"Come on, just go out there," I coaxed AJ.
She shook her head vigorously. "No way. I'm not going to degrade myself by stampeding all the single women on the dance floor in order to catch a bouquet of flowers that'll only be dead in less than a week. Besides, I don't believe in those lame superstitions." She crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Some good sport you are. Amazing with a basketball in your hands, but a bitch when it comes to fun."
"Hey! You don't know me well enough to call me that!"
Apparently, I had offended AJ. "Well, prove me wrong then," I challenged her.
"Fine," she huffed. "I'll go out there, but I won't like it."
On the way back to the ballroom, AJ told me how she sat the whole night, other than our basktetball game. Not once did she venture out onto the dance floor. So when we got back in time for the throwing of the bouquet, I insisted she participate. It was just the sort of thing she needed to do in order to relax. At the same time, I was amazed AJ agreed to dance with me, seeing as how she sat on her ass the whole night. Well, I was keeping her to that promise, too.
I heard the women squeal and looked up. AJ was walking towards me with a scowl on her otherwise pretty face. She chucked the bouquet at me. "Now look at what you've done!"
I laughed. "I didn't do anything. Certainly didn't make you catch a bunch of flowers that'll only be dead in less than a week."
AJ did her best to look mad, but failed. "Yeah, well, just get your butt out there mister." She smiled.
"What for?" I asked, smiling flirtatiously.
"You know what for, wise-ass." AJ gave me a playful shove towards the dance floor. "Come on. Get your butt in gear."
I walked onto the dance floor and looked around. All the guys were fidgeting, and it appeared like some were doing the pee-pee dance, or something of that nature. I haven't seen testosterone this active since Ike and Tay sat next to Cindy Crawford when we were on "House of Style" back in the day. I suffered only minimal bruises from attempting to sit in the chair that Taylor thought had his name on it. Apparently, older brother number two was unfamiliar with the word 'jailbait.'
All the guys were really hollering now, and I craned my neck in an attempt to see why. I chuckled at the sight. Taylor's head was hidden under Laura's dress while retrieving the garter. I sneaked a peak at Mom. Hopefully, Taylor would reappear with it soon because Mom looked about two seconds away from dying of embarrassment.
Wanna talk about embarrassment? I nearly fell over that morning when Laura walked into the kitchen wearing Tay's clothes. Man, was I relieved I HADN'T spent the night there. But then Taylor gave me grief because I didn't. God knows why. And, um, yeah... can we say hypocrite?
I was brought out of my thoughts by a silky piece of material hitting me right smack dab in the middle of my face. The next thing I knew, I had a pastel blue garter with lace trimming in my hands. Oh, boy.
The DJ called "the lucky two cathers" up the where Laura and Tay were. Well, actually, just Tay was there next to an empty chair. Laura was busy trying to drag AJ out onto the dance floor. AJ had a good grip on the table, though.
I watched them with amusement. They appeared to be having a mini-heated discussion. I am, by no means, an expert lip reader. Lip synching, as anyone can tell you, is NOT my strong suit. But it looked like AJ said something along the lines of, 'if you keep hounding me I'll tell loverboy.' Laura shook her head and said something about 'a dream come true.'
AJ stormed away from Laura. "All bets are off!" she shouted. Then she grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the chair by which the new groom was standing. "Let's get this over with," AJ said. Her enthusiasm was immeasureable. She sat down in the chair, and I just stood there holding the garter.
"Let's hear it again for our lucky catchers!" said the DJ. Everyone cheered. Oh, sure. Egg him on.
Mr. Asinine began playing this music which, thanks to Mom's music appreciation class, I was able to identify as a striptease used in burlesque during the late 1800s. I gulped. This was it.
AJ crossed her legs, the right one on top. She kicked off her shoe. I knelt down, stretched the garter over her foot, and then snapped it at her ankle. I began to slide the garter up her leg, slowly and in time with the music. After closely examining her legs, I saw that they were thin, yet muscular. Her skin felt incredibly smooth under my trembling fingertips.
I was too busy absorbing everything about AJ to pay attention to what I was doing. When I felt her hands on mine, I snapped back to reality. The garter had ended its journey mid-thigh. Umm... yup. That was far enough, especially considering Maddy was about two feet away watching with great interest.
"All right! Let's hear it one last time for the lucky guy and gal!" The DJ really needed to get over this. Get a hobby perhaps.
Just as the music started, AJ stood up. She put on her shoe, but I grabbed her hand before she could walk away. "Hey! You still owe me a dance."
"What? Getting to run your hands up my leg wasn't enough?" She smiled flirtatiously.
I felt myself blush, which isn't something I do easily. And I flirted right back anyway. "Nope. Now come on. You promised me a dance." I flashed her a smile. Still holding hands, she walked towards me. AJ let go of my hand and clasped hers behind my neck. I circled my arms around her waist, pulling her close. Staring into each other's eyes, we swayed to the music.