Under My Skin (Skin Deep #2)

Doug chose that moment to come trotting up the steps. He stopped and licked my toes where they peeked out the peep-toe of my shoes, and I patted his head. He turned and looked at Emma, and if I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I’d never believed it, but he opened up that doggy mouth of his and grinned at her!

I laughed as Emma muttered, ‘smart ass’ under her breath while glaring at him. Still laughing, I shook my head and we went inside to see the guys standing around the counter, eyeballing all the liquor.

“Oh, no no no! Don’t even think about touching any of it!” I shouted.

Luke threw his hands up and yelled, “Not touching! I’m not touching it!”

I heard Emma laugh and Brandon groaned, throwing his head back and moaning, “Oh, God…he’s pussy whipped! He won’t even touch the liquor!”

I cocked my eyebrow at him and tried to look serious but couldn’t help but smile back at him as he grinned at me, completely unashamed at his part in trying to get into the booze. Jackson just stood there grinning at everyone, but I think he had a pretty good reason to be in a good mood. I know I did…

“Just give me a few minutes and then you guys can take off with whatever is left. But who’s DD tonight?” I asked.

Jackson spoke up. “I’ll do it. That way we can drop Emma and Luke off here before we go back to your house. Unless you want to just crash here tonight in Brandon’s bed?” He looked at me questioningly.

I shrugged and asked Brandon, “Do you want to sleep in your bed for a change or go to my house?”

“Your house, definitely. My mattress squeaks. And I don’t want to hear all the ‘Oh, God’s and ooh, yes, harder’s later coming from upstairs,” Brandon said, smirking at Emma.

I laughed as I watched Emma’s face turn bright red. It doesn’t matter how often we tease her, she still gets embarrassed. I took the big pitcher of ice she held out to me and began cracking open bottles, pouring each into it in turn. I grabbed the long handled spoon she handed me and stirred to mix the vodka, amaretto, Southern Comfort, Grand Marnier, pineapple juice, sweet & sour mix, and 7up all together.

When it was all mixed, I poured a glass of it for everyone except Jacks, and then raised my glass, the others following suit without question.

Without even thinking, I gave my customary girl’s night toast. “Here’s to a good night with plenty of booze, good music to dance to, and lots of hot dudes!” As soon as the words left my mouth, Emma cringed and then busted out laughing at the horrified look I know how to be plastered across my face.

Luke looked like he was trying to choke back the laughter, and Brandon didn’t even try.

Jackson just shook his head and said, “Might want to work on a new toast there, babe.”

Oy.

We hung out and drank a bit more before piling into Brandon’s Expedition because it was the biggest vehicle. About twenty minutes later we pulled up to new club that had opened in town, The Dungeon. I was really curious to see what kind of club it was. I’d heard a few people talk about it in passing and how much fun it was to go there and dance, so I was definitely excited to get in and have a good time. About the best place to go dancing before the new one came in was Shimbot’s on Main, but a lot of people don’t want to go there because it’s a “gay bar”. Gay or not, I’ve always had a blast there!

There was no horrendously long line to get in (come on, it’s Ohio, not Hollywood), so we made it into the dimness of what looked to be a lobby area fairly quickly. There was a gorgeous woman standing at a podium, dancing to the heavy beat of the music flooding the room while she was checking ID’s and taking the cover charge. She was wearing a tight black and hot pink corset with black boy short panties, fishnet stockings, and six inch stiletto-heeled fuck-me shoes. I think we all drooled.

We paid the cover and pushed our way through the heavy black curtains separating the lobby from the actual club. It. Was. Awesome. The décor was predominantly black with splashes of red and silver throughout. The lighting was even dimmer than usual for a club, and the dance floor was packed. I gasped as I noticed two cages on either side of a stage area along the back wall; in each one was a woman dressed similarly to the one in the lobby, dancing seductively. One of them held a whip, the other what looked to be a riding crop. Yikes.

And by yikes, I mean, oh-holy-shit-how-hot-is-that?!

The bar, a long expanse of glossy black wood, was situated along the far right wall. There were black booths with blood red cushions along the left and front walls, with some tables and chairs placed around the perimeter of the dance floor. They were separated by a half-wall that almost enclosed the dance area. There was also a staircase that I noticed led up to a loft area with more tables, chairs, and booths.

I looked over at Emma, whose eyes were sparkling and her lips were stretched in a wide smile, and raised my eyebrows. Without hesitation, she nodded and we took off, grinning as we heard the guys start to protest behind us. We ignored them and made a bee-line for the dance floor, shrieking when the song changed and the speakers began belting out AC/DC’s Shook Me All Night Long. I don’t care how old or young you are, when that song plays, you dance!

We rushed the floor, pushing our way in and then started to dance, shaking our hips and asses as we bounced around. I love to dance (I mentioned this before) and Emma, though you won’t get her to really admit it, does too. She’s pretty decent when she lets loose, and I can hold my own for sure, if I do say so myself. In fact, back in the day, that’s how Emma and I managed to drink for free pretty much every night we went out, even when we went to Shimbot’s on Main. I’d grab Emma and start grinding on her and soon enough, we’d have an audience panting around us and would be making steady trips to the bar, accompanying the buyer of the moment. (Give us some credit, we knew better than to wait for them to bring the drinks to us; never know what the hell they might have tried to pull!) God, those were the good ol’ days…

Still dancing, I looked around to see where the guys had went since we’d left them. I spotted Luke and Jacks sitting in a booth not too far from the bar, but didn’t see Brandon anywhere. I danced in a circle, turning to see if I could find him and stopped dead in my tracks when I finally did. I felt Emma bump against me, dancing like a maniac, but she froze when she saw what had me staring.

Brandon was standing at the bar, but he was leaning down so he could hear the slutty little skank currently talking in his ear. Her hand was pressed to his arm, fingers squeezing his bicep. I don’t think so, whore-bag…

I strode off the dance floor, Emma holding onto my shirt so she didn’t lose me, headed straight for Brandon. Emma knew better than to try to stop me, but as I got closer, I did notice that she broke away from me and made her way toward Luke and Jacks. Calling in the big guns to stop me in case I do something stupid. Not that I would…I think.

I didn’t stop until I reached Brandon’s side, purposefully sliding under his arm and wrapping both of my arms around his waist, which knocked the skank’s hand away. Oops…my bad. Ha! Yeah, right…

I pressed myself tight to him and tipped my head back, meeting his amused gaze with mine. I smiled sweetly at him and asked, “What are you getting me to drink, baby?”