Surprisingly, I didn’t regret it, but I didn’t understand what had possessed me at that moment either.
Maybe it’d been for the best that I hadn’t asked why I hadn’t stopped to think.
If I had, I probably wouldn’t have been dancing around like a dainty pixie the last few weeks, or so it had been pointed out. By nearly everyone. At first, I wondered how miserable I must have been normally, but I quickly got over it. Why waste time worrying over the small things when instead, I could be imagining all the naughty things I’d let Callum do to me.
Anytime, anywhere.
It seemed I didn’t care about what I should be doing - mainly protecting my heart and keeping Callum away from the truth. Those walls I’d built twenty feet high and five feet thick around my heart, they were there to make sure that nothing ever touched me again. But if Callum wanted to storm in and touch me all over, I would be powerless to stop him, as the ‘incident’ had proven.
My staff hadn’t been the only ones to have noticed my mood shift. Naomi had too. And when she started that conversation, I’d tried to keep my composure - mostly because I wasn’t even sure if I was going to tell her. That didn’t last long though.
To my shock, she’d slapped me for keeping it from her, then squealed and demanded all the dirty details. Of which I limited, she was my sister after all. She’d even had the ludicrous idea to invite Callum out with us.
That was when I slapped her, she was clearly delirious.
It was the first Friday of the month, and that meant one thing, girls night. Except as the years had passed by, my girl had grown attachments. So now it was girls plus boys night. But I didn’t mind so much because we still had an awesome time. Sometimes it was even better when the guys were there.
Usually, the gang consisted of Naomi and Blake, Stella - my only close friend from high school - Sasha, and Frankie. The invitation was always extended to the rest of my dancers but would depend upon their work schedule. If they turned up, awesome. If not, we’d be sure to catch them up the day after.
Naomi and Blake grabbed a cab and swung by mine before we made our way to Affinity - our staple club for nights out.
Traffic sucked. Trapped in the back of the car I felt the seconds tick by, my chipper mood quickly souring. By the time we pulled up at the curb outside the nightclub I was sure that my curls had dropped and my lip gloss had lost its shimmer.
It was no surprise to find that everyone was already inside, seated, and waiting on us. We crossed the room to the table, where Stella had been waving her arms at us like a drunken idiot. The table looked full, in the low lighting I could make out Frankie chatting with a few of my Diamonds; Anna, Charlotte, and Tatum.
I smiled at the sight. Anna and Tatum had been out with us before but Charlotte was our newest burlesque dancer. It was nice to see the others including her and to see her out. I didn’t know her well but she seemed kind of quiet - although that could’ve just been nerves for starting at a new job.
Of course, it was no skin off their noses, I counted at least four empty glasses on the table.
* * *
Three hours, five cocktails, and two phone numbers later, and we hadn’t stopped for a minute.
Blake, George - Stella’s new beau - Sasha, and Ford were holding down the fort back at our table. Sasha, being pregnant, wasn’t drinking and Ford was abstaining out of solidarity. It was the sweetest thing. But they seemed happy enough without the alcohol. The rest of us on the other hand needed a little help getting there.
A Madonna song started pumping through the club and Anna started voguing. I laughed at her before we all started to join in, because why the hell not?
Us girls must have danced for an hour straight before a slower, sexy song came on. I looked around as Naomi and Stella magnetically found their partners. Not wanting to look desperate Anna, Charlotte, Frankie, and Tatum joined me in making our way back to the table. I smiled at Sasha in passing as she and Ford naturally headed out onto the dance floor.
At the table, we ordered another round as I searched my clutch for my lip gloss. And that’s when I stumbled upon it…
I’d forgotten all about the small torn piece of paper I’d tucked away in there. But I was just tipsy enough to consider the idea. I imagined what it would’ve been like if Callum were there - if we’d come together. The more I had to drink, the more I thought about calling him.
All in all, my chances of going home alone were slim to none.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Callum. It didn’t matter how many sour shots Frankie passed me, or how many cute guys approached our table. I was tipsy and horny and Callum’s number was burning a hole in my purse.
I’d decided against storing the number in my phone, that would’ve felt way too easy. Instead, I'd torn it from the clipboard and shoved it into my clutch.
It only took ten minutes and another shot for me to finally cave in to my desires.
After a quick phone call that I knew I’d hate myself for tomorrow, he was on his way. Just like that. Every second I waited for him was torture but I knew when thick strong arms wrapped around my midsection that it had been worth the wait.
We were on the same page. No messing around this time, we both knew why he was here and what we wanted from one another. I liked it better that way.
I could only manage to keep dancing for one song before the feel of Callum’s erection against my back started to make me antsy. Impatient and not being able to take the heat anymore, my fingers intertwined with his to drag him off the dance floor. I slammed through the back door of the club and wasted not a second, throwing myself at him.
Hands gripped my thighs and my legs circled his waist as I finally gave in to the urge to kiss him. My back rested gently on the brick of the building behind me.
