Chapter 9
Serena
Keirsten looks like she is having a good time.
After we convinced her that she looked amazing in the leather pants and pink sequined top that Jules brought over for her, we all piled into my car and headed to Sanctuary.
The thought of drinking tonight makes my stomach churn, so I volunteered to be DD. Also saves us money on another Uber. So it’s a win win in my book.
I don’t get drunk and make a fool of myself, and the girls get to let loose in confidence.
Quickly checking my phone to see if Tyler responded back to me yet, I see that my text is still marked as unread. He has been so distant since our fight last month, going out more than usual without a word of where he’s going. Yet, he still expects me to tell him my whereabouts.
Of course, my overthinking brain thinks he’s cheating on me. Which has put me in a self esteem spiral. An endless cycle of trying to figure out what is so wrong with me that he feels he needs to cheat, to getting pissed at myself for letting him get under my skin.
As Jules would say, “You’re a bad bitch that doesn't deserve a pussy like Tyler.” I’m still working on the bad bitch part.
I have tried everything I can think of to keep the peace with Tyler, but nothing seems to be working. It’s like the more I try, the further away he seems to get.
That’s another reason why I wanted to come out tonight. I was tired of stressing about making him happy and decided that it was time to do something for myself. And I’m glad to be able to help Keirsten out too.
Seems like she’s also been dealing with some boyfriend drama.
My head falls back, and I swing my hips side to side as the beat of the song reverberates through my feet. Jules has a cocktail in one hand and Keirsten’s hand in the other. Keirsten has her eyes closed, arms in the air and a serene smile on her face.
She is also three cocktails and two shots of tequila deep.
The crowd around us grows and it is starting to feel a little cramped. I can barely move my arms without accidentally elbowing someone. Jules has found herself a cute blonde to dance with and is grinding her ass against the front of him.
She turns around and wraps her arms around his neck. Her head falls back exposing her collarbone and breasts. He takes that as his opening and starts trailing kisses down the side of her neck.
I look over at Keirsten, and when we make eye contact, we both burst into laughter.
She motions with her head towards the bar, and I follow her lead without hesitation. My throat is bone dry and I need a cold glass of water.
I’m also dying a little to see Isaac. Every time we have gone to get more drinks, it’s been a woman bartending. My stomach would flip with anticipation, only to be let down when we reach the bar and he is nowhere to be seen.
Keirsten is dragging me behind her, squeezing between sweaty bodies across the dance floor. Finally, we make it to the middle of the dance floor to the circular bar, and my heart leaps right out of my chest.
He’s here.
Oh my god. He’s here.
Suddenly I’m nervous as fuck. And I am suddenly very aware of how I must look after dancing. We should have hit the bathrooms before going to the bar so I could do some damage control.
I groan just imagining what a sweaty dumpster fire I must look like.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuckity fuck.
That’s it. I’m bailing. I don’t think he saw us come up yet and if we turn around now, we should be able to make it back to Jules before he notices us.
Yes, a solid plan.
I’m grabbing Keirsten’s hand to tell her we should go when he looks over and we lock eyes. A devilish smile forms on his perfect lips. Oh my. That smile should be illegal.
And the way he is looking at me right now makes me feel like he is going to jump across the bar and devour me right in the middle of the dance floor.
This was a mistake. He’s going to get here and I’m going to find some way to mess this up. Say something stupid and embarrassing and he’s never going to want to talk to me again.
Why do I care? I have a boyfriend. I shouldn’t even be entertaining the idea of another man.
But when I look at Isaac, every other man just disappears. It’s honestly alarming how quickly I am becoming attached to him.
He turns his attention back to the customer in front of him, knocks his knuckles on the countertop and then walks towards us.
I’m trying to think of something clever to say, but my mind is blank. He is so fucking hot. The way he is ignoring all the other customers at the bar on his way over, while I’m sure is frustrating for them, is exhilarating for me.
It’s like I am a prize, and I don’t quite know what to do with that feeling. I’m flattered, almost to the point of being overwhelmed. It’s something I’ve never experienced before, with any man.
My feet shift underneath me when he finally makes it to our spot at the counter.
“Hello, my Little Firecracker. I’ve missed you.” Keirsten giggles from beside me. He must have me mistaken for somebody else because I am most definitely not a firecracker. More like one of those little snake things that just fizzles out on the ground.
Any thoughts I had managed to form before he walked up, are now gone.
