Ariana’s POV –
I’m dressed in a black, figure hugging dress. It clings to my curves and dips down into a sweetheart neckline, exposing my chest. My legs are bare and I finish the look off by slipping on some black heels that lace up halfway up my leg. My hair is in its natural curly state, the strands tightly packed into almost ringlet style curls. I finally apply some dark red lipstick before finishing off with perfume. Justin interrupts me, walking into the bathroom. I spin around and pout, holding my hand on my hip.
“What do you think?” I giggle. His eyebrows shoot straight up before his eyes turn dark with lust. He closes the distance between us, his eyes hungrily taking in my appearance.
“Wow, you look. . . hot.”
“Thank you,” I blush, smoothing my hands down my dress. Justin quickly grabs hold of my wrists, placing them back down by my sides. A mischievous glint flashes through his eyes.
“Please, allow me,” he murmurs, his hands roaming down my body. I giggle again, wrapping my arms around his neck. He smells good and I lean in closer, inhaling his natural scent mixed with the aftershave he’s wearing. He’s dressed in denim jeans and a white button down shirt finished off with a dark jacket. His hair is combed back and he looks handsome.
“I suggest we stay here tonight…” His words are suggestive, spoken in low drawl. I roll my eyes playfully and pull back —
“No way, everyone’s expecting us! Come on,” I smile, taking hold of his hand. It’s warm and fits nicely in mine and I feel excitement building up inside my chest.
“I’m so excited!” I grin as we make our way to the taxi. We’ll both be drinking tonight so there’s no way I’m taking the car out with me.
“Promise me you’ll keep that dress on long enough for me to have some fun with you,” Justin whispers down my ear on the way to the club. I bite down on my lower lip and nod, my curls bouncing around my face.
“I promise,” I smirk, watching the world pass by as we make our way Downtown.
*****
Alex’s POV –
“Caleb! Get a move on, we’re going to be late!” I yell up the stairs, glancing at my watch. I let out an annoyed huff before double checking I have everything I need.
Money, my gun and most importantly, drugs.
Lots of it.
It’s Saturday night, the club’s are heaving with our usual customers. On a good night, we make around four or five grand and I always end up with a pretty girl by the end of the night.
“Sorry man, I was fixing up my hair,” Caleb says, bouncing down the steps. He’s dressed in his usual dark jeans and white combo. I grab my leather jacket and pull it on, securing my gun inside the waistband of my jeans.
“Let’s go amigo,” I motion, rolling my eyes as he continues to play with the strands of his hair at the front.
“Caleb, what do you have between your legs?” I ask him sarcastically, gripping onto his forearm and steering him out of the door.
“Do you want to see?” Caleb smirks, yanking my hand off him.
“No because I’ll need therapy from seeing the worlds smallest penis. Stop acting like a fucking chick dude,” I grin, pulling open the drivers door and stepping inside my car. The smell of newly polished leather greets me and I sigh, my hands wrapping around the steering wheel. . .
I’ll never get tired of driving this baby.
“If I was a chick, would you hit on me?” Caleb asks jokingly, sliding in next to me.
“If you were hot, you can bet your ass on it.” I smirk, shooting a playful wink at him. Caleb chuckles before turning up the volume, the music blasting through the car. The vibrations pulse underneath my seat and I nod my head along to the beat, rhythmically tapping my fingers on the steering wheel as I wait for the traffic lights to change.
*****
Ariana’s POV-
“Double vodka and coke please!” I smile to the bartender, bouncing a little to the music. The place is packed from door to door, lights bouncing off the walls and floors. The interior is designed modern, mainly covered with sleek black and white furniture. Booths line one side and drinks table line the other. The middle is kept empty for the dancing bodies. Above, there’s a section for VIP. A large grand balcony made entirely from glass that ventures off into the back of the building.
“This place is awesome!” I lean towards Kirsten’s ear and she nods. “The new owners who bought it a few months ago have done an amazing job!”
I nod my head, agreeing with her. The bartender hands me my drink and I let out a little cheer, clutching it tightly. Every-one holds out their glass, signalling for us to make a toast. There’s around ten of us and more on the way.
“To friends!” We all yell, clinking our glasses together. I smile at all my friends and Justin, excited to finally be out with them. Just like old times. I tilt my head back and take a large gulp, keen for the alcohol to finally hit me so I can let loose. I want to forget about the incident with Justin and forget about bad memories. Memories that should have stayed firmly hidden inside the back of my mind.
“You okay Ari?” Justin asks me, snaking his arm around my waist. I nod my head, forcing myself to smile. “Yeah, of course!”
