Dark Shadows (Gia Santella Crime Thrillers Book 11), Kristi Belcamino [ereader with dictionary .TXT] 📗

A year ago, Nico had gotten finicky and violent, so they’d moved him into the supervised section of the memory care home. That mean we slept in separate beds. Most of the time he didn’t know me, so hugging and kissing was out of the question. Back then, most of the time, he’d been pissed off at the world. Over time, he grew physically weaker, but we’d never again share the intimacy of our bodies touching. I had no idea how much I missed being touched until I wasn’t.

But on the crowded dance floor, we all rubbed against one another without judgement or offense.

A black man with an infectious smile and hard body soon became my only dance partner, matching my every move. Oh, he would do just fine. If he moved like that on the dance floor, I could just imagine him in bed. Holy fuck. We danced together until I thought I would faint. Finally, he leaned over and said in a soft, French-accented voice, “May I get you a water? I’m parched.”

“Yes, please,” I said and followed him off the dance floor. I was relieved. I was dehydrated and exhausted but wasn’t going to leave the dance floor for anything. Until he said something.

“Jean Pierre,” he said as we got to the bar.

“Gia,” I said and grinned. “You are an impressive dancer.”

I took him in now under the brighter lights of the bar. He was hot.

He saw my appraising glance and gave me a wry grin, and I knew he’d picked up on everything I’d been thinking.

“My boyfriend is a professional dancer so it’s nice to hear that.”

I was dismayed at the disappointment that coursed through me.

I laughed out loud. “He’s a lucky guy,” I said.

Jean Pierre gave a bashful smile and shrug.

We stood sipping sparkling water and watching his friends dominate the dance floor. They were all incredible dancers.

“You all gay?” I finally said.

“Yes.”

I laughed again. Now I knew for sure—my gaydar was broken.

This time he joined me. “You looking for company?”

“It’s complicated,” I said. “But yeah, I guess I am.”

He nodded and smiled. “Honey, I’m sure you won’t have any problems finding someone. Easy as can be, doll.”

I clinked my glass against his and said, “But it won’t be easy to find someone like you, Jean Pierre.”

“That is very true.”

I ordered another tequila, which Jean Pierre insisted on paying for, and was just finishing it when he looked at his phone and then at the dance floor. His friends were over at a table.

“We are leaving now. We have another club calling our name apparently. Would you like our table? They are hard to come by this time of night.”

I looked around. It would be nice to sit and watch people for a while before I hit the dance floor again. I needed a few more drinks.

“You bet,” I said.

I’d just settled into my table when I saw the two girls from the line walk by. They were carrying drinks. They were with four other people. It looked like they were searching for an empty table. The blonde was scowling, which I was starting to think was her regular expression.

The table I was at was massive. It could easily fit all of them and me, too, with room to spare. I wanted to make up for any bad feelings that little blonde felt about me. I was so over bitchiness between women. My goal, especially after raising Rose, was to encourage female solidarity wherever and whenever I could.

The brunette spotted me and quickly looked away. I felt bad. Did she feel like a traitor if she smiled at me? I was so glad to be past all that weird female bitchiness.

The first step was to share my table.

Even though the blonde wouldn’t look at me, one of the young men she was with did meet my eye as they passed. I lifted my finger and crooked it toward him. He looked behind him to make sure I meant him, and then he came over, tossing his long bangs nervously.

“Hey,” I said and gave him a smile. He might be the fuck boy I was looking for after all.

“Hi,” he said back.

“You guys looking for a place to sit?”

The music was loud so he leaned down, putting his ear close to my head. I brought my lips close to his ear and repeated it. He drew back and stared at me for a second as if he didn’t understand what I was saying.

I tilted my head toward the rest of the empty booth.

He gave me a slow smile and then took off toward the direction where his friends had gone.

A few seconds later, they all trudged back, with the blonde bringing up the rear.

I smiled at her and her alone.

“Hi,” I said to her.

She stared at me for a few seconds before she said it back.

I stood and let them in and then flagged down the waiter. I handed him my credit card. “Whatever they want tonight is on me.”

I left my bag on the seat and went out on the dance floor, losing myself in the throb of the music and hot bodies around me until I had to come up for air again and go back to the table for water and more tequila.

They were all talking and laughing when I showed up but fell silent when I sat down.

I pushed the damp hair back from my face and smiled.

I took them all in. There were seven total.

From what I could tell, the guy with the floppy bangs was solo. Perfect.

His name was Conner.

He made the introductions by pointing each person out to me.

The pouty blonde was Amanda. The guy kissing her was Owen. He looked like a football player, stocky with short hair, broad shoulders, and big muscles.

The brunette was Hannah. Between Amanda and Hannah was Lucas, a tanned guy with sun-bleached hair. A tall, thin girl with sleek black hair pulled back