely wife.”

“Oh we should, should we?” We wound our way to the crowded dance floor and faced each other.

“Ye put your arm up like this.” He ran a big hand up my side so that it was over my head. It was a sultry move, looking into my eyes, stroking up my skin — a ‘wanting me’ kind of move.

All around us jostling, gyrating people bumped and tousled. The music was hard and loud, the strobe lights flashing. I could only see him in tiny half-second beats.

He said, “Now put yer leg out like this and a hand on yoer hip. Then we...” He began hopping with his leg kicking out, so awkward and silly. I started giggling.

I kicked my leg in and out and did a couple of spinning pirouettes, not beautiful like my former dancing days, but passable and dorky. His hand on my hip, we jumped and jostled and occasionally clung to each other when people in the crowd bumped too close. It was aerobic and sweaty and hilarious. When the song wound down I threw my arms around his neck. “I love you so much.”

“Aye, ye must, or my dancin’ would have scared ye away. Tis nae as wiggly as the others.”

Another song started. I yelled, “One more!” and we did it again, more, faster, until finally near the end of the song, he shook his head.

“The ribs are achin’ a bit, Kaitlyn, I need tae rest.”

I pulled him through the pressing crowd to the back of the room. A second later Zach and Emma appeared and a moment later we were all outside climbing into the limo.

Magnus helpfully pointed out, “We have beer.”

“That’s so upscale, we had champagne.”

He drunkenly opened two bottles.

Emma and Zach passed because as Emma put it, “I planned to stay out later than this but now that we’re headed home I really want to see Ben.”

Zach said, “Me too.”

“Want us to pick him up in the limo on the way home?”

Emma laughed, “Yes, but not actually, I’m not crazy. I want to go home for a little while without Ben, then call grandma and make her get up in the middle of the night to bring him to me. She promised she would. That way I get the best of all worlds.” She snuggled under Zach’s arm.

“Wait! What’s this?” I spied a can of spray cheese in the fridge. “Spray cheese!” I asked Magnus, “Did you have some?”

Zach answered, “Michael brought it, I wouldn’t let him serve it. It’s gross.”