Trailer Park Heart

He took the glass from me and set it back on the bar top, then grabbed my hands and led me to the dance floor. I felt my phone vibrate on my hip, where it rested in my small crossbody bag—also from Target—but Ajax had pulled me against his body and started to move, not waiting for my permission.

His body was familiar. Any time I’d gone dancing before had been with him. So, this should have felt familiar. It should have felt nice.

But it wasn’t. It felt… wrong for some reason. And only partly because I could tell how drunk he already was. It was only nine and he was a big enough guy that it took a bit to get him like this.

How long had he been drinking?

Regardless, I turned around and pressed my back to his chest. I needed to survey the room and try to find Coco. Ajax loved the new position, his hands landing on my hips and tugging me closer to his body. I let him move against me, not wanting to fight or make a scene.

I couldn’t tell if I was being smart or a coward. Regardless, he was beyond out of it. I didn’t know if my protests would make a difference. Which scared me.

Finally, Coco’s waving hand caught my attention. She was on the other side of the bar, next to the jukebox and popcorn machine—one of the reasons I loved Pug’s so much. Emilia was with her and some of Emilia’s fan club.

Coco’s expression said WTF and I couldn’t help but agree with her. She knew I was trying to quit Ajax, as gently as possible. Obviously, grinding in the middle of a sweaty dance floor wasn’t the right way to do that.

I leaned back and let my arm curl around Ajax’s neck. “I see Coco,” I yelled in his ear. “I’m going to go say hello!”

If he said something, I didn’t hear him. But I did feel his hand try to grasp onto mine as I slipped into the crowd, away from him. I pushed through the smashed bodies, relentlessly trying to reach the other side of the dance floor. Where had all these people come from?

Did they even live in this town?

Was this what Pug’s was like every Saturday night?

I practically collapsed on Coco after squeezing through yet more people clustered around the dance floor. They weren’t even dancing. They were standing there shouting at each other about Nebraska football.

“Oh, my god,” I yelled, although it was quieter over here, so I didn’t have to holler at the top of my lungs. “This place is insane.”

Coco swept me into a hug. “You made it!”

I pulled back and grinned at her. “I made it!”

“I’m so proud of you, mamí!”

Emilia pulled me out of Coco’s arms and into hers. “Ruby!”

“Hi!” I felt overwhelmed by their excitement. And silly. I didn’t warrant this kind of enthusiasm just because I left the house. It put into perspective how often I didn’t leave the house and that was embarrassing.

“Did you come with him?” Emilia asked after she’d let me stand on my own again.

I followed her gaze to where Ajax was leaned over the bar with some of his friends, ordering another round. “No,” I said quickly. “He found me at the bar and dragged me on the dance floor.”

Emilia’s eyes lit up. “Not the worst thing in the world. He’s a good dancer at least.”

I didn’t say anything. Ajax was a good dancer. And it was easy to pick up Emilia’s tone. He was hot and available and into me. But there was something about him that had started to rub my nerves, like tiny red flags pinging in my head.

“What’s with all the people?” I asked. “Is it always like this?”

Coco shook her head. “Kristen March is throwing Levi Cole a welcome home party.”

The words screeched through the air, tripping and flailing in my head. If I had been a cartoon, the entire room would have ground to a standstill. “Are you serious? He’s been back for a while.”

Coco shrugged. “They were waiting for the old gang to get back into town.”

“And apparently she needed time to plan,” Emilia added, her big eyes rolling.

Oh, god, it was just like graduation night all over again. My mom was right. Ajax probably already knocked me up just by dancing with me.

“Hey, just ignore them,” Coco encouraged, noticing my fallen expression. “They’re over there.” She pointed to the other side of the bar where tables had been pushed together and a heated game of beer pong was taking place. For real, could they try just a little harder to be less like high school right now? I’d walked right by them and hadn’t even noticed.

“We’ll have fun over here!” Emilia promised. “Hey, at least drinks are half price tonight!”

My wallet did like that. And she was right. If I was being forced to relive high school tonight, then I knew how to avoid the popular table and do my own thing. Easy peasy.

“I’ll get us some drinks,” Coco offered. “What are you drinking?”

“Fireball?”

She blinked at me.

“What? It’s delicious.” And it was.

“I’ll, uh, see what they can mix it with.” She walked away, shaking her head like I was some kind of pod person.

I turned around and Emilia and I started talking about her trip and where she was planning to go next. Emilia always had a trip she was working on. She usually saved up for months, but it was always somewhere completely epic. And it always involved sleeping in a tent and carrying her weight in a backpack—ensuring that no matter how gorgeous her destination, I wouldn’t get too jealous that I had to miss out on her wild adventures.

Coco came back with the drinks and introduced me to Fireball and Dr. Pepper. I would not have thought the flavors went together, but it was awesome.

“Ruby, what has gotten into you?” Emilia asked, eying my drink suspiciously.

“Fireball,” I answered honestly. “It’s so good.”

Emilia and Coco gave each other a look and then burst into laughter. “Only you would love Fireball.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means, I forget how little you drink.”

She was right about that. Halfway through my second drink, my head already felt fuzzy. I winked at her. “Just make sure if I go home with anybody, it’s you.”

“What about Mr. Tall, Dark and Angry?” Emilia asked, eyeing someone behind me.

Assuming she was talking Ajax, I said, “Please, no. This night is too much like high school already. I’ll end up pregnant again or something.”

A tap on my shoulder had me turning around, coming face to face with Levi. Oh, god. I’d just shouted that I was going to end up pregnant tonight and now I was face to face with a Cole. I was not a fan of irony. Especially when she bit me in the ass. That bitch.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, without a hello or a hi or a smile.

I had gotten used to his smiles over the last two weeks.

And his hellos.

He wasn’t angry, he just seemed… flat. I missed the twinkle in his eyes and the way he looked at me when he asked for a cup of coffee. Which was dangerous.

This was better. Life was always simpler when we were fighting.

“Dancing,” I told him, even though I was currently just standing.

“I can see that.”

Then why had he asked the question?

“I could ask you the same thing,” I told him, already deciding that I was irritated with him.

“It’s a party for me,” he threw back.