“Oh yes.” She grinned slyly over her shoulder while we navigated through the huge crush of people. “Shots!”
We made it to the bar, squeezing through the bodies piled three deep, all eager to get drinks. Once we got to the front, she waved frantically for one of the bartenders. “Corrie, I don’t know if shots are a good idea,” I continued to yell over the music.
“Of course they are!” she declared, then turned to the cute guy standing across the bar top from us. “Two shots of Patronsilver.” The cutie nodded and placed two shot glasses on the wooden surface. “This is exactly what you need, babe. Tonight’s all about letting your hair down and being a little reckless. You need to de-stress. Nothing better for that than tequila.”
She gave the bartender a wink and picked up the shots, handing one to me and clinking them together in cheers. I let out a breath, knowing deep down that she had a point. I was only twenty-six, damn it; I deserved to live a little. And that was just what I was going to do.
Corrine cheered me on as I threw the liquor back, wincing at the burn trailing down my throat, and slammed the glass back onto the bar. I quickly bit into a lime slice to kill the horrid taste of the tequila. She ordered two more shots each, and we’d just finished downing the last when the beginning chords of Twenty One Pilots’ “Lane Boy” started blaring from the speakers.
“I love this song!” Corrine yelled. “Let’s dance!”
I happily followed after her as we worked our way toward the center of the dance floor. Once there, I threw my hands up and lost myself in the beat of the music. It had been too long since I allowed myself to let go and enjoy life. I used to love going out dancing. I used to love a lot of things I’d forgotten about once I entered the world of motherhood. It was nice to be reminded that I still knew how to have fun.
One song bled into the next as Corrine and I shimmied and moved around on the floor, laughing and singing along with the songs until a thin sheen of sweat covered my skin. I reached behind me to lift my heavy mass of hair off my shoulders, holding it up as I continued to sway my hips from side to side.
“Hey!” Corrine shouted over the music, drawing my attention. “I need water. You coming?”
I waved her off and kept dancing. “Go without me. I’m gonna stay here.”
She nodded and started to move away. The noise of thepeople all around suddenly got louder, and from the corner of my eye I noticed them turn their attention to a closed-off area to the far left of the dance floor, but I was too engrossed in the song, and a little too buzzed to pay much attention. Pushing everyone around me out of my mind, I closed my eyes and lifted my arms in the air once more, letting my hair drop as Tove Lo continued to sing. I was so lost in my own alcohol-addled head that the pair of hands coming to rest on my hips gave me a start.
I spun around to face the guy who’d touched me with such familiarity. “Hi,” he said over the loud music. His smile was nice, making his average face look a bit more handsome.
“Hi,” I replied, a sense of discomfort washing over me at his close proximity.
“You’re a great dancer,” he continued, his hands still firmly on my hips.
“Oh… uh… thanks.” My discomfort grew stronger when I tried to pull away only to have his fingers grip me tighter, holding me in place.
The guy’s hips mimicked my movements as he leaned close, his breath reeking of beer as he spoke into my ear. “I like the way you move. Sexy as hell.”
I gave my best imitation of a polite smile as I wrapped my fingers around his wrists and removed his hands from my hips, taking two inconspicuous steps back as I continued to dance. “Thank you.”
“So what’s your name?” the guy called out, taking a step closer to me.
A shiver ran up my spine and alarm bells started going off inside my head. Yeah, with the way my body had been reacting to Garrett recently, I knew I needed to get laid, but the creep factor with this guy was off the charts. There was just something unsettling about the way he kept advancing, undeterred.
“I asked your name,” he stated, hooking his arm around my waist and pulling me against him.
I glared up at him and, even slightly tipsy, was able to notice his pupils were the size of pinpricks. Freaking perfect. It was my first night out in years and it was just my luck I was getting hit on by a dude tweaked out of his mind.
“Let go,” I said in a warning tone.
“Aw, come on, gorgeous. Don’t be like that. How ’bout a dance?” The guy’s hands slid down to my ass and he ground his pelvis into me.
“And how about I introduce my knee to your scrote?” I threatened. “I said let go.”
“Ooh, feisty.” He leered at me as he ground harder into me, squeezing my butt cheeks to the point of pain. “I like it.”
“Motherfucker, you got one second to remove your hands from her ass before I break every one of your goddamn fingers.”
My head jerked around in shock at the familiar voice. “Garrett?”
“Holy shit,” Tweaker Guy shouted. “Dude! You’re Garrett Wilder!”
“No, really?” Garrett asked sarcastically. “What’d I say about your hands?”
Tweaker’s eyes got really big in the face of Garrett’s size and the furious expression on his face. He immediately released my poor abused butt and held his hands up in surrender. “Sorry, bro. Didn’t realize she belonged to you.”
