Chapter One
Fallon
“You know what we haven’t done in a really long time?” Blair asks from across the salon floor. “Got drunk. Like absolutely steaming drunk. And after the piss poor time everyone is having, I think we fucking deserve it.”
“I could go for a drink. What about you, Fallon? Fancy letting your hair down and having some girls' time?” Gracie, Blair's sister, asks me.
“Girls' time? I’m stuck with the pair of you for forty hours a week. How much more girls' time could we possibly need?” Rolling my eyes, hoping the sarcasm I’m using gets my point across.
These two girls are my absolute rocks. Not only are they my best friends, along with Maya, who is currently away living with my brother, but the four of us own a hair and beauty salon together.
The past few months have been hard for us all, Maya more than most. She was in an accident that left her with memory loss, and we have recently found out that it wasn’t an accident at all.
But that isn’t the only thing that happened.
The same night, our very good friend, and the man I was kind of dating, died whilst trying to save her.
It's been rocky to say the least.
Usually, the offer of a night out would be music to my ears.
Yet, ever since that dreadful night, it’s a struggle to turn up to work and do normal daily tasks.
Just the thought of leaving the house sends a bolt of anxiety through my body.
Day in and day out, I fake it until I make it. Make it to bed, that is.
I am the strong one. The one whom everyone turns to.
Between being there for Maya, even when she didn’t know who I was, and keeping up the facade at work for all the clients that come in, I’m spent.
Emotionally as well as physically. I didn’t allow myself the time to mourn Harry and the loss of my best friend, Maya.
Although she was alive, she wasn’t there.
No one ever seems to be there when I need them the most. That’s why I make sure to be that person for them, as I know the feeling of being alone too well.
“That may be true, but we’re locked up in the beauty rooms for most of the day, and we need to let loose. Come on, don’t leave a girl hanging,” Blair raises a brow and crosses her arms as she stares me down.
“Oh, just bloody come, will you? You know she won't let this drop,” Gracie complains, “I have to live with her, at least come to take her off my hands for a while.”
“Bitch,” Blair adds, but I can see the smile trying to break through behind her impassive expression.
You couldn’t get sisters as opposite as these two. They're inseparable, but also complete chalk and cheese. Blair is dark and moody, whereas Gracie is a little ray of sunshine.
“Fine, but you're buying,” I say, staring them down.
“Fair,” Blair says, whilst Gracie starts jumping on the spot with a bright grin.
The salon is based in Worcester city centre, so there are loads of places to go.
I wasn’t oblivious to the fact that they steered me in the opposite direction from where Harry’s bar used to be.
The bar where we all spent our last night together.
If only I hadn’t forced everyone to go out that night, would anything have changed?
I shake my head, trying to rid the intrusive thoughts from coming in. I can save them for when I'm trying to get to sleep later tonight.
“So, where are we going?” I ask.
Gracie links her arm through mine and gives it a little squeeze.
“I’m thinking Xpressions? Free drinks and a room for whatever you're in the mood for,” she replies.
“Sounds good to me,” Blair adds.
Jenson, one of our family friends, owns Xpressions.
It’s a unique style of bar with different rooms you can go in, depending on what you're in the mood for. Usually, we would go straight to the club and dance the night away. Tonight, I’m not sure that’s the one I’ll be heading into.
They're lucky I haven’t gone straight home to a tub of ice cream in bed.
“Why am I not surprised?” Gracie chuckles under her breath.
“Shut up. Are you still sleeping with him?” I ask Blair. Wow, I must have really been living under a rock.
“Only now and again. What can I say? The boy just can't get enough of me.” She says as she flicks her hair over her shoulder.
“Yeah, I’m sure it’s aaaall him,” Gracie adds.
Before Blair has the chance to reply, we’re already at the door and making our way inside.
What he has done here is truly a work of art.
It’s nothing like your typical nightclub; it’s almost like an old school gentlemen's club.
In the hallway, the walls are covered in different shades of deep red between dark wooden beams with five doors that match.
Behind each door is a different vibe completely.
The girls must know the mood I'm in, as they direct us straight to the first one on the right that leads us into a chilled cocktail lounge.
A low hum of jazz music and hushed voices greet us.
“Look what the cat dragged in,” a male voice calls the moment we step inside.
Jenson is sitting at a table in the far corner surrounded by a group of well-dressed men. I would usually be all over that. A man in a smart suit after a long day at work, nursing a glass of whiskey, is right up my street. But all I feel right now is hollow.
“Hi Jenson,” I say with a forced smile as we get to him.
“My beautiful girl, it’s been too long since I've seen your face. How are you doing? Surviving without your sidekick?”
