Free Loving Charley by Casey Peeler

only people I see. That is until Katy Perry comes
through the speakers. I’m brought back to reality with the sound of
Hayden and all my friends singing at the top of their lungs, and I
have no choice but to join in.
    Cash stands at the edge of
the dance floor with Joe as they watch. He has a huge grin on his
face with his arms crossed, and Joe does the same. It’s kinda funny
how things worked out. Not only do I have the man of my dreams, but
my best friend has hers as well.
    When the song ends, we
continue to dance like we would at Hank’s. Every guy in the room is
watching us, and we all enjoy it a little too much. As guys start
to approach us to dance, I decide I might need to find Cash Money.
That’s when I feel hands touch my hips that aren’t his. Glancing
over my shoulder, I see Tucker, the fine ass baseball player. He
smiles. I turn to face him and excuse myself, but he doesn’t let go
of my hips.
    “Tucker, I’m with someone,”
I say as I point to Cash.
    “Oh, well, I just thought
since you and Joe are a no, maybe we could pick up from where we
left off at Hank’s.”
    “I’m sorry, but if you want
someone fun to dance with, both Georgia and Caroline are single and
fun.”
    “Okay, but I just thought we had
something.”
    Tucker and I are not going
to have anything going, so I separate myself from him and lead him
toward Georgia who is talking to Cash.
    “Georgia, this is Tucker.
He plays baseball and wants to dance,” I say
confidently.
    Georgia looks at me like
I’ve lost it, but smiles and agrees. Tucker introduces himself to
Cash and informs him that he is one lucky guy to have me. Cash
agrees completely, and they make their way to the dance
floor.
    Cash places his arm around
my waist. “I’m not even gonna ask about that one, but I was about
two seconds away from getting my ass put back in jail.”
    “Now, Cash Money, we can’t
have that,” I say as I turn into his chest, place my hand on his
cheek, and make him forget that another guy just tried to make a
move on me.
    We spend the remainder of
the night in each other’s arms both on and off the dance floor.
When the house lights come up, we make our way to the Love Machine
and back to Southern. The ride is full of chatter about Georgia and
Tucker and what is going to become of that. He seems like a decent
guy, but only time will tell, because those baseball guys have a
reputation of taking one thing and leaving. If that’s the case, he
won’t call Georgia again because she’s not that kinda
girl.
    We say goodbye to everyone
and wait while they make their way back to their rooms. I have to
make sure our residential assistant isn’t on the prowl. She’s not,
so we walk to my room. Once we are inside, we get ready for bed.
Exhausted from a night out, I can’t wait to fall asleep in Cash’s
arms, which is exactly what I do, even though I don’t want morning
to come. In the morning, Cash will have to go back to Grassy Pond,
I’ll have practice, and we will be apart until his court
date.

Chapter 15
    I awake to the sound of a bird chirping and the
warmth of Cash’s arms around me. I don’t want to move because that
would risk the chance of him stirring, and then he will have to go.
Glancing at the clock, I see that it’s eight. I have practice at
ten. I decide the best choice to make right now is to lie in Cash’s
arms until I’m forced to get up.
    Undoubtedly, Cash is
exhausted because I finally have to wake him at nine-fifteen. It’s
earlier than I want, but I do want to enjoy his company a little
bit before he has to leave and I have practice.
    As I roll to wake him with
a kiss, he smiles at me. “Well, if I didn’t know better, I’d think
you were just acting like you were sleepin’,” I say before meeting
my lips with his.
    “I’ll never tell,” he says
with a wink as he places his arms around my body. “I really don’t
want to leave.”
    “I know. You sure this is the right
choice?”
    Sweeping my hair out of