But as I watch her now, happily dancing with the rest of the girl-crew… her head thrown back, laughing and bouncing around… I know her lack of friends wasn’t from a desire to avoid friendships. I think it was a lack of options for her at that point in her life.
“Your girl has some moves,” Hunter says as he nudges my shoulder and cocks his heard toward the dance floor.
Oh, if only he really knew the extent of her moves.
“She’s having a great time,” I agree.
“Things going well with her?” Hunter asks, and this catches Brody and Gavin’s attention for some reason, and they step in closer to hear my answer.
Looking at my buds, I can’t help but give them a little sneer. “What is this… a girlie-gossip session?”
“Hey man,” Brody says with a punch to my shoulder… that sort of hurts, “we’ve all fallen hard. We’re just waiting for you to do the same.”
“So… what’s the deal with her?” Gavin asks as he twirls the Scotch in his tumbler. The entire gang drinks beer except for Gavin.
“She’s amazing,” I say as I cut my eyes between them and the girls dancing on the floor. The last strains of Animal by Maroon 5 fades, and then the band launches into a classic, Warrant’s Cherry Pie. “Sucks she lives so far away.”
My words are simple and short, but they pretty much sum up the situation, and all three of the guys sort of nod their head in agreement.
We all fall silent, because when men do decide to gossip, we are emphatically short about it. Sipping at our drinks and watching the women dance, I realize that I am really, really happy to be back home. I knew that being immersed undercover is always a drain on one’s psyche, but I didn’t realize how much of my personal happiness comes from the mere fact that I live in a beautiful place where I grew up, work at a fulfilling career, and I’m surrounded by friends and a loving family. I didn’t realize how much I actually need that in my life… not until I came out tonight and truly reconnected with my friends.
“Damn, your girl can seriously dance,” Brody says, clasping onto my shoulder and ogling Andrea on the dance floor.
Yup… Andrea’s putting a bit of sexy into her dancing. Grasping the material of her long dress, she pulls it up a bit higher. Nothing indecent but enough to see just above her knees. Her hips gyrate fluidly, her hands release her dress to come up into her hair, and she looks like a goddess out there.
And what the fuck… Casey and Gabby are now lined up beside her, watching Andrea’s movements. They’re talking… asking for pointers, and Andrea is now apparently giving them dance lessons.
I wonder if I let Brody and Gavin in on the secret that Andrea knows how to strip if they’d want her to give the girls lessons. I’m betting the answer would be a resounding YES!
While it doesn’t bother me that my friends are ogling how sexy Andrea is, because I know they would never make a move on her, I don’t particularly like how she’s gotten the attention of many of the other male patrons. A few men make their way onto the dance floor and start dancing closer to the girls. They hang back a bit, content for the moment to keep their eyes pinned on Andrea’s ass and the way her hips are moving.
She’s oblivious to it all, rather concentrating on showing Alyssa, Gabby, Casey, and Savannah some dance moves.
Two men, who I can tell are quite drunk, move in a bit closer. They keep looking at each other with leering grins before staring back at Andrea’s body.
“Dude… you going to do something about that?” Hunter says as he nods out toward the guys inching in.
“They make one step closer to Andrea and I am,” I growl.
I’m not sure Andrea would like me stepping in to defend her honor. I know if one of those guys touches her inappropriately, she’ll lay them out flat. I’ve come to quickly know that she’s tough as nails and actually takes pride in the fact she could handle this type of situation.
“Maybe I should just go have a word with them… in a gentlemanly way,” Gavin suggests with a grin, just to goad me.
“I’d totally go pound those guys into the ground,” Brody says wistfully. “But that would break my probation.”
One of the guys now moves in directly behind Andrea and is grinding air just inches away from her. Reaching out, I slap my water bottle into Hunter’s chest and he takes it from me. In three strides, I’ve reached my destination and with perfect timing as the dude’s hands reach out to grab Andrea by the hips.
Striking fast, I grab him by one wrist, bringing my other hand up and capturing his fingers, and then I bend them back toward his forearm.
I know, from training, that this causes immense pain and is an easy way to subdue someone.
The guy drops like a sack of bricks to his knees and shrieks. From the corner of my eye, I see Andrea whirl around to us, but I don’t take my attention off this guy. The band keeps playing, but the dancing all around us has stopped while everyone watches in interest.
Hunter’s bouncers on duty don’t make a move toward us. They know who I am and they won’t interfere.
Leaning down so I don’t have to shout above the music, I tell the guy who now has tears leaking out of the corners of his eyes, “You’re fucking lucky you didn’t touch her or I’d be breaking this wrist right now.”
“Fuck,” the guy wails. “You are breaking it.”
“Nah man,” I say as I get right in his face, pulling his fingers back just a hair more. “You’re just a pussy. Now I suggest you get up and move far away from these ladies. Understood?”