Jenna nodded. They were supposed to meet up at the Magnolia Cafe on South Congress before Jenna hit the road. "But if Faith's sick, I won't see you tomorrow either."
"I'll make pancakes. Come to the house. I already told Tyree, and I'll text Nolan and Tiffany and everyone else. I can set Faith up in my bedroom with her videos if she's still sick, and we'll give you a banana pancake send-off."
"You sure?"
"Are you kidding? Not see you off? Not a chance. Ten o'clock?"
She nodded. The plan was to be on the road by noon, stay the night in Van Horn, the next night in Phoenix, then get to her new--sight unseen--apartment by mid-afternoon. She had a thermos for coffee, an ice chest for sandwiches, and a ton of playlists downloaded to her phone. She was as ready as she'd ever be, but no way was she leaving without seeing Brent and Faith and the rest of her friends.
"It sounds perfect," she said.
"Give Faith a kiss for us," Reece added. "We'll see you in the morning. I'll probably have to buy this one a few more beers if she's gonna believe that I can lead as good as you can," he added, hooking his thumb toward Jenna.
Brent chuckled. "Whatever works, man."
"Too many more beers, and you'll be carrying me onto the dance floor," Jenna said, in words that proved to be unfortunately prophetic.
She'd planned ahead for dancing, so she was wearing cowboy boots instead of heels, but even so, she wobbled a little on the way to Blue, Reece's truck. Not that he ever called it that--he swore it was silly to name a car--but Jenna and Blue had an understanding.
"You okay to drive?" she asked as she climbed in.
The corner of his mouth twitched. "I'll manage," he said, and she remembered that he was tonight's designated driver and hadn't touched a drop. That was okay. She'd drunk enough for the both of them.
She'd thought that she'd sober up a bit on the drive, but there was no traffic, and it was only a few miles from Sixth Street to the well-known dance hall on South Lamar. She leaned her head against the window and watched the scenery go by. The new construction downtown. The river glowing in the moonlight. The food trucks and small boutiques that had popped up south of the river.
The cool window on her forehead revived her somewhat, but she was still buzzed--and a little nauseous--when they arrived. By the time they'd pushed through the crowd and found Amanda and her guy-of-the-week, Jenna all but pounced on the basket of French fries that sat in the center of the table.
"Help yourself," Amanda said between bouts of laughter.
"She's a little lit," Reece said.
"Ya think?"
Jenna scowled at them both. "I'm Jenna," she said, introducing herself to the dark-haired guy with the chiseled jaw who sat beside her friend.
"Easton," he said, in an accent she couldn't place, but that she thought might be from the Northeast. "Great to meet you. Sorry it's right before you're leaving."
"My big send off," she said.
Lawyer, Amanda mouthed, when Easton turned to shake hands with Reece. She waggled her eyes, and Jenna was still laughing when the men turned back.
"Something funny?" Reece asked.
"Nope," Jenna said, sharing a quick grin with Amanda before grabbing Reece's hand. "Let's dance."
"Whatever the lady wants," Reece said, then nodded at Easton. "You two coming?"
"I grew up in Connecticut, and even with four years of undergrad and three years of law school in Austin, I still can't manage the two-step."
"We won't hold that against you," Amanda said. "Come on. I can lead."
Easton went without further protest, which scored him bonus points as far as Jenna was concerned. Maybe Amanda had found a good one.
As for her and Reece, any lingering disappointment that Brent couldn't be there faded within seconds of hitting the dance floor. Technically, Jenna supposed that Brent was the better dancer of the two. But in Reece's arms it didn't matter, because despite her tendency to trip over her own feet, she felt on fire, suddenly certain that she couldn't miss a step even if she tried.
Somehow, they fit, and with his hand firmly at her back, they moved in a silent, perfect rhythm that had her heart beating and her body thrumming. From exertion, of course--what else could it be?--but even so, when they'd finally exhausted themselves and stopped for a drink, she stepped away quickly, a little unnerved by how much she didn't want to break contact.
&nbs