Chapter Two: Fun Kat

Fun Kat

If a fashion magazine and a flower shop had a baby, it would look like this reception, Kat thought to herself as she finally walked into the hotel ballroom. She set the garter down on the bride’s table before turning to observe the room. The ballroom was antique and beautiful to begin with, but Kat was fairly sure Renee had purchased every flower in the tri-state area. Roses dominated, but there were gardenias, lilies, orchids, hyacinth, and every other flower Kat could name. She didn’t want to think about what Bob had paid to clear the stock out of fifteen different flower shops.

She looked around, pretending to take in the decorations but really looking for Mr. Sexy-wink from earlier. The room was lit for mood, so it was difficult to see faces among the multitudes of flowers. Of course, because Kat had gone back home to get the forgotten garter, she was an hour late to the reception. Most of the food was eaten and the first dance was already well underway.

“At least I didn’t have to listen to the speeches,” Kat said to herself, making her way to the open bar. If she was going to find Mr. Sexy-wink, she wanted to have a little liquid courage in her.

Glasses of champagne sat ready for anyone to take them, so Kat grabbed one and downed it. Knowing Renee, it was probably a glass of champagne that deserved to be savored, like Dom Perignon or Cristal, but it just tasted like regular champagne to her. She set the empty glass down and picked up another, determined to go slower this time and actually try to taste a difference.

“Would you care to dance?” a male voice asked behind her. Kat turned to see Mr. Sexy-wink grinning at her.

She nearly dropped her champagne.

His eyes met hers and her heart stumbled, running up against her ribs and making her head spin. There was no way she could say no to anything those blue eyes asked of her.

“I’d love to,” she replied. She sounded like she was calm and in control, but she had no idea how she had managed to pull that off. She wanted to giggle and blush like a pre-teen girl, but somehow she was managing to play it cool.

He took her hand, making her heart do back-flips and somersaults. Music filled the room as he pulled her out onto the dance floor. A live band played swing music and all around her couples were dancing as if it were the 1920s.

Kat was most certainly not from the 1920s, and had no idea what she was doing. Suddenly, a dance didn’t seem like such a good idea. She knew that the one swing dance lesson she had taken three weeks ago was not near enough, especially now that she had the opportunity to be dancing with Mr. Sexy-wink. Three years of lessons wouldn’t be enough.

She thought of running or coming up with some excuse that would mean she wouldn’t be stomping on his toes through a whole dance. No, she thought, taking a breath. Tonight is for fun. Dancing is fun. If he doesn’t like me because I can’t dance, then he isn’t worth my time. She wasn’t about to let herself down now.

She was Fun Kat tonight. Not Scaredy Kat, not Responsible Kat, and certainly not Running-away Kat.

Taking one last swig of champagne, Kat set the empty glass down on the closest table and grinned at Mr. Sexy-wink. She was going to show him a good time, even if she had to fake it. She knew she could do this.

The lights turned low on the dance floor as a new song started, sexy and slow. Kat wasn’t sure if she should be excited or nervous, but either way she was going to rock it. This wasn’t swing. This was blues dancing. It was a little like swing dancing, but much, much sexier. It was perfect for Fun Kat.

Mr. Sexy-wink pulled her in close to him, sliding his leg between hers to give him better control of her motions. He knew what he was doing. His masculine scent filled her nose. It was clean and musky at the same time, and Kat was sure she could smell it forever and never grow tired of it.

His body was hard under her hands, and he started to move her around the dance floor to the thrum of the sensual music. The man was a fantastic dancer. He pushed and pulled with his fingers, moving her effortlessly from one move into the next.

For her part, Kat just let her body do what came naturally. The beauty of the blues dance was that it was supposed to be sexy. She rolled her hips and let him guide her into spins that accentuated the flare of her dress. The champagne definitely helped remove any of her inhibitions.

As the song went on, their moves turned into pure sex on the dance floor. Kat was fairly certain that the way he was pulling her hips into his was illegal in several countries. Yet, it was still just dancing. Kat could only imagine what kind of a lover Mr. Sexy-wink was. If he was half as good in bed as he was out on the dance floor, she was fairly certain that he would blow her mind.

Far too soon, the music ended. Panting for more than just oxygen, Kat looked up into Mr. Sexy-wink’s face and was pleased to find his eyes dilated and fixed on her. The look of desire darkening his features heated her belly and sent blood rushing to places that had nothing to do with dancing. Another dance like that, and sweet, reliable Kat would be pulling Mr. Sexy-wink out into the hallway to find an empty room.

Instead of another slow and sexy song, the band picked up with a swing song that Kat had never heard before. Unfortunately, it was one that required Mr. Sexy-wink to remove his leg from hers and dance more traditionally.

