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☁︎

DANCING LEADS TO SEX.

SCOTT was already missing Eli's touch on his thigh as she pulled away and slid out of the booth. He groaned internally as she walked away from him, her hips already swaying to the music.

But instead of going right the dance floor, Elianna made a stop by the Tornado Wrangler's table. They were all laughing at a story Dexter was telling, and Elianna hated to interrupt it, but she did so anyhow. And much to her surprise, they didn't look the slightest bit annoyed by her presence like people typically were.

She figured they just didn't know her well enough to be annoyed yet.

"What's up, Eli?" Lily asked, raising her beer a little bit. "You come to hang out?"

"I'm actually headed to the dance floor, but none of my lot ever joins me," she complained. Then she smiled hopefully. "I thought maybe I could see if I could convince any of you."

Dani chucked, already getting out of her chair. "Now me and Lily never say no to a chance to tear up the dance floor."

"Yeah, girl, you're about to get a show," Lily said with a grin as she got up as well

Eli felt practically giddy over the fact that someone was going to join her. She looked expectantly at the men, a pleading look on her face.

"What about you guys?"

"Oh, I'm not a dancer. But thank you for inviting us," Dexter said, nodding to her.

"Yeah, we'll see how many beers it takes me before I get out there," Tyler chuckled.

"Boone?" she asked hopefully. "Come dance with me."

Boone seemed almost nervous under her gaze as he swallowed thickly. He couldn't help it, thinking she looked so pretty in such a short dress.

"Let me, uh, let me finish my drink. Then I'll be out there," he promised before sipping on his beer. Maybe he'd be a bit more loose once he had one in him.

And god, Eli couldn't even blame being drunk on the reason why she was so jealous of that bottle that touched his lips. But, with the promise of dancing later, she went with Dani and Lily out to the dance floor.

As it turned out, Lily danced similarly to Eli, finding a stranger to press up close against, which comforted Eli who sometimes got ridiculed for the way she danced. But Dani liked to just jump around and holler and occasionally throw in a few line dancing moves. Elianna let her pull her into a few moves, making her laugh hard.

Boone watched her from the table, drinking a little slower than he normally did, watching how her body moved against a stranger's. Seeing that he was nervous, Tyler squeezed his shoulder.

"Come on now, Boone. You got this. Get her away from that fella."

"I don't got this," he muttered. "Girls are always asking you to dance. Not me."

"To be fair, she asked us all to—"

Tyler stomped on Dexter's foot underneath the table and glared at him. They were trying to boost Boone's confidence, not make it worse.

"Look," Tyler went on. "She likes you, buddy. And I bet she thinks the world of you after you took her to the hospital. Just go dance and see where the night takes you."

"Where would the night take us?" he asked with a frown.

Tyler groaned and pinched his nose at Boone's obliviousness. "Sex, Boone."

Boone's face heated up — he wasn't the type to take girls home, and it'd been a good eight months since he had slept with someone. "She don't wanna sleep with me, Tyler. She wants to dance."

"Haven't you ever watched 'Footloose'?" Dexter asked with a smirk. "Dancing leads to sex."

"I hate y'all," Boone said, downing the rest of his beer as Tyler and Dexter laughed.

"Just take this," Tyler said while digging out his wallet. Boone raised his eyebrow only to roll his eyes when Tyler pulled a condom out of his wallet for his friend. Then Tyler winked at an unimpressed Boone. "Go to town."

With a huff, Boone shoved the condom in his pocket before getting up, glaring playfully at his best friend. "I really hate you now."

When Elianna saw Boone getting up from the table, she forgot all about the guy she'd been dancing with as she moved away, catching Boone's gaze. She nodded her head back, silently inviting him to her side. Though he was nervous, Boone made his way over to her.

"You actually meant it!" Eli said happily, grabbing his hands. She began pulling his arms back and forth to get him to loosen up as the song went on. "Thought you'd forget about me."

"Oh, baby, I'd never forget someone like you," Boone grinned.

Then he steeled himself before twirling her around in his arms, making her gasp a bit from the sudden movement. With their position changed, his chest was now pressed to her back, hands on her hips.

Eli couldn't help but giggle over finally having someone that matched her energy. So, she closed her eyes and moved to the beat, feeling the heat coming off Boone in waves.

Boone thought he must've been in heaven as she pressed firmly against him, drawing such a strong physical reaction that he was sure she could feel. But he didn't have it in him to be embarrassed by how much he so clearly wanted this girl he'd only known for a day.

Maybe Tyler had the right idea about how the night might go.

Three songs in, Eli felt Boone's lips boldly graze the side of her neck, she reached back with one hand, threading her fingers in his long hair to keep him close as she peeled her eyes open once more.

Only to meet Scott's hard gaze, blue eyes fixed on their swaying bodies. His fist was wrapped tightly around his beer bottle, his knuckles white from frustration. And all Elianna did was smirk.

She had told him she was going to make him regret it, and it sure as hell looked like it was working.

☁︎

An hour later and two more drinks in, and Boone was walking Elianna back to her hotel room. It admittedly took him a while because he'd kept kissing her neck every few steps, making her giggle.

He hadn't even kissed her lips, but she already had a bruise underneath her jaw that Scott furiously watched Boone give her.

