Chapter 12
Cat
Ava and I finally arrive at the club, after we go to her house so she can make a “quick change,” which took her two hours.
When we get out of the cab, we see Matt standing in front of the club doors waiting for us.
He offered to pick us up, but I decided it would be better if we took a cab after Ava asked me not to tell Nick we went out with Matt and that it was her idea to go.
The neighborhood we’re in doesn’t seem bad.
I don’t see any shady-looking characters that are going to put a cap in our asses, and the buildings are in good condition.
When we walk up to Matt, he smiles at us. “I approve of your outfits and so will a lot of the guys inside.”
Ava spins around in a full circle to give him a better look at her. She puts her arm around his neck and gives him a lingering kiss on the edge of his jaw. “I’m so glad you approve. I had to make sure I gave you something spectacular to look at.”
He wraps his arms around her waist and hugs her back. “No man could keep their eyes off you no matter what you’re wearing.”
“My my my, you do know how to make a lady feel good about herself.”
“I’m serious. You’re the second best-looking thing I’ve laid eyes on all night.”
She steps back from him with his hands still draped around her waist.
“So what beat me out for the number one spot? It better be freaking amazing, or I’m going to be extremely offended.”
Looking over at me, he proceeds to slowly undress me with his eyes from head to toe.
The look he gives me reminds me of the first time he looked into my eyes and kissed me.
I can feel my cheeks start to warm, because of that memory and the sexy smile he’s now giving me.
I forgot how good he looks; he’s even better looking now.
He’s tall, almost as tall as Nick, and around the same build, with thick brown hair and hazel eyes.
He has a light growth of stubble that gives him a roguishly handsome look.
No wonder he, Chris, and Nick always had a harem of girls always hanging around them back in high school.
Seeing the way he’s looking at me, Ava’s face lights up. “I’m not offended at all,” she says. “I’m in total agreement with you now that I see who took the number one spot.”
Now I know I’m blushing, my cheeks on fire.
I look down at my sky-high platform heels that Ava insisted I wear.
I look back up with a shy smile and hope I don’t make a fool of myself by tripping over my feet in these things.
It would be like the episode of Sex and the City when Carrie trips on the runway in her sky-high stilettos and Heidi Klum steps over her. Fashion road kill, how embarrassing!
I stand next to Ava, and Matt puts his hand on the small of my back and we go inside the club.
He leads us through a crowd of people dancing and I’m all eyes, looking around the club.
It has three floors and is bathed in soft white-and-blue lighting.
I see women dressed in string bikinis dancing and gyrating on poles.
They are doing things on those poles that defy gravity!
I have to stop for a second and stare at what I’m seeing.
I turn to Matt and raise my voice so he can hear me over the music.
“I hope they’re being paid well for the tricks they’re putting their bodies through.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure they are. I know the owner of this club; he wouldn’t shortchange his employees.
He’s going to pay you what you’re worth, and he takes care of them.
” He winks at me, grabs my hand, and leads us up to the second floor to a raised table in the corner overlooking the entire first floor.
Ava sits down, I sit next to her, and Matt sits across from me, holding my hand.
I don’t say anything because it feels nice, familiar.
He orders us a round of drinks from one of the waitresses, who are dressed in low-cut black mini dresses.
Smirking at me he says, “I’m glad to see you didn’t bring your bodyguard with you tonight.”
My eyebrows shoot up questioningly before I ask, “What bodyguard are you talking about?”
“Nick.”
“He is not my bodyguard.”
“You wouldn’t know that by the way he was guarding your body that night at the club. I couldn’t talk to you without him looking like he wanted to knock my head off.”
“He was not doing that.”
“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about, Cat. I know you a little better than you think I do. Nick and I have been boys for years, even though we don’t hang out like we used to. I know him.”
I nod my head at him slowly and bite the inside of my cheek.
The waitress comes over and places our drinks on the table.
I take a sip of my drink and look at Ava to help me out.
She is no help at all. I’m sure she heard everything Matt and I said to each other.
She smiles at me and Matt, looking back and forth between the both of us, shaking her shoulders to the beat of the music.
