Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
ANDI
I’m sitting in the club with my girlfriends, Christina, Tania, and Katie, and we’re on our third round of drinks.
Christina leaves the table for a few minutes and, when she returns, has two rounds of tequila shots for all of us.
I’ve just finished telling them about my confusing day with Luke and how it ended when I left the gym. Or, I should say, how he ended our day.
Yes, I heard him call for me as I was walking out the door, but that’s just it.
He waited until that exact moment, and I know he counted on me either not hearing or not caring that he yelled my name.
And he was right. By then, I wouldn’t have turned around for him for anything in the world.
So, knowing how pissed off I am at him and how unlike me it is to care enough about any man to even get pissed off, my girlfriends have decided I must secretly like him.
I vehemently disagreed with them about that assumption.
There’s no way it’s a secret.
That royally pisses me off, too.
So, here we are with Christina passing out tequila shots to go with the pitcher of Bahama Mamas we’ve already finished.
The server stops by the table, and Tania orders another pitcher.
It’s going to be one of those summer nights in Hot-Lanta.
The kind where I will undoubtedly end up bowing to the great porcelain god and swearing I’ll never have another drink.
Christina raises her shot glass for a group toast. “To the hot men who thoroughly piss us off!” We laugh and shout the toast back to her in unison before downing our shots. In keeping with tradition, we slam our empty shot glasses on the table, and Katie refills them with the Bahama Mama mixture.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Shane, Will, and a couple of other guys from the gym enter the club. Bringing up the rear is Luke. Just great. I must have been obvious in my reaction, because when I look back, all six of my friends have their eyes glued to me.
“Yeah, that’s him,” I say with a heavy sigh.
“Nice.”
“Very nice.”
“No wonder you’re so hot and bothered.”
It’s good to have friends you can count on to cheer you up, take your mind off things, and help you make the best decisions.
It’s a shame those aren't the kind of friends I have here with me right now.
I glance back toward the guys and see Shane scanning the room for me.
I wave when his eyes are in my general direction.
Recognition sets in on his face, and he leads the group toward our table.
I stand and help Tania pull another table and chairs beside ours to make room for everyone to hang out together.
Shane pulls me into a hug and kisses the top of my head in his usual, brotherly way.
There’s a great DJ tonight, and he’s playing the best dance songs.
One of the best things about this club is the mix of music they play.
There’s a blend of rock, country, pop, hip-hop, and R&B.
The mix might be a turnoff for some, but most of the people here love the variety.
Fast songs or slow songs—all the best songs on the air—all in one club. It’s outstanding.
Almost immediately after they sit down, Luke starts openly flirting with Tania right in front of me.
My mind knows we have no relationship. My mind knows I have no claim to him.
And my mind knows that, aside from a little harmless flirting, he’s made no moves on me.
But my mind apparently isn’t in charge right now, because it both hurts and makes me mad.
It’s like he’s doing it on purpose, and that’s just mean.
So far, the DJ’s been playing fast songs that make you want to move, especially after you’ve had a couple of drinks and a shot of tequila.
Apparently, Christina has the same idea because she suddenly yells for us all to take another shot, then hit the dance floor.
She also sees Luke hitting on Tania and wants to get us all away from the table before Tania cusses him out.
Or worse, wastes her drink by throwing it in his face.
We all toss back the throat-burning liquid, chase it with more Bahama Mamas, and leave the guys as they order their pitchers of beer.
One of Usher’s older songs, “Yeah!,” is playing, and the sensual bass thumps through the huge speakers throughout the room.
The large flat screens strategically placed throughout the club play the official video, and the images occasionally flash to show the people on the dance floor.
I’m feeling more than a slight buzz when I hit the dance floor, and with my mounting frustration, I just want to let loose.
My body moves with the music, and I’m dancing with my friends when a hard body moves in close behind me.
I look over my shoulder to see a handsome guy moving in time with me.
When I don’t object, he moves closer and wraps one arm around my waist, pulling my back against his chest.
