“You’re a good dancer,” Mira shouts over the music. Her skin glows with the finest sheen of sweat.
“And you’re surprised?” I let my palms rest lightly on her hips as we move in sync with one another.
She shakes out her sweaty, dark hair and grins. “Maybe a little.”
“Baby,” I tease, “I’ve got moves you’ve never seen before.”
“Show me!”
I do. I don’t care who sees or who may take a video of my ridiculousness. I bust out moves from the lawnmower to the shopping cart to make Mira laugh. And laugh, she does. When I add some hip thrusts to the shopping cart, she nearly loses it.
“Oh my god. You’re terrible.” Mira shakes with laughter as she fans her face. “Truly awful.”
“What? I’m amazing.” When Mira keeps fanning her face, I lean in and shout, “Do you need another drink? Maybe a water?”
“Water is for the weak. I want a mojito.” She waggles her eyebrows at me and licks her lips. She’s ridiculous. And she probably does need some water, but I’ll make sure she has some after our next round of drinks.
“Stay right here. I’ll be back in a minute.” I notice Maddox and Isla dancing a few feet away and signal Madds to look out for his sister. He gives me a nod, then I push through the crowd toward the bar. I lose sight of Mira while I wait for our drinks, but I can see Maddox’s giant head over most of the crowd, so I head back in that direction. It’s difficult not to spill the drinks in the sea of writhing bodies, but I somehow make it back to where I left Mira with two full glasses. Except, Mira is no longer alone.
“What the fuck?” I growl under my breath. Two guys have their hands all over her as they dance way too close to my roommate. Close enough that I’m sure she can feel the outline of at least one of their dicks, if not both.
I catch Maddox’s eye, and his expression darkens when he sees the dudes grinding on his sister. At least I’m not the onlyone pissed by this. Madds is looking out for his sister, and I’m looking out for my friend. That’s all this is.
Pushing through the people dancing between us, I use my hockey skills and hip-check one douchebag away from Mira. He glowers at me, but when he realizes I have a solid six inches of height and at least fifty pounds of muscle on him, he backs away.
Good choice, I mouth. He narrows his eyes but keeps his mouth shut.
Douche number two is harder to shake, so I press against Mira’s back and shout that I’m back with her drink. She spins around with a smile, and just like that, douche number two is forgotten. He tries to grind against Mira a few more times, but when I shoot him a dirty look and she continues to ignore him, he finally gives up.
“This is so good,” Mira shouts as she gulps her drink. I warn her to slow down, but she either doesn’t hear me or chooses to ignore my words.
Screw it. When in Vegas.
I toss back my drink and set our empty glasses on a passing server’s tray.
A new song comes on, and Mira squeals. “I love this one!” She throws her arms around my neck, and her body sways against mine. As she dances, she gets closer and closer until one of my knees is between her thighs and my hands grip her hips to keep her from losing her balance and toppling over.
Isla and Maddox move closer to us, and we all dance together. And if Maddox notices how little space there is between his sister’s body and mine, he doesn’t say. He’s too lost in his fiancée.
We get another round of drinks, then Logan flags us down. He’s got the little brunette under his arm. Sebastian stands near the blonde, but they don’t look as cozy. No doubt, the poor guy is trying to figure out how he can get out of sleeping with her.
“We’re getting out of here. See you guys at the hotel tomorrow morning.”
“Be safe,” Isla calls after them. Logan just waves a dismissive hand in the air. She rolls her glassy eyes and then turns to us. “Another round?”
Maddox hums. “I don’t know, Short-Stack. You sure you’re not done for the night?”
“One more,” Isla says with a pout. Of course, Maddox caves. He’s a sucker for a pouty lower lip and the woman he loves. Maybe it’s the alcohol, or maybe it’s my secret romantic heart, but watching them makes me feel all gooey inside. A sweet kind of gooey. Not the sex kind of gooey. They’re perfect together, and I couldn’t be happier that Maddox pulled his head out of his ass and begged his woman for a second chance.
If I was in Maddox’s shoes, I’d never let a woman like Isla slip away in the first place.
But all’s well that ends well, I suppose.
The four of us down another round of drinks. What is that? Three? Four? Whatever it is, I’m feeling good. And if I’m feeling good, I know Isla and Mira have got to be well on their way to being totally drunk, if they’re not already there. When Isla stumbles for the tenth time, Maddox pulls her into his arms and tells her it’s time to call it a night.
“You two heading back now?” he asks Mira and me. I’m set to say yes, but Mira has other plans.
“No way. I’m having too much fun. Stay out with me, Griffy?” She flutters her eyelashes at me in a move that’s probably meant to be sexy, but she’s a little too drunk to pull it off. It ends up looking like she’s got something stuck in her eye.
