Thumping, booming bass traveled in waves through the open doors of the nightclub, shadowed by the perfectly in sync stomping of classic cowboy boots.  The coolest thing was the amazing echo because of the nightclub being on top of a Boot Barn shoe store giving ample space for the sound to reverberate beneath the nightclub.

As Lincoln climbed the stairs, weaving around the landing and taking in the sights of other patrons ascending to the obviously popular dance venue, he couldn't fight the smirk tugging at his lips.

Men and women of all ages, shapes and sizes piled into the popular club. Some in short shorts, dresses or skirts and tight shirts giving plenty for a single man on the prowl something pleasing to admire. First, he'd meet and assess this friend of Trenton's.  At least if it didn't work out, he'd have plenty of other options for temporary entertainment.

After paying the cover fee, Lincoln checked his phone for a reply from Trenton about where to find their table. The rest of the group had arrived earlier, before the main crowd.  Something about free lessons before 9:00 but that didn't interest Lincoln.

Still no reply, Lincoln maneuvered his way to the bar and ordered a beer.  With the cold bottle in his hands, he brought it to his lips and drank while gazing around the place.  He had to admit it was pretty unique.  A familiar song played with a country remix feel. People laughed and seemed to be really enjoying themselves.  The aura of the place was lighthearted and fun.  The group on the floor filled its large, open space, each person moving in sync with common knowledge dance moves.

As the current song ended, applause filled the room along with a raising volume of chatter.  One of the faces Lincoln recognized was a beaming Leena with none other than Trenton right behind her. Looking up as they ascended the short stairs from the dance floor, Trenton caught sight of his friend and raised a hand to signal the direction of their table. Lincoln raised his chin then made his way in that direction.

The group of five gathered around a table, laughing and sipping at drinks.  Leena seemed caught up in a conversation with someone who had their back to Lincoln.  The first thing he noticed was the luscious and tempting set of auburn curls animatedly bouncing in its cascade down the woman's back as she raked her fingers through them on her scalp.  He was seconds away from touching the tendrils to see if they were indeed as soft as they looked.

She threw her head back and laughed at something Leena said.  The sound directly resounded into his ears.  Full, hearty and melodious joy reflected in the timbre.

The next thing his eyes took in were the curves on this mystery woman. Curves that were subtle beneath her chosen outfit, a long flowy teal skirt and white blouse paired with dark brown knee high boots.  She twirled a finger around the lip of a glass half filled with golden colored liquid.

Trenton caught sight of Lincoln surveying the friend sitting in the high chair and smirked, wiggling his eyebrows as he subtly pointed indicating that she was the friend. A smirk tugged at his own lips as Lincoln flicked his attention back to the mystery woman currently talking.

"So I told the guy I want the wall bumped out at least five more feet so I can have more cupboards and counter space. I'm taking the bullet," she commented, lifting her glass to sip.

"Good! I'm glad you got him to listen to you," Leena added.  "You are the one paying, he should be doing what you want."

"Exactly!" she agreed, throwing her head back dramatically and causing her curls to bounce. "I'm honestly thinking about changing contractors.  This guy hasn't been easy to work with at all.  I'm fully aware the house is old. I'm also completely aware it will possibly open up more problems in the plumbing and walls, but I have wisely budgeted extra for that likely scenario.  I'm not stupid."

"I'm so proud of you." Her friend smiled, eyes flicking to the excitedly eavesdropping Lincoln. Crimson lips tilted into a smile.

"I hate it when guys think that just because a single woman enters the world of construction, or God forbid a hardware store, she's stupid or handicapped!" she fumed.  Lincoln had to stifle a chuckle at that comment.  "I'm the one who helped my dad build and repair stuff! I could show those guys a few things!"

Overhearing these complaints about a contractor made Lincoln frown. As the son of a contractor and growing up heavily involved with his father's company, Lincoln understood the contractor's job was to listen to what the client wanted and do his best to carry it out.  Not to argue.  Advise yes. Blatantly refuse to do something no, unless there was a zoning problem which it didn't sound like that was the case.

"Is he licensed?" Lincoln found himself placing a hand on the back of her chair then leaning forward to ask.

"Excuse me?" She spun to meet his gaze. The woman's eyes lowered, taking in Lincoln's form.  He smirked, not minding her checking him out at all.  Her eyes flicked to his, crinkling slightly at the corners.  Do you recognize me? I sure recognize you.

Medium wash jeans fit perfectly, sitting low on his hips. It also didn't help how nicely he filled out the button down dark green shirt, muscles tugging at the fabric when he moved. Espresso brown tempting locks fell in a sexy tousled mop, making Brooke's fingers ache to run through it. He wore a color that brought attention straight to mesmerizing deep forest green gems.

"It sounds like he's acting shady," Lincoln elaborated, sliding casually onto the chair beside her. "If he's not licensed or registered, he may not have completed proper training to accomplish what you have requested and successfully have the project pass an inspection. If he's not licensed, fire him and find someone who is.  You won't regret it."

Brooke narrowed her hazel orbs at the intruder of their conversation.

"Are you a contractor?"

