Page 110 of Left on Read
People rushed the stage to toss bills on it, and the crowd screamed and cheered every time he pulled off yet another gravity-defying flip or spin. He was mesmerizing, but it was how he kept seeking me out whenever he looked at the crowd that made my temperature rise.
When he was working the audience, he had on a cocky grin, but his expression was molten and full of heat when he looked at me.
River continued his set, switching between his sensual grinding and incredible gymnastics skills, working everyone into a frenzy as he stripped off his hat and shirt.
At the end of the lyrics, he did another insane parkour flip off the bull and sauntered across the stage, still working the crowd like the master performer he was.
The audience went absolutely hog wild when he stripped off his jeans, somehow managing to whip them off in a fluid motion while still dancing. His bright yellow briefs were low-slung and tight enough they barely covered his perfect ass. His skin gleamed under the lights, every ridge and dip of his muscles on display.
River hit his final pose on the last note of the song. The spotlights flashed erratically, and white flares erupted behind him like those sparklers I used to play with as a kid, only way bigger.
I jumped to my feet, clapping and shouting along with everyone else.
River grinned and waved. Then he made his way to the platform. He accepted his tips, being as professional as ever, but he kept shooting me secret smiles between customers.
This was his third set tonight and the second one he’d done solo. And just like with his other sets, I didn’t feel even a hint of jealousy at the attention he was getting.
River was an amazing dancer, and it gave me a little thrill how everyone in the crowd wanted him, but he literally only had eyes for me.
“You finally get it.”
“Get what?” I asked Noah, not tearing my gaze from River.
“What a rush it is knowing all these jagoffs would do anything to get him to look twice at them and you get to go home with him.”
My neck heated with a blush. “Yeah. Took me a while to get here. But it’s a pretty awesome place to be.”
“It is.”
River finished collecting his tips, gave the crowd one more wave and me one more secret smile, then left the stage.
“And that concludes our evening,” the DJ said. “Now, how about one more chance to show our appreciation for tonight’s dancers?”
The lights in the club brightened enough that we weren’t in the shadows anymore, but no one made a move to leave. The DJ announced each dancer in turn, and they came on stage to wave and give the crowd a final chance to cheer for them.
When the stage was clear and the DJ was quiet, the lights went up, signaling the night was over.
“Do you know how long they’ll be?” I asked Noah when the room was clear and only we and the staff were left.
He looked up from his phone. “Not too long. Zane said to chill here and they’ll be out soon.”
I leaned back in my chair and toyed with my empty glass.
I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what had changed tonight, but I felt calmer and more settled about everything.
I’d spent the first half of the event in a daze with Zane’s words running through my head, and I’d spent the last half thinking about all the reasons River and I were still only friends.
Every avenue led back to me.
I was still reeling from learning River was not only looking for an actual relationship, but that Zane thought I could be the person River needed.
In all the time we’d spent together, he’d made no indication he wanted more. Well, that wasn’t true. He’d never said anything, but looking back, nothing about what we had going on between us was casual or a FWB thing.
For the last four months, River had been the perfect friend and the most amazing and considerate lover I could have asked for. He understood me, knew how to read me, and always gave me exactly what I needed.
And it wasn’t just sex. That was incredible, but it was all the little things he did that I cherished. How he continuously found ways to show me he cared.
It was time I did the same for him.