“Ahh, you know me, plodding along,” I smile, the other girls following suit and exchanging hellos.
“Come sit with us, I’ll get your usuals ordered.”
Great. This is just what I need. A night of feeling awkward with a group of people I don’t know from Adam, when my head is already up my arse. I wish I weren’t this person. I know I’m usually not, but I honestly have no idea how to get back to the old me.
Once Jenson is back from the bar, he makes the rounds of introducing everyone sitting at the table. I don’t know why, as the moment their names went into one ear, they fell right out of the other. That is, until he named one man who was sitting at the other end of the table to me.
Luke.
What a beautiful-looking man. And when I say man, I mean it.
The way he is leaning back so casually in his chair with his shirt sleeves rolled up, tattoos peeking out of the sleeves, and his large hand wrapped around his glass as the other drums against the chair arm.
Even his neck is attractive, what the hell is that about?
It’s the way he is staring at me right now that really draws me in.
He is eyeing me as though he is trying to work me out.
Maybe I should warn him not to bother, I’m broken goods.
Giving him my most practised smile, I wink and turn back to my friends, who are mid-conversation, discussing where the best place for a Pornstar Martini is.
“You'd better say here. Otherwise, I won’t bother to make you one again,” Jenson huffs dramatically.
“Free always tastes better in my opinion,” Blair says over the rim of her glass, her eyes never straying from his.
“Get a room, you two. I hear enough noises late at night from the pair of you, I don’t need it whilst I’m trying to have a civilised drink,” Gracie mocks, pretending to vomit, causing the rest of the table to laugh.
“Don’t be jealous, sis. Just because you’re not getting any,” Blair winks in response.
The night carries on just the same, laughter and chatting shared between us all.
The warmth of the alcohol I have consumed flows freely through my body.
Tonight is the closest I have felt to being like the old me.
I sit back in my chair, taking in the sights around me as everyone talks merrily.
But my eyes can’t seem to stop wandering to the man at the other end of the table.
There is something about him that is so familiar, yet I can’t quite put my finger on why.
One of Jenson’s friends, a tall scrawny man with a name I cannot for the life of me remember, asks if we all fancy going into the club room for a while.
And shockingly, I nod my head yes as the sisters eye me before replying.
Maybe alcohol was all I needed after all.
Or maybe just being pushed out of my comfort zone. Who knows.
I linger back as they all make their way, and it’s just as I'm about to enter that I feel the heat of someone close to my back. Spinning quickly, I’m greeted by the most dazzling hazel eyes I have ever seen.
Luke is standing so close, I don’t know how he isn’t touching me.
Tilting my head back a little so I’m able to take him in properly, I raise my brow.
“Is there a reason you’re creeping up on me?” I ask. Amusement was clear in my tone. That’s odd, flirting is something I haven’t done in a while, either.
“Nope, I just thought I may as well,” he replies with a smile.
“I can’t say I blame you.”
“And why is that?” He asks, his eyes narrowing.
“I’m irresistible, of course,” I wink.
He throws his head back and laughs. A real, throaty laugh. There is no denying that Luke is attractive. He is drop-dead gorgeous. But his laugh… I can’t take my eyes off him.
“That you are,” he grins, walking ahead of me as I gawk after him.
He holds the door open, allowing me to go into the room first. The music is bouncing in here, but how it can be so much different from the other rooms, I have no idea.
It must all be soundproofed. Everyone we came in with is now mingling and dancing with each other and strangers, leaving Luke and me alone.
“So,” I call over the music, “how do you know Jenson?”
“I don’t. Tonight is the first night I've met him. I was just out with the lads for a drink after work. What about you?” He eyes me. I can’t quite understand the look behind those beautiful eyes of his.
“He is a close friend of my two brothers. I have just always known him, I guess.” I shrug. “I am more like his annoying little sister.”
His shoulders visibly drop at that, a smile tilting his lips. Did he think Jenson and me were a thing? Did he not see the way he was eye fucking Blair? I am thinking way too much into this. I have only just met the guy, for god’s sake.
“That’s good to know,” he smirks.
“Oh? And why is that?” I tease.
“Because, now I know you're not his,” he says, before leaning close to my ear. “And I would really like to get to know you, Fallon.”
The feel of his closeness sends a bolt of electricity through me, all the way to my vagina.
Lust rushes through me. It has been a while since I’ve been close to a man.
But something about Luke is different. I haven’t felt attracted enough to anyone to take that step further in a long time. One night won't hurt, will it?
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” I whisper back, the feeling of need growing more and more intense.
His eyes burn into mine as he says. “Oh, Fallon, I want to do so much more than just get to know you.”