"No." Lincoln shook his head slightly swallowing his sip of beer.  "My dad is though, so I'm pretty familiar with how they should be toward clients in the field of customer service."

Shortly after he gave his reply, Brooke's eyebrows raised in recognition. "You..." she sneered, brows bending downward.

"Umm...you know each other?" Leena asked, pointing back and forth between Brooke and Lincoln.

"Me," Lincoln grinned, ignoring Leena.  He was thoroughly pleased that Brooke had gotten ruffled upon recognizing him.

"Is it a habit of yours to interrupt conversations?" she accused, turning her body to fully face him with an intense glare.

Lincoln shrugged. "Only to people I enjoy irritating."

"Unbelievable!" Brooke groaned then turned her attention back to a very confused Leena.  "So where is this friend of Trenton's who is supposed to be so amazing?" She wiggled her eyebrows mischievously toward Leena as she sipped her drink.

"Uhh..." Leena chuckled nervously reaching out and smacking Trenton's arm.  "Trenton..."

Dutifully answering the call of his girlfriend, he turned and grinned widely.  "Hey, Lincoln! You made it." He then noticed the smug smirk on his friend aimed at the deep, fiery glare coming from Brooke.  "So uh...you two already made introductions?"

"Remember the jerk during pickup I told you about yesterday, Leena?" Brooke asked, keeping her hazel glare firmly locked on her male victim.

"Oh no..." Leena groaned, pointing a finger at Lincoln.  "It was him?"

"Jerk?" Lincoln asked, bringing a hand to his chest, feigning injury.

"Yes!" Brooke all but squealed.  "You strolled right up and interrupted a conversation!"

Was she serious?

"I announced myself and my purpose very clearly," Lincoln defended.  "That hardly makes me a jerk."

"Your tone was rude," Brooke quipped, turning away from him to end the ridiculous conversation, but Lincoln wasn't done yet.

Gripping the back of her chair, he spun it round, forcing Brooke to look at him. Their faces were inches apart.  Brooke fearlessly met his determined gaze.  Quiet confidence rolled off of him in waves as his eyes searched hers. It was Lincoln's turn to glare and Brooke's lips parted in a gasp of shock.

"Alright, I'll be the bigger person here," he huffed.  "Perhaps we got off to a rocky start.  Let's start over.  Hi," he offered his hand to her with a knee melting, pearly white smile.  "I'm Lincoln Flores."

Hesitantly, Brooke placed her hand in his after glancing down, gauging if he was serious or mocking her. "Brooklyn Johnson.  My friends call me Brooke."

"Brooklyn," he tested as their hands bobbed in greeting.  "It's nice to meet you, Brooke."

An eyebrow arched at his choice of words. A cold rush chilled her.

"Likewise," she responded coolly then let go of his hand, ignoring the warm electric pulse that had begun to build at the contact. "So, how do you and Trenton know each other?" Awaiting his answer, she took a long sip of her drink.

Lincoln finished a sip from his own drink before answering. "We met in college. We're frat brothers. How do you two know each other?"

A look was exchange between Brooke and Trenton that sent a wicked grin across her lips.  Lincoln couldn't help but smile at the sight and note how it brightly lit up her face and eyes. He wanted to see her smile like that more.

"Well," Trenton began, an evil grin spread across his face. Brooke's smile fell.  She held up a warning finger.

"Don't you dare!" she scolded playfully, finishing the answer before Trenton could continue himself. "We were in a community band together since fifth grade. It turned out our elementary schools were across the street from each other."

Trenton scoffed as he chuckled. "That's only the start of it!"

"Trent, please don't!" Brooke whined.  Her cheeks flushed all the way up to her ears.

Lincoln chuckled. "Trenton, please!" He whined in a higher pitched voice teasingly mocking Brooke's tone.

"Leena!" Brooke petitioned desperately to her friend who was chuckling just like the two men.

"We were on a break during one of her first practices," Trenton began animatedly.  Brooke buried her face in her hands.  "It was our chance to use the bathroom. This one apparently had to go really bad because she pushed her way pass the others in line and burst through the door of the two stall bathroom.  I was using one and she ran right past me to the other!" Trenton and Lincoln bellowed in laughter then Trenton slid off his chair and took it a level further. "Well, more like..."

In a dramatic display, Trenton hunched forward, gripping his middle, leg crossed over the knee and walked a few awkward paces dramatically bobbing his body up and down. This was complete with a strained look on his face and soft grunts.

Lincoln grabbed his middle, leaning backward. He was laughing so hard right along with Trenton, all at Brooke's expense.  Fighting the stinging tears of embarrassment, Brooke downed a good amount of her drink ignoring the burn ravaging her throat then turned to slide off the chair. A warm hand on her wrist stopped her progress.

"Don't go," Lincoln petitioned softly, moisture at the corner of his eye from laughing so hard. "You were, what, ten? It's funny now. I'm sure you have some pretty embarrassing stories about Trenton." That smug smirk returned.  "Tell me one."

Brooke searched those forest green gems finding a flash of humor in them. "Well," she started softly, casting a quick glance to a now humorless Trenton.  "There is one thing I enjoy sharing."