He was just as good a dancer for the fast-paced swing song, and even though Kat had a harder time following some of his more complex moves, they were both laughing and grinning as he attempted to spin her through the air.

At the end of the song, they were both breathless again, but for a different reason this time. Kat hoped the band would play another sensual blues number, but they started up “Sing, Sing, Sing” by Benny Goodman.

“Care to take a break and get a drink?” Mr. Sexy-wink asked, wiping at the sheen of sweat on his brow.

“That sounds great,” Kat agreed. Sexy dancing or conversation with Mr. Sexy-wink were exactly what she wanted. As much fun as the fast paced song was to dance to, it wasn’t what she wanted. She could dance with anyone to this song, but she wanted to get to know the man more.

“I’m AJ, by the way,” Mr. Sexy-wink said, putting his hand on the small of her back and guiding her toward the bar.

“Kat.” She held out her hand and they formally shook. Kat felt a little silly being so formal, but she didn’t care. It was nice to have her hand in his. His grip was strong and his hand comfortable around hers. The little shiver of adrenaline from touching him directly was nice, too.

“What can I get you to drink?” AJ asked, leaning up against the bar. Most of the wedding guests were out on the dance floor, so the bar actually had enough space for them to come up and order drinks.

“Tequila. On the rocks,” Kat replied. Go big or go home, she thought to herself. No fruity, sugary drinks tonight. Champagne and tequila were all she needed.

AJ’s eyebrows raised. “Two tequilas,” he told the bartender.

For a moment, Kat thought about asking him if he wanted to do it as a body shot, but she looked around the room. Most people were in tuxedos and ball gowns. Despite sounding like a lot of fun, it wasn’t time yet. She’d just have to suggest it later, when it was more appropriate.

“How do you know the happy couple?” AJ asked, handing her a tumbler full of clear liquid.

“The bride and I have known each other since college,” Kat answered. She took a small sip and managed not to sputter. It was more bitter than she remembered. “How about you?”

“Professionally.”

Kat smiled. He was probably one of the country club boys who was friends with Bob. Given that AJ’s watch looked just as expensive as the one Bob wore, they probably did business together.

“What do you do then, AJ?” Kat asked. She liked how easy she was finding it to talk to him. Granted, they were still conversing in small talk, but there were no awkward pauses or scrambling to find a subject.

“I get paid to sign paychecks and sit in a fancy office,” he answered with a shrug. “It’s really not that interesting.”

Kat grinned. He had to work with Bob, then. That was exactly what Bob said when asked about what he did. Bob said it was because no one wanted to hear about braces and running a business.

“So what do you like to do that isn’t signing paychecks, then?” Kat asked, taking another small sip of tequila.

“I swim.” He grinned at her and took a sip of his own drink.

“Competitively, or just for fun?” Kat took in his swimmer’s shoulders and lean physique. He must swim a lot.

“Both, though I don’t have the time to be on a team because of work,” he told her. “But I do try and push the limits.”

“There are limits for swimming?” Kat raised her eyebrows, and teased him. “If you aren’t racing, then what? Holding your breath?”

He narrowed his eyes at her, but still smiled. “Like swimming the English Channel.”

“You swam the English Channel?” Kat cocked her head to the side. “You should have just led with that.”

“It’s not something that I tell everyone. It must be the tequila,” he replied, tipping his glass toward her and grinning. “I don’t think I’ll do it again, though. Too cold.”

“Wow.” Kat grinned at him. He could be completely lying to her. He could just be making it all up to impress her. Either way, it was working. She was impressed. There weren’t many people in the world that could claim to have taken a swim like that.

“What about you?” AJ asked. “What do you like to do, besides swing dancing?”

Kat chuckled and felt her face blush. He wasn’t sure if he was teasing her or complimenting her. “Well, I wouldn’t say I’m much of a swing dancer. I’m more of a ‘give it a try even if you know you’ll suck at it’ kind of dancer.”

AJ smiled in approval. “I like that. But to be fair, you really didn’t suck at dancing. I was actually pretty impressed.”

Kat brought the half-full glass of tequila to her lips and drank down the rest, feeling the fiery liquid make its way down her throat. The spirits was quickly creating a rush inside of her and she could feel her inhibitions beginning to slip away.

“Thanks.” Kat held up the empty glass. “Another?”

AJ chuckled and shrugged. “Sure, why not? It’s a celebration. But don’t blame me if I get a little crazy on this stuff. Tequila and I go way back. It always gets me into trouble.”

Yes, “trouble” sounds like a whole lot of fun right now, Kat thought. I’d love to get into as much trouble as possible with this beautiful specimen of a man.

