“Five Vodka and orange, five gin and tonic, and a whiskey please,” said Skylar, breathlessly. With her mind actively thinking of ways to ask Mike out, she could hardly concentrate on the drinks menu.
“Straight?” She blinked and nodded.
“Yes.”
“Anything else?”
“Yes, can I have your number, please?” Mike grinned and leaned in towards her with interest.
“I go off in half an hour. I’ll wait for you.” Skylar grinned at the guy, unable to believe that she had behaved so recklessly. What could she do? She had to fix a Mike for herself before Christian attacked her again!
“Sure.” With a satisfied smile, he fixed her the drinks when her friends joined her.
“What’s taking you so long?” asked Alyssa with a knowing smile.
“Have you ordered the food and the cake?” asked Skylar, having completely forgotten to order at the bar. With Mike busy, she didn’t disturb him again.
“Yes, Alexander and I had a word with the manager. He’ll have them arranged for,” said Alyssa. They waited for their drinks patiently.
“What were you doing with the bartender, girl? He seemed so interested in you,” whispered Alyssa.
“He isn’t as good-looking as Christian. How are you so interested in him?” asked Eva, looking clueless.
“His name’s Mike. So I can introduce him to Christian as my boyfriend. Later, if Mike agrees, I’ll do a contract marriage with him to get Christian off my ass.” The girls groaned at her immature plans.
“Grow up, Skye. How do you know Mike is better? He might be a criminal and rob you of everything you have,” said Alyssa. Their drinks arrived, and they paid Mike, who gave them a mock salute. Thankfully, he hadn’t heard their hushed whispers amidst the chaos.
Skylar flashed a fake smile at him but Alyssa’s warning echoed in her head. They carried the drinks to the upper deck.
“Oh, the manager has sent our order already,” said Eva, looking behind them to see the staff following them upstairs with their orders. Alyssa took the black forest cake from the staff and placed it on the table. She noticed a hot, drool-worthy man left their table after a nod at Sienna. Who was he? How did he know Sienna? She was bursting with curiosity and shared a look with Skylar. They would grill Sienna later!
“Time to celebrate, birthday girl!” sang Alyssa when Hayley squealed with delight as she rushed in from somewhere after seeing the cake!
Sienna completely forgot about the man named Lucas who she had just met amidst all the chaos. The girls sang the birthday song for her and she blew the candles and stuffed pieces of cake into everyone’s mouth while they fed her, too. They downed the cocktails and whiskey greedily and at the end of it all, Skylar was as drunk as they all were. Her head swam, and she couldn’t help the feeling of lightheaded bliss that spread all over her.
“I think I’ll dance with that cute bartender, hic!” slurred Skylar.
“I’m coming with you,” said Alyssa.
“Me too,” said Eva.
“Me three,” giggled Hayley. They all turned towards Sienna.
“Me four,” Sienna giggled as well.
“Yay, that’s the spirit. Let’s go,” said Alyssa, leading them downstairs to the dance floor but Sienna couldn’t find her mobile phone and she started looking for it.
“You’ll go. I’ll join you in a minute, ” she said.
Eva headed to the washroom, and Skylar pulled her friends to the dance floor.
“This is my favorite number. Let’s go,” said Skylar, grabbing Hayley’s hand and pulling her right into the crowd, gyrating to the beats of a peppy dance number. The three friends started dancing with one another.
“Hey, beautiful! I was waiting for you.” A whisper in her ear startled Skylar, and she whirled around, staggering a little.
Her eyes popped out on seeing Mike with a bright smile on his face. “Oh, it’s you. I completely forgot!” she said with a shy smile.
“That’s okay! So, your place or mine?” he asked, cocking his head to give her a once-over.
“What? Umm, no. I’m not interested. I wanted to talk to you,” she said, watching the jaw-dropped look on his face.
“Oh, we’ll talk as well!” he chuckled, while she gave him a flustered look. Was Alyssa right about him?
“No, I’m only interested in talking to you.” She glared at the man who couldn’t understand her, although she was the one who was drunk.
“Oh, my bad! So what do you want to talk about? Will you come over to my place? I live nearby.” Skylar considered his offer for a moment when her eyes fell upon a table at the far end. She gasped with shock. Was that Christian sitting there and watching her?
