Playing Hard to Get

For the second half of the set, I drag Lee and Sara onto the dance floor.

I do a live on Instagram of the band and draw a heart around Tobias. I’m sure I will regret it in the morning, but right now it’s how I feel, and I don’t think about the consequences.

The guy’s not stupid—he knows how I feel about him.

He must know. I haven’t taken my eyes off him all night.

A couple of young men start to dance with us. As one pushes me around the dance floor, I look up at Tobias, who is watching intently.

I pull away from the guy and he moves on. I only have eyes for one cowboy tonight, and I intend to push every boundary he has when he’s done onstage.

“Come on, let’s go back up,” I shout to Sara as the guys come offstage.

Tobias’s eyes don’t leave me as he waves to the crowd, and I’m sure tonight I will be losing my cowboy virginity.

Sara brings the guy she has been dancing with up the stairs and they fall onto the sofa kissing. I get myself the remainder of the second bottle of prosecco.

“For Dutch courage,” I say to one of the guy’s friends who I don’t know.

When I see Tanner heading up the stairs—looking in the crowd for a female to bring up—my heart sinks. I can’t see Tobias, and I fear he’s picking someone out for himself.

“Where are the others?” I ask Lee.

He shrugs in response.

“Do they go pick women out after the gigs? I have seen that on TV before.”

Lee laughs. “Tanner does, but that’s Tanner. Waylon has a girlfriend, and Toby and Nick aren’t like that.”

I lift my glass to Tanner, who finally comes onto the balcony with a girl on each arm. Blonde, red lipstick, and shorts up their arses—just Tanner’s type.

It’s fifteen minutes and another glass of prosecco before Tobias, Waylon, and Nick finally return with someone who I’m told is the manager of the venue.

Tobias looks serious as he listens with interest to the guy talking. I prop myself up on the balcony as I try to elegantly sip my prosecco in my drunken state.

Tobias heads to Tanner when the man leaves and says something into his ear. Tanner looks happy with whatever he has just said, and then he returns to his two girls.

Finally, Tobias looks at me as I stand alone with my glass in my hand and a smile on my face.

“Hey there, princess, been hitting the prosecco a bit hard?” he says. He pulls out his phone as he stands next to me and leans his muscular body against the balcony.

I ignore his dig. I won’t let him push me away tonight—I want his fine arse on toast.

“You looked fucking ace out there,” I say, flirtatiously leaning into him.

“Thanks, you looked pretty good out there too.”

~Yes, he’s flirting!~

He leans over my top and smiles. “I got a great view from up on that stage,” he grins.

~Stepping it up there, cowboy—I like it!~

“Well, play your cards right and you might get more than you bargained for,” I smile.

He looks me in the eyes and smiles. I need more from him. Am I taking this too far, or is he up for something more physical? I can usually read a guy, but Tobias is unreadable.

“Where are you staying tonight?” I ask, looking at him from under my lashes.

He grins. “The hotel next door, why?”

“Because Lee said we either bunk in with you guys or we’re in the truck.”

He laughs out loud. “I hope you brought your feather and down, then, princess.”

I smile and run my fingers down his chest. “Really?” I question.

He licks his lips, making me want them more. Then his teeth bite down on his bottom lip as he tries to resist—I know that look. I run my other hand down his chest as I lean in closer.

“Don’t do this, princess,” he protests.

“Do what?” I tease as my body presses against his. I feel his chest stiffen as I invade his personal space.

“This,” he adds. “You will only regret it when the prosecco wears off.”

I lift my head to get closer to his lips. He’s tall but I’m perfectly in line if he decides to kiss me.

He shakes his head as his hand moves to my lower back to steady me. I know he wants this when he pushes my body closer to him.

I’m so close now I can feel the bulge in his pants rubbing against my body, and I have never wanted a cock more! His scent consumes me, and we are almost kissing—almost there—when I am tapped on the shoulder.

I turn to see a drunken Sara shaking her head. She leans into me and whispers into my ear.

“You don’t want this,” she says.

Tobias and I are still holding onto each other.

“Yes, I do, more than anything,” I reply.

“Well, if you’re sure, you can’t say I didn’t try.”

And she moves back to lock lips with the guy from the dance floor.

I turn back to Tobias, who frowns questionably at me.

“Where were we?” I ask.

He smiles and I wrap my arms around his neck to pull him down for a kiss.

“You will regret this in the morning,” he says as our lips brush together.

“No, I don’t think I will,” I whisper, and we finally touch.

His hand goes to the side of my face as he guides me possessively to where he wants me to go.

