“Let's get this mother fucking party started,” Blair hollers, popping open a bottle ofchampagne. The bottle erupts with fizz, but she shoves it in her mouth before it starts to make a mess. The cork flew so high, it’s nowhere to be seen.
One of our favourite songs from school starts to play, a remixed version of ‘I got a feelin’ pumps around us. The moment the words start, the four of us are up on our feet, glasses in hand, and we’re partying like we’re still teenagers.
“Girls. I miss this,” Gracie shouts, her head tipped back as she shimmies. “We need to do this more often.”
“A monthly girls' night!” Maya says, shaking her arse even more vigorously at the thought. “It’s about time we started living in the moment again.”
“Yes, bitches,” Blair adds.
“I’ll agree to that,” I say, lifting my half-full glass in the air. “To us, partying like we’re still young, wild and free.”
The night goes on pretty much the same. Dancing, drinking, laughing. All the things we love the most. The only person missing is Lucy, but she recently started working in a bar and doesn’t like to ask for time off. If she were here, she’d be putting us all to shame. Who would have thought a classical dancer like my stepsister could also bump and grind like a stripper?
It doesn’t take long before the men make their way over. Quickly checking my phone, I laugh. Exactly one hour to the minute, Tommylasted without her. If he weren’t my brother, I'd think it was cute. But he is, so I think he’s gross. He leaves her with a quick kiss on the cheek and backs away with Max behind him.
Spinning around, I look for the only man I'm excited to see, and there he is. Standing at the bar with his two best friends next to him, is Luke. Dom and Will look to be in deep conversation on either side of him, Max and Tommy slide in too, and Luke isn't giving them one bit of notice. His eyes are laser-focused on me. He isn’t close enough to touch, but even from here, I can see the desire written all over his face. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t give him exactly what he wanted?
With a flirtatious wink and a toss of my hair, I turn back to my friends. We have a strict girl code, one that doesn’t need words to communicate. I raise my brows, bite my bottom lip, and they all know exactly what it is I’m wanting to do. From their returning smiles, I know we are about to cause some trouble.
Blair, the most confident among us, starts us off. Her hands move over her curves as she sways her hips from side to side. With each passing beat, her body gets lower to the ground, and her legs spread wider. She is the queen of all slut drops, but she's taught us all well. We follow suit, taking turns to be as sexy as we possibly can, dropping down low, skirts raising, arse cheeks popping. When it comes to my turn, I can feel theheat scatter along my back. With a quick glance over my shoulder, I know why. He has already taken a step closer, and his intense gaze is focused solely on me. So, of course, it makes me try even harder. But when I do, the other girls' competitive sides come out.
It isn't long before two tall shadows fall over Maya and me, the pair of us laughing out loud that our ploy has worked.
Luke's arms wrap around my middle as he begins to sway along with me. His hot breath and stubble tickle against my ear as he whispers. “How much longer until I take you home and have my way with you? You look so fucking good in this dress, Fal.”
Before I get the chance to respond, his hands skate lower down my body. Low enough to touch the apex between my thighs. His touch lasts less than a second, as I'm sure my brothers and friends would notice otherwise, but that single touch is enough to drive me crazy. Through all this, he continues to rock us along to the music.
“Luke,” I whisper breathlessly.
His hands are back on my waist, spinning me around to face him. This is the first time this evening that I have fully taken him in. He is wearing a thick white t-shirt, dark trousers, and the sexiest smirk. I swallow hard, because just the sight of this man alone makes me want to drool.
“Yes, baby?” his smirk turning devious.
“I want to stay… but I want you to fuck me more.”
His answering grin brings out my own. He lowers his face, his forehead touching mine.
“Go and say goodbye to your friends.”
You don’t have to tell me twice. I push out of his hold and turn, but none of the others are anywhere to be seen. Where the bloody hell did they all run off to? Pulling out my phone, I check the group chat.
Maya –Party’s over. My man couldn’t wait another minute to take me home.
Blair –Boring.
Graice –We’re out of here, too. There's only so much we singles can take around you loved up bunch.
I laugh, before passing my phone over for Luke to read. His eyes light with mirth when he passes it back to me.
“At least we don’t have to feel guilty now,” he chuckles. “Come on.”
“What about the boys? Are you…”
“Do you really think they won't know where I have got off to? Two of them have been going on about your outfit all night, trust me, they know I couldn’t resist the temptation.”
I giggle as he pulls me along behind him. God, I have loved every part of tonight. We didn’tmake it out for long, but even the buildup, spending time with my besties, has been amazing. I didn’t even get the chance to give Maya her main surprise. Not that I think she’d mind. It was Jenson doing a striptease after all.
Just as we’re leaving the club, something catches my eye. Right by the entrance, a woman is cowering in a dark corner. I can't see her face, so it could be that she’s had one too many tonight, but I've never been the kind of girl to leave another behind.
My steps falter the closer we get. I elbow Luke and nod over in the woman's direction. He frowns in return until he realises what is going on.
“I’ll be one sec,” I murmur, letting go of his hand and slowly approaching the woman.
“Hey,” I say softly, but all it does is make the woman cringe away from me some more.
Taking another hesitant step, I edge closer, hoping to at least check her over for injuries. I open my mouth to ask how she is when she finally lifts her head. Tears and makeup cover her face, but not only that, there's a smearing of blood dripping down her chin from her busted lip. Those sad eyes shoot open wide when she sees me, but she doesn’t look as afraid anymore. And I think I know why, because I know exactly who this person is.
It’s the lady from the salon. And she looks as broken as ever.