We move together in rhythm, close enough that there’s no space between us. His hand settles at my waist, and the music does the rest, slow and deliberate. I turn to wrap my arms around his neck and let the bass carry us, aware of how we must look, yet choosing not to care.
The people on the dance floor part like the Red Sea as Shane and Luke barge through toward me. I meet Luke’s hard gaze with a challenge in my eyes before turning back to my dance partner. The song ends, and a slow song begins without missing a beat.
My handsome stranger leans in to whisper in my ear. “Dance with me again?”
I nod and tighten my grip on his neck.
I glance over my shoulder at Shane, who has stopped a couple of feet away, and shake my head ‘no.’ He doesn’t like it at all, and I know him well enough to know he’s weighing his options.
I tilt my head and give him a pointed look that clearly says, "Do not interfere.
" He knows me well enough to know it will not end well if he goes against my wishes right now.
Katie steps up to Shane and asks him to dance.
He agrees, and they stay beside me as we finish the slow song.
Christina and Tania have already found other dance partners, so Luke returns to our table to sit with the other guys.
He’s giving me dirty looks, but I pretend not to notice.
What right does he have to be mad at me for dancing with someone when he was hitting on one of my best friends?
When the song ends, I step back from my dance partner and thank him. Then Shane grabs my hand and pulls me off the dance floor. Like I said, I know Shane well enough to know that now is not the time to fight him.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Andi?” Shane demands angrily as we’re just outside the dance area.
“I’m having fun with my friends, Shane! What’s your problem?” I growl back at him.
“That guy was all over you, and you were just letting him!”
“Don’t lecture me about that, Shane! You take home a different girl every night!” I would laugh at the shocked look on his face if I weren’t so pissed off right now.
Shane stutters for a moment before spitting out, “That’s different, Andi, and you know it!”
“Come off it, Shane. It was just a dance—I’m still here. I haven’t left with anyone. Yet.”
Shane clenches his jaw shut, and the muscles on each side are twitching from the strain. His nostrils are flaring with each angry breath, and his face is turning blood red. I wonder if he’s about to have a stroke from his elevated blood pressure.
Through clenched teeth, he spouts, “Andi. So help me God. You are not leaving here to go to some strange guy’s house.”
I smile sweetly at him, knowing that my smile, paired with my next words, might make the top of his head pop right off. “You’re right, Shane. I won’t go to some strange guy’s house. I’ll take him home with me instead.”
I walk off, leaving him to process my words alone as I make my way back to the fresh pitcher of Bahama Mamas.
I refill my glass and down a couple more within a few minutes.
When I look back up, a half-dressed girl is sitting on Luke’s lap, rubbing her hands up and down his chest. He leans in and says something in her ear, and she giggles, nodding furiously ‘yes.’ My imagination just ran away with me about what she so eagerly agreed to.
LUKE
Going out with the guys feels good. It’s been a long time since I’ve had fun with a group of guys who share my aspirations.
They get me. They understand why fighting is in my blood, and they don’t judge me for it.
Tonight, we’re going to The Beta Room to have a good time.
I try not to let the fact that Andi is there influence how I act.
I don’t want to think about her, and I don’t want the guys to know I’m having a hard time keeping her off my mind.
The room smells of perfume and spilled drinks.
The deep bass hums through the floor, vibrating my entire body from my toes to the top of my head, but it all drops out when I see her.
Shane is still looking for her, but like a homing beacon, I’ve already zeroed in on her.
Though I pretend I haven’t. My pulse jumps, sharp and immediate.
I feel it in my chest, in my hands, in the way my focus narrows too fast. Heat, distraction—dangerous things if I let them linger.
Her natural beauty is amazing. But seeing her dressed up tonight stops me in my tracks.
Black dress. Clean lines. No apology in it.
The fabric clings like it knows her, warm and deliberate.
When she turns, the open back hits me hard—bare skin catching the light, cool air brushing over it as if it’s meant to be felt, not just seen.
She just took a tequila shot with her girlfriends, and I’m trying to reel my tongue back into my mouth after seeing what she’s wearing tonight. Every other guy with a pulse is doing the same. She doesn’t even realize how many guys are staring at her right now.