Chapter 2
The music in the club blasted down on the outstretched hands of the dancers. The flaring, flashing red lights threw the club into a realm of dark sin. Dozens of withering black silhouettes grinded and slid against one another to the pulsing beat of the frantic, bass-pounding music.
Soraya and Jesmine pushed their way through the churning bodies. Sticky, sweaty skin rubbed up against them as they squeezed through the heavy throng of people. The smells of cheap perfumes and colognes mixed with the scent of B.O. in a nauseating blend of human desperation.
Soraya threw a scowl over her shoulder at Jesmine as they headed toward the stairs. She had promised beforehand that it would truly be nirvana once they reached the upper levels beyond the first floor.
Soraya fucking hoped so. She was not impressed so far.
“Hey, care to dance?”
Soraya blinked at the guy who stopped right in front of her. She knew he wasn’t inviting her; he didn’t even seem to notice her as he looked straight past her to Jesmine. While she turned him down, Soraya took a moment to observe their surroundings.
Tilting her head back, she could see the club’s ceiling three stories up, with an LED disco chandelier hanging in the middle.
With the center hollowed out, it meant the second and third floors were smaller in space, and she hoped they weren’t as crowded.
Otherwise, she would have to call it a night much earlier than anticipated.
A couple of people were leaning on the rails, looking down at the teeming dance floor below with drinks in their hands. Soraya felt those looming figures looking down on them like one would on a line of ants.
“Ahvi said to head to the third floor. That’s where all the good stuff is,” Jesmine shouted over the music with a mischievous smile as she walked past the guy.
Soraya looked over at the staircase and realized it was roped off, with bouncers on either side watching as they approached. “Um, Jes?”
Jesmine grabbed her hand and held up two fingers to the bouncers. Soraya stood awkwardly, purse in hand, as they looked them up and down. If Jesmine hadn’t grabbed her hand, she would have turned around and left. Jesmine knew she hated places that judged and placed worth on superficial attributes.
Soraya opened her mouth to say just that when one of them unhooked the rope and nodded for them to enter. Jesmine breezed through, still gripping Soraya’s hand. Soraya, undeterred, strolled up the steps, eyeing both bouncers until Jesmine let go of her.
Now that she was beside them, she realized how massive these men were.
They looked like they could pick her up and toss her over the railing with just one hand, and that was saying something, considering she was 5’8” and was weighed down by 200 pounds of muscle…
for the most part. But she passed through and caught up to her friend.
Jesmine sent her a knowing smirk.
Soraya stuck out her tongue.
Jesmine threw her head back and laughed, and although the music was too loud, Soraya could practically hear her mirthless glee over the pounding bass.
Looking around the second floor, Soraya saw that, despite the space being smaller, it was still overly crowded, especially with all the seating areas taking up more space.
But what really caught her attention were the swarms of women surrounding good-looking men.
And she meant good-looking men. Not that the women weren’t beautiful themselves, but these men… God above.
Every person knew that passing an attractive woman was a daily, if not common, occurrence. On the contrary, passing a truly attractive man only happened once in a blue moon—the kind of gorgeous man with whom even other men wouldn’t mind being caught in a solicitous affair.
And here Soraya was, surrounded by dozens of them, who in turn were surrounded by dozens upon dozens of beautiful women draping themselves all over the ridiculously hot men. Not that she could blame the women.
Taking one look at the feline satisfaction on the men’s faces left little doubt that each of them would be taking five women back to their beds tonight. Soraya hoped the women would eat them alive.
These types of men were not to her standards.
Soraya even watched one woman in a form fitting yellow dress and six-inch heels, saunter through a group of women surrounding a chestnut hair man and plop herself into his lap, clearly staking her claim and earning quite a few glares from the surrounding women who were clearly waiting for their turn to speak with him.
Meanwhile, the man relaxed against the couch cushion, his face creased into a smug smile.
“Don’t look so turned off!” Jesmine’s laughing voice sounded in her ear. “We still have one more floor to go.”
Soraya sighed and let her friend lead the way around the multiple harems to the other set of stairs. She caught some men looking over the railing and pointing at the women below, probably selecting the ladies they wanted to join them.
That was a red flag if she ever saw one, but what could she do?
“Was I right? Or was I right?” Jesmine preened as they headed up the second flight of stairs, entering the third floor.
All Soraya could manage to do was stare and stare at the elegant men and women lounging around. It was much like the second floor in setup, but there were fewer people. She wondered why that was—not that she was complaining.
She’d never seen so many attractive people in one place before.
The men and women here all looked like they came from another world.
So much so that she blinked her eyes rapidly because she could swear that they all had this dazzling aura surrounding them.
It almost hurt her eyes to stare at all of them for too long, and the beginnings of a headache pulsed behind her eyes.
“Soraya, Jesmine! Over here!” An enthusiastic Ahvi waved from where she stood at the bar at the back of the room. Soraya smiled at their roommate and friend. One thing to know about Ahvi was that she was absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, and she fit in perfectly with this crowd.
