Into the Darkness

“All I’m saying is that every time you were near him your tatas were jumping for joy and your beaver was singing celebration and I swear I could almost hear a gospel choir singing hallelujah.”

“Honestly Eric, how on Earth do you come up with these things?” I laughed, trying to lighten the mood. Eric then distracted himself by taking selfies with his phone. The subject was officially dropped.

…

After Dark was a new club but already hoards of people were waiting in line. According to Eric it was the new ‘IT’ place. Everyone from J-Lo to Katy Perry had been seen here. I wondered who would be here tonight. “Please be JT. Please be JT!” I chanted. Like I had a chance since Jessica Biel had already got her claws into him. Damn that hot bitch!

“Eric Kennedy, party of three.”

The large security guard opened the rope and let us in. How did Eric pull that off? I knew people had been trying to get in for weeks, as the list was long and distinguished. We walked past the rope and into the club. The club was huge compared to others I had been to. The bottom level was the dance floor lit up in an aqua color. The mezzanine level where we stood circled the dance floor. There were black leather booths that followed the flow of the circle. Facing directly opposite from the entrance where we stood was the bar. It was long, lit up and of course crowded. It looked amazing and, most importantly, it was going to help me forget these past three days.

We followed Eric to the bar. I motioned for the bartender, which wasn’t hard as he was already eyeing me up—or should I say he was eyeing my boobs. This dress was seriously the biggest man-magnet. I remembered Lex’s hand resting on my chest, inches away from the curve of my breast. Argh, I needed to get drunk. The tequila couldn’t come fast enough. After we knocked back our first round, I ordered a second. They needed to keep coming if I wanted to erase my memory.

Eric dumped us by the third. As I predicted, some hot guy had stolen him and for all I knew he was probably tied up in the back room.

“Look Charlie, I don’t want to upset you but if you ever need to talk you know I’m here, right?” Emma’s offer was genuine and I knew I could confide in her, plus she was a great listener.

“Thanks, Emma. But all I want to do is forget tonight ever happened. How did I go from no men in my life to suddenly two?”

“Maybe it’s fate. Have you thought about that?” Emma was a believer in fate, love and destiny. It wouldn’t surprise me if she attended those finding love seminars and wrote affirmations on her bathroom mirror.

“Or maybe it’s just the universe wanting to fuck me up big time,” I hollered.

We laughed so hard and for the first time that evening I felt lighter. The tequila was making me loosen up – just what the doctor ordered. Then a young good-looking guy came up to Emma and started chatting with her, and there went my drinking buddy. I ordered another shot but this time there was no counting down. I downed the shot, the burning no longer apparent.

“Hi baby, can I buy you a drink?” My skin crawled as he said it. Oh God, what a loser. The guy looked like he stepped out of one of those muscle magazines. He was wearing a shirt that read, “I Love Ass.” Seriously, did guys think that would get them laid? I was just about to tell him where to shove his drink and T-shirt when another voice stopped me. His voice.

“She’s with me.”

I didn’t have to look. I felt that familiar pull, that familiar scent. I turned to look at him. He was still in his suit but had removed his tie. His chest was slightly exposed revealing his tanned skin. He looked just like Eric had described him: drop-dead gorgeous. I couldn’t deny that I craved him, but the rational Charlie was now controlled by alcohol and was trying her best to wave her white flag.

The guy looked amused. “I wouldn’t leave her wandering the bar alone. A sexy little thing like her could really do some damage.”

Lex icily glared at the guy. He backed off like a scared puppy dog. I wanted to laugh given the size of the guy but I was distracted by the hotness before me. I was in trouble, and this time I was alone. Fuck!

“You didn’t have to do that. I can take care of myself!” I spat angrily, hoping to hide the nervousness I felt around him, especially now that we were alone. Him standing before me proved he couldn’t even respect my wishes: to leave me alone.

He was just about to respond when Eric appeared. THANK FUCK!

“Lex, thank you so much for sorting the door for me!”

What? How could Lex get us in, and when did Eric become best buds with him? I reminded myself to grill him later. I didn’t want to get into it now. I needed to escape this torture so I scanned the room for a quick getaway. My plan foiled as Eric began speaking again.

“Charlie, did you know Lex owns this place? I mean, seriously, how hot is this club!” Lex smirked as Eric continued. Rambling on about every detail, I was ready to kill Eric with my bare hands. Didn’t his parents teach him not to play with fire?

“Good evening, Mr. Edwards. What will it be?” asked the bartender.

“A round of tequila shots, Dylan. Can you send them to the VIP area?”

“Coming right up, sir.” The bartender grabbed the bottle and started pouring the shots.

Lex grabbed my hand and pulled me along. Eric, Emma and her new boy-toy followed closely behind me as we took the stairs up to another level. The hostess greeted Lex, practically throwing herself on him with her tits out for show. Stupid whore. He still held onto my hand, which felt like it was on fire. I couldn’t pull mine away. And the mantra going on in my head? Just a friend… He’s just a friend.

The VIP area had a quiet ambience to it, not like downstairs. There was another bar, less crowded with gold leather barstools in a row. In one booth I could see P. Diddy, or Puffy, Sean – whatever his name was this week – sitting with a group of girls. It looked like a music video. He nodded his head at Lex, and Lex nodded back. Then Lex directed us to a secluded circle-shaped booth like the one downstairs but with golden sheer curtains surrounding it and a full view of the entire club.

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nbsp; I sat down at the booth, Lex sliding in beside me. He sat as close as possible, the heat of his body pressing against mine. I tried desperately to distract myself but the butterflies were working overtime and I mean back-to-back double shifts. I was so screwed.