“I’ve missed you too.” The words barely leave my lips before I realize what I just said. That was supposed to be an inside thought. My eyes widen, my hands get clammy, and I wish the floor would open and swallow me whole.
He places his forearms on the counter and leans in closer to me, so close I can smell his cologne. It’s almost sweet, like berries, with a hint of campfire and sandalwood. Not too strong, but just enough to draw you in.
“Is that right?” The smile plastered on his face would put the Cheshire Cat to shame.
“Don’t let it get to your head. I just meant; I missed my coffee this morning.” Today was the first day in a month that he hadn’t ordered my coffee for me before I arrived at the cafe.
“Ah yes, but you still missed me.” He winks and looks over at Keirsten.
“What can I get started for you love?” Keirsten blushes and gets another shot of Tequila. She shoots it back and slams the shot glass on the counter, holding up her finger indicating she wants one more.
“And for you?” Isaac looks at me as he’s filling her shot glass.
“I’m just having club soda tonight.” I gather my hair and fix it up into a messy bun, exposing my arms.
For a second, I see a flash of anger in his eyes, and they darken. His jaw ticks and his hands form fists on top of the bar. And just as quickly, they soften, and his warm chocolate brown eyes are melting me into a puddle of nerves.
“I’m glad to see your arm is better.” He gestures towards my upper arm as he hands me my club soda. He remembered? He reaches across the bar and tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear. A shiver runs through my body.
“Yeah, it took like three weeks to fully go away. It was this nasty greenish yellow color for a week straight. Couldn’t wear short sleeves without people asking me what was wrong with my arm.” I tip my glass back, bubbles tickling my nose.
“Any man who lays a hand on you, deserves to be rotting in the ground.”
Soda sprays out in front of me and splatters all over his shirt. That was… unexpected.
Dark. Twisted. And annoyingly kind of hot.
My pussy tightens and my panties dampen from his words. I’m still trying to recover and convince myself that I shouldn’t be so turned on by that, when he grabs a napkin and wipes the mess on his shirt.
Oh, how the tables have turned.
“If you wanted to get me out of my shirt,” he says, leaning in slightly, “all you had to do was ask.” He doesn’t lean back right away. Just holds my gaze, like he’s testing me.
“What? No. What?” I’ve never been so flustered before in my life. Isaac just stands there with a mischevious glint in his eye and a sexy smirk stretched across his face.
“Serena, we should go dance some more!” Keirsten shouts over the music and tugs on my arm.
I look at Keirsten, and then back at Isaac. He crosses his arms and lifts his chin in a nod towards the dance floor. “Go, I’ll be here all night. But come back before you leave. I’d like to see you again before the night is over.”
I smile and nod. “Yeah, okay.” I giggle and turn towards the crowd, preparing myself for the body slamming it is going to take to get back to Jules.
We are halfway to Jules when a frat boy idiot backs into me. I stumble, but he catches me by my arms before I fall over and stands me on my feet. My drink sloshes wildly but manages to stay intact.
“Oh man, I’m sorry lady.” He holds up his hands in front of him.
“It’s okay. It’s pretty crowded here. No harm no foul.” I give him a quick smile and Keirsten and I keep moving, finally reaching Jules and blondie.
Wait, no. Not blondie?
In his place is a brooding, dark haired man wearing a leather jacket and jeans. Jules turns around and squeals when she sees us.
“Oh my gosh! Where have you guys been?!” She hugs me and turns towards her dance partner. “This is…”
“Derryl.” He leans over and shouts so we can hear him over the music.
“Right! Derryl!” She playfully puts her hand on his chest.
“What happened to blondie?” Keirsten shouts.
“He had to leave. His girlfriend showed up.” Jules cackles and starts grinding her hips against Derryl again.
I love Jules, but she has a knack of getting involved with committed men.
Not on purpose. She attracts all kinds of attention, but when she finds out they have a girlfriend or wife, she breaks it off immediately.
And she informs the partner what their man has been up to.
I take a sip of my soda and then chug the rest of it. Holy shit, I was thirsty. About ten minutes later, Keirsten grabs my hand, twirls me towards her and then away, extending our arms.
She pulls me in again and I lose my balance. Stepping on her foot, I stumble and she barely manages to catch me from falling.
“Are you ok?” Concern teases her eyes but doesn’t quite reach them.
“Yeah girl, I’m fine. I’m just tragically clumsy and have two left feet.” I love to dance, but it doesn’t mean I’m any good at it.