She tends to stick with basketball uniforms or track pants when we’re on campus. When I drag her to parties with me, I often have to force her into women’s clothing. She’s a real tomboy down to her very core.
Preston’s eyeballs are practically bugging out of his head at the sight of Bex in sexy clothing. “Damn, Bex.” He grips her by the waist, studying her. “You look… hot.”
She forces a smile. “Thanks, Parker. You’re not so bad yourself.”
“Shannon,” Jamie O’Connor says to a girl with long, blonde hair. “This is Bex.” He points a finger at her and then to me. “And her friend, Taylor. They’re the girls I told you about.”
“Oh, hey.” Shannon strolls over to us. “You two are such lifesavers. We were ready to bail on the contest until Jamie told me you could fill in for our friends.”
I’ve seen Shannon at frat parties and around campus, but this is my first time meeting her.
“I don’t know how to dance,” Bex admits.
She’s so obsessed with all of her flaws that she can’t stop doting on them. I wish she would exude the same confidence she has when it comes to basketball.
“Yes, you do.” I smack her arm. “Bex is being modest.”
“Okay, fine.” She holds up her hands. “But if we lose, don’t blame me.”
“So, what do you need us to do?” I ask Shannon.
“It’s nothing special,” she lilts. “Just have fun. We have a few moves we’re planning to do. Move your hips to the beat and do whatever feels natural to you.”
Preston slips behind Bex, his big hands on her hips. He sways her hips, rocking her from side to side. “Nothing to it, Bex.”
She tenses up when his hands touch her skin. My bestie really needs to chill out. I guess the vodka we drank in our apartment wasn’t enough to mellow her out.
She glances up at him. “Easy for you to say. Maybe you should get up on the bar and shake your ass for money.”
He laughs. “For five hundred bucks, I would.”
“I think I need a drink,” she says to Preston. “I had some vodka before we left the dorm, but it wasn’t enough for me to do this.”
He better convince her to follow through on the dare. I know she can do this. While it’s stupid and not something either of us would normally do, she needs to get out of her little bubble and push herself to do things that make her uncomfortable. I learned from my father a long time ago you have to get uncomfortable to get what you want. And I know she wants Preston.
“I’ll be right there… watching you,” Preston says to her, his voice low and sensual. “Look at me and no one else.”
He gives me chills with his deep, manly voice, so I can only imagine what he’s doing to Bex right now.
“Okay.” She sucks in a deep breath and blows it out. “Let’s get this over with.”
When I peek over at Drake, he’s burning a hole through me with his intense blue irises. He looks like he’s a big, sexy caveman ready to throw me over his shoulder and pound me into next week. But I shoot him a wicked look that says, ‘If you’re smart, you’ll stay where you are.’ He must catch my drift because he does just that, still staring at me with a strange longing that heats my skin.
A few minutes later, we enter the club. The bass is so loud it vibrates beneath my four-inch heels. We tower over the other girls in these shoes. Bex was opposed to wearing them for this exact reason, but I couldn’t care less if people stare at us like we’re freaks. Let them look all they want.
“We have to check in,” Shannon says to us over the music.
We split off from the guys and follow Shannon and her sorority sisters to the back of the club. A bouncer ushers us into a large open room with vanities on one wall where a few girls are seated. Others stand behind them fixing their hair or makeup in the mirror.
Shannon introduces us to the girls in our dance group. We exchange pleasantries, and once it’s our turn to go on stage, a bouncer leads us out of the room and down the back hallway. He pushes open a door which leads to a long, wooden bar.
We step on stage, and when I glance out at the crowd, the lights are so bright I have to squint. Poles line the bar, each of us stepping forward to grab hold of one. Bex glances over at me, and I want to reach out and comfort her when I see her body visibly shaking from fear. She’s played basketball in front of large crowds, we both have, so you would think this should be a piece of cake for her.