“You ready to dance with me?” He smirks teasingly, leaning towards my neck and placing a kiss underneath my ear. I nod at him and he takes my free hand, leading me towards the dancing crowds of people. Some of our friends follow, keen to get onto the dance floor and show off their best moves.
The music in the club grows louder until it’s bouncing off the walls, the air full of excitement and buzz. It drowns out the chatter of conversations and I allow the beat to take control of my body as I sway left and right. I continue to take long gulps of my drink until it’s almost gone and laugh as Justin takes it from me, finishing it off. He wipes the back of his mouth and places it on a nearby table before sauntering back over to me.
His eyes are hungry, hungry for me. He places his hands on my waist and yanks my body towards his, pressing me into his mid section. I giggle a little uncomfortably but shrug it off and go with the flow.
I simply want to have a good time.
*****
Alex’s POV-
“Thanks man, have a good night!” I say, slapping him on the back a few times. He pockets the drugs and disappears into the crowd before taking the steps down from the VIP section. I lean against the glass, glancing down at the crowd under-neath me. Beside me, Caleb mirrors my action.
“This place looks epic dude, your dad did a good job,” Caleb says, slapping me on the back. I grin and turn towards him —
“You think Papa has this much class and taste? I designed the whole thing, this masterpiece is my idea,” I smirk proudly, catching the eye of a pretty brunette glancing in my direction. She gives me a flirtatious smile, her eyes drifting down my body. I smirk back at her, making no attempt to hide the fact that I’m checking her out. She’s pretty, not Ariana pretty but still . . . pretty.
What’s wrong with you Alex?
Stop comparing her to Ariana. You can’t have her.
“Fuck,” I mumble, running a hand through my hair. I’m right, I can’t have her. I make no attempt to walk up to the girl but she comes towards me, swaying her hips seductively. I watch her, leaning back against the glass with a small smile playing on my lips.
“Hey beautiful,” she drawls out, leaning towards my ear. I place one hand on her waist, gently tugging her towards me.
“Alex is the name,” I smile, trailing my hand down her bare arm. She smiles, showing off a set of perfectly straight teeth.
“Hey Alex, I’m Rhia,” she smirks, taking a sip of her drink. I pull her back gently, noticing a customer making his way to-wards me.
“I’ll be two minutes Rhia,” I murmur down her ear and she pouts unhappily, her hand tucking into the waistband of my jeans. I raise a brow at her eagerness but don’t protest and instead, turn to Caleb. He rolls his eyes at me and I shrug, giving him an apologetic look.
“Dude, I’m busy. Go deal with it,” I smirk, chuckling as his whipped self walks off unhappily.
“Do you want to go somewhere alone?” She whispers down my ear, her hand disappearing down my jeans. I let out a cough, surprised at this girl’s confidence. We’re surrounded by people and she’s acting like we’re the only ones in this building.
“Are you sure you want to go somewhere private because you seem to be okay with being right here…” I trail off, gently removing her hand off me. I’m starting to get effected by it and I’m not done with business. Business before girls, always.
“Wow,” she breathes out, clearly impressed with what she’s found. I lift an eyebrow at her, an arrogant smirk plastered on my face.
“Yeah, wow.” I repeat, chuckling under my breath. I spin around and scan over the crowds once again, making sure every bouncer and security guard is where he’s supposed to be. One of them notices me looking and nods. I nod back at him re-spectfully.
“Oh my god, are you the owner of this place?” Rhia gasps, clinging onto my arm. I turn towards her, completely forgetting she’s still standing beside me. She’s starting to annoy me with her clinginess and the pounds signs rolling through her eyes are a clear sign she’s part gold digger.
“No, I’m not,” I lie, shaking my head at her. She rolls her eyes once she thinks I’m not looking before wondering off, head-ing for her next victim. I shake my head unbelievably but shrug it off, there’s a million other Rhia’s who are happy for me to take them home tonight.
That’s when my eyes land on her.
The girl I really want, Ariana.
She looks breath-taking, easily the most sexiest girl in the club. The dress she’s wearing clings to her very curve, accentuat-ing the fine body I knew she has. My fingers itch to touch her and I can feel myself growing aroused from simply watch-ing her dance. Her hips sway to the music almost professionally, arms swaying carefree with her eyelids fluttered shut. My hands on the glass tighten as I notice who’s beside her, Justin.
The idiot boyfriend.
You can’t have her Alex.
“Fuck,” I repeat, unable to tear my eyes off her. She looks so damn fine, I want to whisk her away and never let her out of my sight. She doesn’t seem to care what’s going on around her, her motifs simply to have a good time. She isn’t one of those people who go to the club and stare at everyone else, desperately trying to attract the most attention. And here she was, having my complete undivided attention.