My hands wander to his shoulders as I try to get closer to him. I want to feel him, all of him. But it’s he who pulls away, and my hands run over his shoulders as his lips come back for a small peck.

“Do I still need that duvet cover?” I whisper.

He rests his forehead on mine as the dimples form in his cheeks. Our faces are so close.

“I’m sorry, princess,” he sighs, “but I think you might.”

“You better be fucking joking, Tobias,” I snap.

He grins again and his lips catch mine for another short kiss.

“You are joking right?” I ask in a more delicate tone as I pull away from his lips. “Because if you’re not, it’s not too late for me to try my luck with Tanner. I cannot sleep in a fucking truck.”

He chuckles and I feel his hands run down my body as he pulls away. He goes into his pocket and pulls out a card.

“Here, take my room, I will sleep in the truck,” he says.

I stare at the card in his hand. “You really don’t want this?”

“Princess,” he says. “I want nothing more, but I’m loaded up on Southern, you on prosecco, and I know you will regret it in the morning.”

~Fuck, why can’t he just be a bad lad cowboy who’s only after one thing?~

“I will take your room if you show me where it is. You can at least tuck me in.” I have a cunning plan: once I get him in there, I do not intend to let him out.

“Come on, then, get your drunk ass out of here,” he laughs.

I neck my final glass of prosecco as Tobias tells Lee and Sara the plan. I wink at Sara as I pass her while I’m hanging onto Tobias’s arm. She shakes her head in disagreement. I ignore her.

“Come on, princess, get your ass in there,” Tobias says as he opens the door to his room.

He heads over to his bag and starts to pull out a clean top. I watch as he pulls off his sweaty Nashville T-shirt.

He has tattoos on the top of one of his arms. The tattoos follow onto one side of his chest, then on the other side. He has some writing along his rib cage. I move closer and run my fingers over the tattoo on his side.

“What does this say?” I ask.

“It’s Latin,” he replies.

As he turns his head to say something else, I catch his lips with mine and luckily, he responds. My fingers dance around his bare chest while his tongue thrusts its way around my mouth.

He is so possessive and manly—I feel like my body could melt in his arms.

I push him onto the bed and pull off my red silk top. I am wearing my red bra, and he smiles in approval as I move closer.

His bottom lip goes in, and I am starting to see a pattern occurring. He seems to bite that lip when he is trying to resist me.

What he doesn’t realize is that lip bite makes me want him even more, and as he is starting to learn, I get what I want.

“Isobella,” he protests between kisses. “Please, we can’t do this.”

“A bit late for that, cowboy,” I giggle.

His kisses move down to my exposed breast. He groans as I kiss his neck.

When I start to unbuckle his belt, he tenses and it’s like he has been struck with a stinger as his body jolts away from my grasp.

“No,” he says sternly as he clutches my wrist.

I step back. If he really doesn’t want this, then I’m not going to force him.

“I’m sorry,” he says more quietly. “It’s just… I like you. I don’t want it like this.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” I exclaim. “You like me. You want it, or you don’t?”

He looks down at the bulge in his jeans and then his eyes go back to me.

“I want this,” he says, pointing to his erection. “I really want this, but I don’t want it like this.”

“Like what?”

“You drunk, hardly able to stand.”

“Oh, thanks a lot. I’m not that drunk. I know what I want. I know my own mind.”

He pulls his clean shirt on over his head. “I don’t doubt you do, princess, when you’re not three bottles of prosecco in.”

“So, what now? You go back out there and pick someone up who you can just fuck?”

He shakes his head. “I like you. What’s wrong with dating, getting to know each other?”

“You didn’t date Deena or Lynn or any of the other local girls you screwed.”

“Exactly, I don’t want to screw you. I like you.”

I start to feel sick and get that feeling you get when the contents of your last meal makes its way back up—in my case, a well-enjoyed McDonald’s.

“You okay?” Tobias asks.

I can’t speak. He whisks me quickly to the bathroom, and I get to the toilet just as it comes out.

He scrapes my hair back as I puke my guts up into the toilet.

“That stinks,” he gripes as I continue to bring up the contents of my stomach.

When I have finished, he uses a cloth to wipe my face.

“See, I’m no fucking princess,” I mumble as he lifts me off the bathroom floor.

He pulls a top out of his bag and puts it over my head. Then he helps me out of my tight shorts. They prove harder to get off than they were to get on, and I laugh as he tries to be a gentleman.

As he tucks me into his bed, I catch his hand. “Please stay with me,” I say. “I might choke to death in my sleep.”

He smiles and kisses my forehead.

“Goodnight, princess,” he whispers.