Trenton's face fell more.  "Brookie...Please don't."

With a quirked eyebrow, Brooke smirked and pivoted back to Lincoln fully so their knees touched.  "Sophomore year of high school, before he met Leena, he had really long hair, past his ear."  She indicated the spot mid neck on Lincoln.

"No way!" His green eyes sparkled with mirth.

"Mhmm," Brooke giggled.  Trenton was now the one burying his face in his hands.

"You asked for this Trent," Leena added, chuckling and encouraging her friend.

"You kinda did, man," Lincoln added to Trenton then faced back to Brooke.

"So, he had been making fun of me because my mom had curled my hair before band rehearsal so we wouldn't have to do it fully for picture day the next morning. I told Trenton it was because he was jealous of my hair and it would look better than his." She flicked her hair dramatically, drawing Lincoln's eyes to the luscious, bouncing locks.

Fingers acting on their own, he reached out to lightly tug at the end of one of her ringlets, pulling it straight and wrapping it around his fingertip. 

"I can imagine how it would outshine everyone else," he mused in a husky low tone, forest orbs taking in the bounce of the curl when he let it go.

Brooke felt her insides warm, making her thighs press together as she licked her lips. Lincoln didn't miss that innocent gesture.

"Well," she continued, her voice cracking so she cleared her throat.  "He dared me to make his hair pretty.  So I made small braids all over his head that night during the break, daring him to leave them intact until his picture day."

Lincoln threw his head back in a loud, bellowing laugh, clutching his middle. "Ohhh man!" He pointed at Trenton who huffed at how humorous his friend found this.  "Do you have any pictures?"

"Of course!" Brooke grinned, scrolling through her phone until she found the blackmail worthy documentation, proudly showing Lincoln.

He reached out, cupping her hand in his to get a better view of the phone. The warming tingles from the unexpected contact made Brooke's breath hitch. Their eyes met for a brief moment, a look of mutual surprise reflected to each other. Had he felt it, too?

"Dude," Lincoln drew out in a chuckled groan.  "That is an awesome hairdo."

They all shared a hearty laugh.  Brooke pocketed her phone again only to have Leena retrieve her own.  She glanced down then click her tongue as she typed back a response.

"What's wrong?" Brooke asked, sipping her drink through the straw.

Leena shook her head in sadness before meeting her friends eyes. "Cindy can't make it. Her babysitter cancelled last minute and no one else is available."

"I keep telling her to have reliable backups not just a few profiles of teens from that babysitter finder website." Brooke shook her head.  "But it is too bad she can't make it."

"Who's Cindy?" Lincoln inquired before tipping back his beer. Forest orbs fixed on Brooke, awaiting the answer from her.

"She's a friend of ours," Brooke answered boldly, meeting his eyes.  "She is a single mom who has a two year old son. He's adorable."

"Ahh," Lincoln scoffed sarcastically then took another drink.  "Typical."

Leena groaned."Uh oh, Lincoln." Her voice carried a warning he chose to ignore.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Brooke asked defensively, turning her body to face his once again.

Lincoln turned to face her as well, planting a hand on his knee while the other twirled his beer bottle.  "It means that its typical and unsurprising a single mom would cancel for a lame excuse like that." He ignored Brooke's intensely pointed glare and continued. "Then if they do get to go out, they are clingy, desperate for attention and overly eager to find someone who will do everything for them."

"That is incredibly judgemental of you," Brooke commented, her voice cold but soft under the blaring country themes music. "Do you know many single moms?"

"God, no," Lincoln chortled while shaking his head.

Brooke's jaw clenched as her eyes cast down to stare at the suddenly very interesting buoyant ice cubes melting in her glass.

Taking in the tense awkwardness and deep hurt effecting her friend, Leena straightened and leaned toward Lincoln.  "Not all single moms are like that, Lincoln."

He quirked an eyebrow as he readied to sip again.  "Really?" He swallowed the last of his drink then challenged, "Name one."

"Well," Leena started, resting a hand on Brooke's arm. "It just so happens our girl he-"

She stopped when she felt Brooke's hand squeezing her knee under the table.  Brows wrinkled in confusion at her friend as Brooke gave a subtle shake of her head, imploring Leena to not call out her situation.

"Um..our girl Cindy, isn't like that at all," Leena recovered.

"Of course you're going to defend her," Lincoln laughed sarcastically, leaning back and shaking his head.  "You're friends! What's that saying girls always say? Like bro's before ho's?"

"Chicks before dicks," Brooke snapped angrily, glaring icily at him.

Her harsh tone was so unexpected and seemingly random, even Lincoln stopped laughing, eyebrows raising toward her in surprise.  Sliding off her stool, Brooke sidled right up to where his knees perched on his stool slightly parted. She met his gaze head on.

"It's to protect us from dicks like you," she hissed, shoving her index finger ruthlessly hard into his chest sending him jolting back a bit in surprise. Brooke turned briefly to Leena and Trenton. "I need some air...and another drink." She stormed off into the dense crowd.

"Nice one, man," Trenton groaned with heavy sarcasm directed at Lincoln.