“Dance with me,” I say to Arlo.
He doesn’t.
“Dance with me,” I say again.
“What are you doing, Nina?”
“I’m trying to dance with you.”
He shakes his head and still stands firmly, refusing to dance with me. I watch as Eden dances with Clive next to us.
Why can’t this be easy, like with Eden? Why can’t I just dance with a guy and then go home and fuck him? Why does everything have to be so damn complicated?
“What are you doing with Erick? You aren’t really going to go home with him. You aren’t going to let him fuck you. So, what are you doing with him?” He cocks his head to one side. “Are you trying to make me jealous?”
I flip my hair over my shoulder and watch Arlo’s eyes follow my every movement. He might have a lot more experience than me at playing calm, cool, and collected, but he’s still a man. He still wants a hot woman like me when I’m dressed like this. He can’t completely hide his urges.
“I’m either sleeping with you or Erick. I haven’t decided yet.”
His lip twitches just a little. “I’m not sleeping with you.”
I grin and shrug. “Well, that makes my decision easy. Erick, it is.”
I turn to go find Erick at the bar, but Arlo pulls me back to him.
“You aren’t sleeping with Erick either. You’re drunk. You and Eden just need to go home.”
I laugh. “You don’t think I’ve fucked men while drunk before? You told me to go find a nice Italian man to fuck while I’m here. Sure, Erick isn’t Italian—he’s English, I think—but he’s hot, and he’ll do for tonight.”
“You aren’t fucking him, Nina,” Arlo says firmly.
I roll my eyes. “You aren’t the boss of me. I can fuck whoever I want, whenever I want.”
“No, you can’t.”
“Why not?”
He shakes his head.
“The better question is, what are you doing here? You like me, and you want me, don’t you? That’s why you are here. You can’t stay away.”
He pulls me closer to him. “No. I’m here because you need me. You’d get hurt if it wasn’t for me.”
I laugh. “The only danger I’m in is getting my brains fucked out by Erick.”
“I’m here to protect you; that’s it.”
“I don’t believe you. You kissed me. You want me.”
His eyes widen for just a second, and then he says, “That was a mistake.”
“I don’t care what you say it was; it was the truth. You want me.” I glance over to where Erick has my drink sitting on the bar. I turn back to Arlo. “But, if you aren’t ready to admit that yet, then Erick, it is.”
I walk over to Eden. “I’m going home with Erick. Stay safe,” I say to her.
“I always do. You, too.”
I nod and then start walking toward Erick, leaving Arlo alone on the dance floor. And then I see it. Erick slips something into my drink. I don’t think he did it with any of my previous drinks. If he did, I don’t feel anything, and it must not be very strong, but he definitely did it now.