Heading toward the bar, she admired her long-legged friend lounging against the counter.
She wore a black jumpsuit with red, six-inch stilettos.
The bar’s lighting brought out the gold highlights in her tight, curly hair like a paid actor.
She also wore a thin silver necklace that dipped between her perky breasts.
“Hey, beautiful!” Jesmine greeted her with a kiss on her cheek. Squeezing to the right of Ahvi, a platinum-blonde man beside her moved slightly, as if sensing someone at his back and accommodating more room without question—a consideration you don’t see often.
“Hey, cuties! I was wondering when you two were going to show up,” Ahvi shouted over the music, earning her an annoyed glance from the blonde woman standing to her left.
“I hope you weren’t waiting long, Ahvi,” Soraya shouted back as she went in for a hug, purposely stepping into the blonde woman’s space. Ahvi hugged her back—she gave some of the best hugs. She wrapped you up in the most comforting embrace, as if you were someone precious to her.
Letting go, Soraya looked up and down the bar.
Everyone there looked as if they stepped right off a runway.
Compared to the half-dressed individuals below, they looked prepared to enter a dark-themed Selkie fashion show.
Everyone had better posture compared to her and Jesmine, who were both slouched over the bar and dressed like mistresses of the night.
She observed as they delicately sipped out of glass cups and conversed with one another in low tones. How any of them could hear each other over the loud music was beyond Soraya.
“What do you want to drink?” Ahvi shouted in her ear while pushing a menu into her hands.
Cringing away, Soraya shrugged as she placed her clutch on the bar and took the menu. Jesmine shouted, causing Ahvi to turn toward her and giving Soraya space to peruse the menu.
Some of the items listed had strange names—some she didn’t know how to pronounce. She set the menu down, having already decided what to order, and took a moment to look at the wall behind the counter.
The shelves, from top to bottom, were lined with glass decanters sparkling in the dim light.
Both dark amber liquids and brightly colored ones glimmered in their crystal casings.
Many of them didn’t look like any kind of alcohol she was used to seeing.
Squinting, she wondered if it was the lighting on the shelves or if the liquids were actually… glowing.
The bartender interrupted her observation a second later, smoothly stopping before her, flashing a seductive, bleached-white smile. His mouth moved, but Soraya could barely hear him over the thumping music.
She caught the words “do you” and “drink.”
“Whiskey sour, please!” she yelled over the music.
The bartender raised an eyebrow at her before turning to Ahvi, giving her a judging look. She grinned at him and yelled, “Sex on the beach, for me!”
He grimaced and went about preparing the drinks with a roll of his eyes.
It ticked Soraya off. What right did the bartender have to look down on them? It was probably a classist thing. She’d never been to a high-end place before, but she was pretty sure they drank whiskey sours in country clubs, too.
“Hey, ease up,” Ahvi laughed in her ear.
“Did you see the dirty look he gave us? I’m so not tipping,” she whispered-shouted.
Just then, the bartender looked up and gave her a smirk as if he had heard her.
Like she gave a shit if he did—he was just being an asshole.
She wanted to flip him off, but refrained.
She was not coming back here after this.
“Don’t worry about it.” Ahvi nudged her with an elbow. “Do you see any, um, men you’re interested in yet?”
Soraya pursed her lips. Both she and Jesmine were so persistent about her getting laid that night. She wanted to—oh God, yes—but in her own time.
Looking around, she saw many men preoccupied with each other or with women. Very fine women, she noted with appreciation. You see beautiful women walking down the streets almost daily, but not like these women.
Where the hell are these beautiful gods and goddesses coming from? Soraya thought, a bit spooked.
“Here,” the bartender shouted, drawing her attention back to the bar. He set the amber drink in front of her with a wink before disappearing down the counter. She gave him a tight smile in return before picking it up to take a sip.
Goddamn.
Her eyes widened at the pure taste of the whiskey sour. Holding out the drink in front of her, she wondered what the bartender had done to deserve such a glorious nectar from the gods.
Soraya heard Ahvi’s tinkling laughter over the music. “It’s good, no?”
“I might leave a tip after all,” she mumbled. Knocking back another sip, Soraya shivered as the liquid burned its way down to her belly. Feeling the liquid courage fueling her, she looked out to the lounge area again, hunting for what she wanted.
She looked over at Jesmine to see how she was faring, and the little minx was already chatting up the gorgeous blonde when, out of nowhere, another man in an all-black suit slung an arm around the blonde’s shoulders and leaned into Jesmine’s space with a dastardly smile.
There needed to be two of them to handle Jesmine.
Soraya fidgeted with the hem of her dress, wishing for once someone would come up to her and make things easier. She didn’t think finding someone to bring back to bed at an ordinary bar would be difficult, but this was no regular bar. She felt out of her depth here.
What the hell were the other two thinking?
“Excuse me, miss,” a deep voice said over Soraya’s shoulder. Next to her, she heard Ahvi’s deep intake of breath.