“Alex!”
I spin around, my eyes landing on Caleb stood behind me. He’s frowning at me, an annoyed expression on his face.
“I called you like six times! You alright?” He asks me and I nod, clearing my throat.
“Yeah, sorry man. I was distracted.”
Caleb nods a little warily before handing me a rolled up wad of cash. I take half and hand him back the other half.
“Take it man, you deserve it.”
His eyes widen and he raises his brow —
“You sure? That’s like two grand right there.”
“You earned it. Take it,” I bump shoulders with him and he smiles at me gratefully, pocketing the money.
“Who were you looking at? Took a while to pull you out of it,” Caleb chuckles, his eyes scanning the crowd. I clear my throat, putting my hands in my pocket. I don’t want to admit that I was day dreaming about Ariana but that’s exactly what I was doing.
“Do you see that absolutely beautiful girl in the black dress?” I ask him, pointing in the direction of where Ariana is stood. Justin is now pressing against her and I clench my jaw, wanting to rip the bastard away from her. Caleb nods, eyes slightly widening as his gaze finally lands on her. He lets out a low whistle —
“She’s what you’d call. . . hermosa,” Caleb grins and I beam back at him, nodding my head.
“Yeah, hermosa.” I chuckle, the guy knows me too well. My eyes land back on her and I drag my lower lip into my mouth, my eyes travelling with her body as she moves to the music. I imagine her doing the same thing for me but privately and instantly regret it.
“Dude, what are you waiting for? Go get her.” Caleb motions for me to go downstairs and I shake my head, snapping my-self out of the little dream I was just in.
“I can’t, the boyfriend,” I scoff, motioning at Justin with a nod of my head. Caleb’s eyes follow my direction and he also releases a scoff.
“He looks like a chick himself.”
“That is why you’re my best friend,” I chuckle, nudging shoulder with him. He playfully hits me harder, knocking me back slightly. I raise my brow and shove him again and Caleb falls backward a few feet, stumbling. I beam at him, a proud smile on my face.
“You always take it too far,” he mumbles unhappily.
“You know I’m stronger than you, I don’t understand why you still try,” I respond.
“It’s a guy thing,” Caleb shrugs, taking a drink from the bartender walking round with a tray. He hands me one and we both hold it up in the air.
“What should we toast it to?” I ask him, racking my brains. Caleb smirks, a humorous glint in his eyes.
“Sex and money.”
I immediately laugh.
“Sex and money,” I repeat, touching my glass with his. We both take a drink and he continues to watch over the crowd whilst my gaze is fixed permanently on Ariana. I watch, my head slightly tilted as Justin grabs hold of her waist roughly, yanking her body towards his. My fists tighten against the glass bar and I can feel my jaw clenched tightly. Through the darkness and strobe lights, I can see the uneasiness flash across her face and I push myself off the glass, slamming my drink down onto the table.
“Woah dude, are you alright?” Caleb asks me, his eyebrow raised high. I don’t reply and weave my way through the crowd, heading for the stairs. I climb down them easily, the guard pulling back the rope to let me through. I find myself immersed between the bodies of dancing adults, intoxicated and wired on drugs. I push off the outstretched hands reach-ing for mine from numerous girls and I continue walking, my jaw locked as I struggle to contain my anger.
I don’t know why it’s bothering me so much, it happens to one in every other girl in here.
I don’t want it happening to Ariana.
I remember the innocence and pain flash through her eyes last night when she spoke so brokenly about her living night-mare. I wanted names, I wanted to know who to crush and destroy. But I wouldn’t push her to open up to me. Not if she didn’t want to.
I reach the area I’d seen her dancing in but she’s nowhere to be found, completely disappeared. I frown and scan the crowds desperately, noticing her douchebag boyfriend has also disappeared alongside her. I let out an annoyed breath and look up to find Caleb watching me from the VIP balcony, a confused look on his face.
“Fuck,” I mumble underneath my breath for the thousandth time tonight. I walk up to the bar and take a seat, a row of drinks automatically pushed in front of me. I nod a thanks at the barman and he walks off nervously, his hands fidgeting in front of him. I catch my reflection in the mirrored glass behind the bar and almost chuckle. I’m scowling deeply and I look murderous . . . no wonder I frightened the poor kid.
“Hey kid! Have you seen a girl wearing a black dress with curly dark hair?” I ask him, running my thumb along the rim of the glass. He shakes his head, scanning over the crowd.
“No, sorry. There’s loads of girls in black dresses and curly hair,” he says apologetically, turning to serve another custom-er. I exhale deeply and take another drink from the scotch glass, swirling it around in the bottom of the glass.
“Not like hermosa there isn’t. . . “