Her eyes moved up and down AJ’s body, watching him as he called the bartender over to order another drink. He leaned against the bar with one knee bent forward, causing his black dress slacks to pull tightly against his behind. She was starting to see that he was most likely not lying about the whole swimming thing. His muscular physique was obvious, even though he was fully clothed.

Kat tried to look away, but she couldn’t. Her gaze was fixated on him. Maybe it was the tequila or maybe it was Fun Kat, who had finally been let out of the bag. Regardless, there was an instinct in her that had taken over. If the room hadn’t been filled with people, she would have ripped his clothes off right there and had her way with him. She desperately wanted to see what Mr. Sexy-wink was capable of, and not just on the dance floor.

When AJ turned around with two more tequilas, he caught Kat looking at his rear end. He didn’t say anything, he just smirked and handed her the fresh drink. Kat’s face went red. She was caught. She took the tequila and held it in the air. She was embarrassed for staring, but decided not to be too hard on herself. Who wouldn’t have stared if that was right in front of them?

“Cheers?” Kat said, clinking her glass against his.

“Yes, cheers,” he responded.

They drank and Kat had to turn her head to the side as they swallowed, hiding her reaction to the clear liquid. She hadn’t had straight tequila since she was in college. Kat coughed and smiled as she set the glass down onto the bar.

“I thought the second one was always supposed to be easier,” she commented.

AJ nodded in agreement. “Yeah, me too. Apparently we were misinformed.”

Kat stood close to him and placed her hands onto his shoulders, bringing his attention solely to her. She wanted to claim him. To make sure that he knew her intentions. She was afraid that if she didn’t, he’d slip away and end up going somewhere else like the groomsman had earlier. She wasn’t about to let it happen twice in one day.

“Feel like another dance?” she asked, hoping she sounded seductive.

AJ’s hands dropped to her hips. Their bodies were close once again, only this time there was no blues or swing dancing going on. It was just the two of them standing there next to the bar. AJ’s eyes moved down to Kat’s lips and then back up, before he responded with, “Yeah, another dance sounds great.”

Kat’s heart pounded in her chest. She could barely believe that this handsome man was taking an interest in her. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, she thought as she looked over at Brian, the groomsman that had let her down.

AJ grabbed Kat’s hand and then turned around to lead them away. They took a few steps toward the dance floor when a group of three women walked up and stopped them in their tracks.

“Hi, AJ,” one of them said. “I’ve been waiting patiently for my turn to dance with you.”

The woman was gorgeous. Stunning. She had to be some sort of model. Kat wondered who had invited her, but given the high-society guest list of the event, she was probably some rich businessman’s daughter.

“I don’t remember promising a dance,” AJ responded charismatically. “But maybe later.”

The woman stood in front of him with her hands on her hips, cocking her head to the side. “Well, I’m not going anywhere until I get my dance, and that’s final.”

AJ chuckled and shook his head as he looked back at Kat.

“Go ahead,” Kat said. “Give the woman a dance.”

The woman was clearly drunk and Kat was finding her forwardness extremely amusing. The only reason she was okay with giving up a dance was because the song was half over. As soon as the next song started, she was going to use some of her new-found self-assertiveness and dance with AJ for the rest of the night.

She thought AJ was going to give the woman what she wanted just to get her to go away, but he didn’t. Instead, he said to her, “I’m sorry, but I’ve promised a dance to another lady.”

Then he took a step back so that he and Kat were standing side by side. He showed Kat off like a she was the supermodel and he was the geek getting to bring her to the prom. Kat had never felt so beautiful.

“I’ll get my dance before the night is over,” the woman said. Jealousy twisted her perfect features into something bitter as she turned and stomped off.

AJ looked at Kat and whispered, “No, no she won’t.”

“Did you know her?” Kat asked, as they stepped onto the dance floor.

AJ sighed and nodded his head. “Yeah, her father works at the company. She’s over-obsessed with me, despite the fact that I’ve done everything in my power to make it clear that I’m not interested.”

So, I’m not the only one that thinks AJ is a total catch, Kat thought. She clearly had a lot of competition, even just among the guests of the wedding.

They danced again, and this time Kat was even more relaxed than the first time. The tequila had dulled any edge that was left and her inhibitions were gone. AJ twirled her around as a swing song came on, using his muscular arms to control her movements. She submitted to him, letting him lead the entire dance. It felt amazing and she was dancing better than she ever had in her life.

When the music stopped after the second song, the two faced each other, embraced in the middle of the dance floor, laughing with delight. AJ’s musky scent filled Kat’s nose once more, sending a wave of heat through her. Her body trembled with desire and all she could think about was how badly she wanted more of him. All of him.