She sees me eyeing it, and she blanches. “Just a little X to make this fun. You won’t tell your brother, will you?” she asks, and I shake my head.
“No, not if you share,” I tell her, holding out my hand. Her eyes widen before she smirks and hands it over.
“Deal.”
I start to shake out my own pill, and before I can pop it into my hand, Evie stops me.
“Are you sure? You hate being out of control.”
I shrug off her hand and pop the pill into my mouth. “I’ve got security. They’ll look after me.” She’s still frowning when I toss back the rest of my drink. “Come on, Evie, don’t be a party pooper. It’s a celebration.” Evangeline takes a pill for herself and tosses it back, dry swallowing.
A couple of guys slide into the vacant chairs at our tables. One of them nods at the pill bottle just passed back to Selena.
“Are you in charge of party favors tonight, Lena?” Matthew Shaw, a TV actor who’s in one of the hottest teen shows at the moment, wiggles his eyebrows at Selena. He’s known for his goofy sidekick characters, but in reality, he’s nothing like that. I think he has a bit of a complex about never being the lead man. He tends to overcompensate in his private life. He’s regularly in the gossip columns for drug and alcohol fueled benders.
I see Selena sigh with annoyance before handing them over. “Fine, but you need to supply at the next party.” He takes one before handing it to his friend. Chase Anderson is another TV actor, but he earned a lead role in a young adult movie, and his star is quickly on the rise. I hope that his best friend doesn’t drag him down.
“Where’s Anna?” I ask Chase as he pops a pill into his mouth and chases it with a sip of beer.
“She had a night shoot. She’s going to come over when she’s done.” His girlfriend Anna Sinclair is the lead actress on the same show as Matthew.
“Anyway, it’s bros before hoes tonight, am I right?” Matthew slings an arm around his friend, lifting his hand for a high five. Chase returns it, albeit reluctantly.
It takes about ten minutes for the ecstasy to work its way into my system, then I’m ready to hit the dance floor with everyone. Selena, Evangeline, and I push our way through some people until we hit the middle of the dance floor. Lord Lavington is surrounded by people, but Selena pushes her way through and starts to dance with him. He looks a little startled, but he grabs her hips and starts to move in time with her. Another of his friends moves in front of her, and the three of them get lost in the music.
“Woo-hoo!” I throw my hands in the air and join in with Evangeline swaying next to me, her eyes closed, a look of rapture on her face. A woman slides up to her, which isn’t a surprise since it’s well known that Evie is gay. The woman runs her hands over her hips, and Evie’s eyes open. She gives the woman a lazy smile before pulling her close. They grind on each other, leaving me with Matthew and Chase.
I don’t know how long we’ve been dancing, but Chase’s girlfriend Anna eventually finds us on the dance floor.
“Jacinta,” she squeals, “I haven’t seen you in ages.” She gives me a hug before her boyfriend drags her out of my arms and into his. He nuzzles into her ear, and she giggles. “Did you pregame without me, baby?” she asks, and he whispers in her ear again. She continues to giggle as they make their way over to Selena. Selena passes the pill bottle to Anna, who takes one, and I see Lord Ashton and the other man dancing with them help themselves too.
“The whole gang’s rolling now. Maybe it will be an orgy later.” The voice in my ear has me jumping and twirling around. Matthew is way too close to me now, and I feel uncomfortable with the way he’s leering at me. Chase and Anna return, and she slides in between us.
“Come on. I need a drink. Let’s grab one.” She drags me off the dance floor and over to the bar before I can respond. The feel of her hand in mine has me moaning, and she shoots me a look.
“Ha-ha, you’re rolling really good. I need to catch up.” She waves down a bartender and orders us a couple of drinks.
“Thanks for the save. Matthew was just a little too close.” I see her grimace before she plasters on a smile.
“Yeah, he can get pretty handsy when he’s partying. He also doesn’t like to take no for an answer.” She mutters the last bit, but it’s still loud enough to hear. “Come on. Let’s get back to the dance floor. I hate it when Chase goes out with Matthew and indulges when I’m not with him. Matt always gets him into shit. Chase is in a good place in his career, and one scandal could destroy it.”
We finish our drinks and make our way back to the dance floor. My body tingles as it brushes across everyone, and I feel light and floaty and amazing. I’m not sure how long I dance for, but when I look around a little while later, I realize I’m all alone. Everyone I was partying with has disappeared. Feeling a little annoyed, I decide to take a trip to the bathroom. The X is still making me feel pretty damn good, so I’m not worried about the comedown yet. Riku and Simon have been invisible tonight, but I know they’ll have their eyes on me.
I push through the crowd, enjoying the way skin against skin feels. I kind of wish one of my guys were here so I could grind against them. It’s only as I move off the dance floor and toward the bathrooms that I realize I’m being followed. I stop to check my lipstick in a mirror, and behind me, I recognize a familiar face. Camilla Carlos is a renowned blogger, and she never has anything nice to say about anyone. Before I can tell her to leave me alone, a raised voice farther down the corridor catches my ear.
“Get your fucking hands off!” I move toward the sound, all thoughts of Camilla gone. Around a corner, I find Matt pushing Anna against a wall.
“Come on, you know you’re a dirty little slut. I see the way you look at me on set. You want a bad boy, not someone like Chase. You want someone who can really give you a good fuck.”
He must not see me behind him, because he continues to try to force his hand up Anna’s skirt. I consider tackling him myself, but he’s a lot bigger than me, so I look around. I find my security not far from me and wave them over. They can’t see what’s happening from where they are, but the minute they get closer, they spring into action. They tear Matt off Anna and drag him away. I hurry over to wrap my arms around her just as Chase exits the men’s bathrooms. “What happened?” he asks, dragging his girlfriend out of my arms and into his.
“Your asshole best friend just tried to cop a feel. My security is taking him outside now,” I tell him, and his eyes widen.
“Oh, babe, I’m so sorry.”
She pulls back, still sobbing. “I’ve told you time and time again, I don’t like him! He’s gone too far, and now you need to choose. Me or him.” She wipes her eyes and storms away while he looks at me helplessly.
“Dude, it’s a no-brainer. Even if you and Anna don’t last, Matt is bad news. You need to make a decision. Do you want a career and a girlfriend, or do you want to stick with your boy who is just going to drag you down? Be smart.” He nods before running after his girlfriend.