Her head reeled under the effect of alcohol, and she rubbed her eyes.
“I’ll take your silence as your approval. Come on. Let’s go,” said Mike, grabbing her arm. Skylar looked at the table again, but to her surprise, there was no one. Did she imagine Christian a minute ago?
“Hey, stop. I’m not going anywhere with you,” she protested, but the creepy guy paid no heed to her.
“Skylar. Where are you going? Hey stop,” said Alyssa angrily. “Stop, or I’ll yell the place down.”
“What the fuck! She has agreed to go with me,” gritted out Mike.
“No, I didn’t. Let me go, you creep!” said Skylar.
“Let her go,” said Alyssa angrily. Mike left her and strode off, muttering curses at them.
“God! I need another drink,” said Alyssa, pulling her along with her to the bar. “Just one more won’t do us harm, right?” slurred Alyssa.
“Right. Thanks for saving me. You were right. He was creepy!” said Skylar. They were about to order when Alexander stormed towards them.
“Oh, no! He seems mad at us,” said Skylar with dread.
“That’s enough for you two. Time to go home.” He grabbed them, leading them to his car. Skylar saw Ashton carrying Hayley to his car.
“Get in,” ordered Alexander. and Alyssa climbed into the passenger seat.
Skylar sank into the backseat and was immediately out. They waited for Sienna and Eva, while Ashton and Hayley sped off.
Later, Alexander dropped them at Alyssa’s apartment, and they spend the night there.
The next morning, it was late when Skylar woke up. She felt exhausted as if a bulldozer had mowed down. Her head felt heavy, and she blinked at Alyssa, still sleeping beside her.
She freshened up and went to the kitchen to pour some water down her parched throat. Going to Phoenix was such a bad idea. They could have enjoyed more at her place. Her thoughts went to Mike, and she groaned at the outrageous stunt she pulled. He wasn’t worth the effort. Maybe Alyssa was right after all. How could she trust Mike?
Her phone buzzed with an incoming call from Caleb, and she groaned with agony. What did he want now? It was the weekend, and she just wanted to sleep more.
“What happened?” she asked, accepting his call.
“Where are you now?” he barked into the phone. Skylar rolled her eyes.
“I’m at Alyssa’s house. Why?” The way he reprimanded her, it seemed as if she were a schoolgirl.
“Grandpa Ben is waiting on your doorstep for the last ten minutes. Go home now. This is important,” said Caleb with displeasure. Skylar gasped with shock, wondering what Grandpa Ben could want from her on a Saturday.
“Fine. No need to yell. I’m going.” She disconnected the call and rushed to the washroom for a shower. How could she face Grandpa Ben in her current state? He would surely know what she had been up to last night.
Afterward, wrapping a towel around herself, she checked Alyssa’s closet for an appropriate dress to wear.
“Where are you off to so early, Skye?” groaned Alyssa.
“It’s eleven, Alyssa. Christian’s grandpa is waiting for me on my doorstep. I’m borrowing your clothes. Bye, catch up later.”
“God! Are you sure it isn’t Christian waiting for you there?” she chuckled, closing her eyes to go back to sleep.
Skylar gaped at her friend for a split second. It didn’t occur to her at all. What if it was truly Christian waiting for her? No, not possible at all. Then Caleb would have informed her.
She hurriedly dressed and rushed out of the apartment. All sorts of weird thoughts flashed across her mind. What could be the urgency? Couldn’t Grandpa Ben wait until next week? At least he could have informed her of his arrival.
She was already fifteen minutes late. Would Grandpa Ben still be waiting for her? Skylar reached at last and drove into her house. She noticed Grandpa Ben’s car and groaned. She had expected him to leave already. Maybe he had something important to discuss with her!
Skylar impatiently pressed the doorbell and Mrs. Jules opened it immediately.
“Oh, there you are. Come over to the reception room. Mr. St. James has been waiting for you for almost an hour.”
“An hour or half an hour?” she asked, perplexed. She followed Mrs. Jules to the reception room but froze at the doorway. Instead of Grandpa Ben, it was Christian St. James, sitting there, waiting for her.
“You? What are you doing here? Where’s Grandpa Ben?” she gasped.
Christian stood up with a furious expression on his face.
“Yes. It’s me. Pack up your things. We’re going to LA right now.”