“Ava, you know what I’m talking about, don’t act like you didn’t see it. He’s your cousin.”
Ava gets up from her chair and claps her hands together to an Usher song.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I didn’t hear a word you two said to each other.
This is my song. I’m going to hit the dance floor and find me a hot-ass guy to dance with.
When I come back we’re going to do some shots and stop being so damn intense.
Forget about our problems, get drunk, and have a good time. ”
With that she wiggles her ass down the steps to find her a look-alike Usher, leaving me and Matt alone. He brushes the back of my hand with his fingers, and I have to admit it sends a tingly sensation through my body. Nothing like when Nick touches me, but it still gives me butterflies.
“What’s up with you and golden boy?”
I look at him and shake my head. “Nothing.”
He looks at me skeptically and licks his lips before he speaks. “I would have to be blind, deaf, and dumb not to see the way he was looking at you and how intense things looked between the two of you.”
“Is that what you saw?”
“Yes. We’re friends, right? At least I hope we’re friends. You trusted me once with the most precious thing you could give to a man. I hope you can trust me enough now to tell me the truth; it’s only me and you talking. What we say to each other will stay between me and you, just like that night.”
“Why do you care if something is going on between me and Nick?”
“I’m going to be totally honest here. I’m laying it all out. I like you, Cat. I like you a lot. Ever since that night we had sex I’ve wanted you to be my girl.”
Wow, this is a revelation. I never knew that.
“After that night, I wanted to call you and take you out. I never met a girl I could hold a three-hour conversation with, who I had so much in common with, but you were only seventeen. Your brothers would have killed me, not to mention your father and Nick.
“You got that right. You don’t know the half of it.”
“I knew I was wrong, but I couldn’t help it.
You looked so cute, and we were laughing and talking.
I felt a connection with you I had never felt with another girl before.
I didn’t see you as my friend’s little sister; you were just a girl and I was just a guy.
You seemed older than your age, and you were so sure of what you wanted. It was impossible to say no.”
“I remember how sweet you were to me and how you took your time. How you talked to me after, and you wouldn’t leave me until you were sure I was okay. I fell asleep in your arms.”
“You did. I knew that was the only night I would be with you. I wanted it to last as long as it possibly could. You needed me. You felt good wrapped up in my arms.”
“You risked getting your ass kicked by my family because you refused to leave until the sun came up. You took care of me.” I look up into his eyes as he’s playing with my fingers. “You should have told me how you felt before I left.”
“I’m telling you now.”
The emotions in his eyes tell me he’s telling me the truth.
He brushes the back of his other hand across my cheek, and I feel a warm feeling in the bottom of my stomach.
The corner of his mouth lifts into a half smile.
I can’t help but look at his lips and remember how good they felt against mine… soft and warm. I smile back at him.
“I want to know if I have a chance with you. That’s why I asked if there’s something going on between Nick and you.”
“I honestly don’t know how to answer that question.”
“Well then, can you answer this? Are you in a relationship with anyone?”
“Honestly? No.”
“I do have a chance with you?”
“Maybe.”
“That’s good enough for me. We can work on turning that maybe into a yes. I’m a patient man when it comes to you, Cat.”
“Only me?”
He looks at me seriously. “No woman has ever seen the side of me you saw in your bedroom that night.”
I never thought this would ever happen to me in a million years.
Two men as gorgeous as they come, and they both say they want to be with me.
Un-fucking-real. One, who I have to admit can be a little scary when he’s angry and has the most beautiful soulful eyes I have ever seen.
When he looks at me I’m completely undone.
The other, a guy who has only treated me with respect and tenderness since I’ve known him, and he’s telling me how much he wants to be with me.
Ava is not going to believe this shit. I can’t believe this shit!
When Ava comes back to the table she looks like she started drinking without us. She had not one, but two waitresses with her, their serving trays full of tequila shots. My eyes pop open wide, and Matt laughs at the look on my face.
“Are we supposed to drink all of those?”
“Hell yeah! I told you I was going to show you a good time. These are instant stress relievers.”
“This is your plan—get me drunk until I can’t remember anything?”