But neither was thinking about Scott now as Eli leaned back against her motel room door, a smile on her face as she toyed with Boone's hand. His other was shoved nervously in his pocket.

"I had a nice time with you tonight," she admitted softly. "Real nice."

"Me too," he said with a smile. Then he let out a huff of a laugh. "You're a real good dancer."

"I know," she snickered. "Don't know why Scott keeps saying 'no' when I ask him to."

"Speakin' of him," Boone said, raising an eyebrow. "Don't think he took his eyes off you for a second tonight. Made it kind of obvious he was jealous."

"Well, he ain't making it clear what he wants from me," she shrugged. Then she looked at their joined hands. "I know I joke around and tease a lot, but I don't appreciate him not being straight about how he sees me."

"Sounds like you like him a lot," he noted sadly. "Figure that means I ain't got a shot with you?"

"Now, don't say that," she said, smiling once more. Then she pulled him closer by his hand until he was pressed against her chest. "I like both of you a lot at the same time, you know?"

Boone smiled shyly. "You like me?"

"A lot," she confirmed. And seeing that he wasn't very confident in himself, she decided to shower him with all the reasons she liked him. "You're so charming and funny. God, I love how funny you are. Not to mention brave for going into those storms. You're just about as perfect as can be." Then she smirked at him. "Not to mention you're beautiful to look at."

His face heated up a bit. "You mean that? 'Cause that Scott's mighty handsome, and we don't look a lick alike."

"Like I said," Eli told him, placing her free hand on his shoulder. "I like you both. But he is real handsome, ain't he?"

"Kinda wish'd he'd been out there dancing with us," Boone boldly admitted. "But I'm happy enough with just you."

Eli hummed happily while standing up on her toes a bit, lips hovering over his. And Boone anxiously glanced between her eyes and her mouth, slowly contemplating his next move.

"Mind if I kiss you, Eli?" he finally asked.

"Been waiting for you to all day."

It made Boone smile before he leaned in and kissed her gently. His lips were soft against hers right up until he pushed her up against the door, gaining a bit more confidence. Boone bit at Eli's bottom lip, making her gasp before he slid his tongue into her mouth, deepening it.

His tongue rolled so perfect against hers, taking her breath away as she tangled her fingers in his long hair. When she pulled on his hair, he liked it well enough, groaning into her mouth.

Finally, needing to breathe, they parted, chests heaving as they sucked in air. And even then, Boone couldn't help but kiss her softly once more.

Eli stared at his lips, toying with his hair, feeling a bit self-conscious, afraid of his answer to her next question.

"Do you, um, would you wanna come in?" she offered.

The corners of Boone's lips turned up just the slightest bit. Then he nodded while tucking some hair behind her ear. "Hell yes, I would."

Eli beamed for a moment before it fell. "Um, actually, I don't have any protection. I don't usually do this kinda thing, so maybe we can just, uh, make out for a stupid long time?"

Boone chuckled at that, looking at their feet. "Um, actually, got something from Tyler — not that I was being presumptuous or nothin'!"

"God, I'm gonna give him a big fat kiss when I see him."

☁︎

Scott was sulking. Then again, when was he not?

He was on his fourth beer by the time Eli led Boone out of the bar by his hand, Scott's blue eyes following them carefully as they did so.

Scott hated what he was feeling. White, hot jealousy was coursing through his veins — there was no mistaking the emotion.

He'd watched Eli and Boone so carefully, taking in how their hips moved against each other. Following the way that Boone's strong hands gripped Elianna's hips to keep her close. And god, when Boone bent down to kiss her neck? Scott felt something stirring deep within him.

And he wouldn't admit it to himself — he couldn't — but he didn't know which one of them he was more jealous of.

Because god, Boone was handsome. So impossibly handsome.

But he had that same frustrating quality that Eli had. He was always joking and flirting, not taking things seriously. Even when driving Elianna to the hospital, he kept making jokes about her condition as if blood wasn't spurting from her nose. Already, Scott had to worry for himself and Eli, so it didn't help having to then worry for Boone too.

Then again, Boone hardly knew Eli, so maybe he didn't care enough to be worried.

But clearly, he knew her well enough to leave the bar with her.

Though Scott was convincing himself that they weren't really getting a room together. After all, Eli left bars with men a lot but it never went past making out against the wall of the bar or outside her motel room before calling it a night — Scott only knew about that because Eli always filled him and Javi in on how her nights out went without them even asking.

So maybe, he thought — he hoped — things would be the same for her and Boone.

Because god, he was regretting telling her that another kiss couldn't happen between them. It was all he wanted. To feel her soft lips against his again, for her body to be pressed close to his. He wondered if she'd let out a breathy, needy whine if he ran his hands underneath the sides of that short dress she was in.

Fuck, he couldn't keep thinking of her like that, he knew. Not in public at least and not in a pair of painfully tight jeans. Not with Javi sitting across from him in the booth and looking at his phone.

"I'm gonna head back," Scott muttered, finishing off his beer.

"Alright," Javi muttered, still looking at his phone. Scott didn't know it, but he was internally debating the consequences of driving to Sapulpa to pay a certain Carter family a visit. "Night, man."

"Night," he said halfheartedly.

Then Scott got up and headed out of the bar, his hands in his pockets and his head down, only one destination in mind.

Elianna's room.