Nineteen Read online

  We stand still like this for what feels like ages but was likely a minute at most, everyone else is oblivious to us and is still dancing to the pounding bass.

  I mentally shake myself, I might not know what the hell he’s doing but what the hell am I doing?

  He is far too beautiful a man to want me, this must be a game to him and I have to get away and back to the others before I make myself even more of a fool. I try to tug my arms from his grip but he holds firm, it’s actually starting to hurt a little so I struggle a bit more against his grasp. He doesn’t budge an inch.

  The DJ that had saved my ass earlier is now playing games with me as another track starts and Jason Derulo begins to sing about roaming hands and biting lips.

  I stare into his eyes, almost begging him to let me go. If he doesn’t I’m not sure I can play the games he undoubtedly knows all the rules to. The track continues to play, picking up the pace and with the lyrics heating my skin he loosens his grip and runs his hands down both my arms sending a shiver right to my core. His hands find my hips and in one quick motion he has pulled me into him, our bodies now touching. The contact makes my breath hitch a little but I cannot tear my eyes away from his as he begins to move our bodies together in time to the beat.

  My mind feels fuzzy from the contact, the swaying of our hips and the heat in his eyes, weaving a hypnotic spell over my senses

  I want to touch him, I need to touch him. The magnetic pull I feel is too much for my sane mind to deny.

  My hands move quickly before hesitating but it’s too late to back out now. I tentatively place both on his chest, all the while my hips keep the beat with his. I run them slowly up towards his neck, linking them behind it, my thumb skimming his nape. That small touch of his soft skin makes me feel like I need more, I need to touch him more.

  Without over thinking I break my gaze and lean back ever so slightly, never letting my hands move, keeping them linked behind his neck but increasing the pressure between our lower bodies as I continue to match his swaying hips with mine. God that feels so good . . . I deepen my swaying hips, amping up the pressure between our grinding bodies and causing the throb between my thighs to become seductively painful.

  He feels this too, he must. It can’t just be me.

  With that thought he grips me tighter with one hand while he runs his other hand over my body, starting at my rear, he cups my arse and pulls me into him even closer. Oh my God his hardness is now rubbing on the sweet spot at the apex of my thighs and I swear I am going to come undone, not just from his movements but from just how hard and big he feels. I know I’m not a virgin but Jeez I have never felt so nervous and turned on as I do right now.

  His hand slowly moves from my rear and burns a path up over my hip, lingering a little on my waist before continuing its journey over my ribs. Shit I swear his fingers just grazed over my breast, I should be mortified but I’m not, I’m down right sizzling. Every part of me from my brain, to the areas his hand have trailed over feels on fire but he does not stop.

  Tracing his fingers across my collar bone, then up to my ear, I feel like I’m going to melt into a steaming puddle on the floor but he is relentless and continues exploring my skin until I feel positively faint. I almost come completely undone when he traces my bottom lip so softly it both tickles and thrills.

  His exploration of my body on this packed and sweaty dance floor has my heart beating a frantic tattoo in my chest, it’s making it hard to breathe and I swear if he so much as touches me again I fear it may just explode and that would be so not cool. I am desperate for him to take whatever this is further.

  What the hell am I thinking? – I am so not that kind of girl who grinds against a guy in a club and then takes him home. What the hell is Mr Beautiful doing to me?

  Just as I exhale on that thought, his hand moves down to the small of my back and he firmly pulls me even closer to him. All my rational thinking leaves my brain in that instant and I want his lips on mine, if only for a second. To leave here tonight without kissing, what I can simply describe as the most divine and beautiful man I’ve ever seen, when his lips are so close to mine, would be such a waste. Not to mention I’m never going to get this chance again. With that thought in my head I grow bolder than I’ve ever been before and I move my head closer to his, so close that his breath becomes my breath, his exhale is my inhale.

  Oh My God I am going to pass out!

  I feel my eyelids closing slightly, just waiting for that first touch of skin on skin when my lips meet his.

  He is going to kiss me . . . . then bang! I’m almost knocked from his arms as someone barges us.

  Shit! That was too close, what the hell was I thinking? Making out with Mr Beautiful on a packed dance floor . . . . well almost making out with Mr Beautiful on a packed dance floor. Someone has put paid to that idea and now the moment has been stolen.

  Jake’s immediate response is one of anger and he pulls me behind him slightly, never leaving go of my arm as he glowers in the direction of whoever just bumped us apart . . . geez I would not want to be whoever that is, the anger is back and radiating off him in waves.

  Risking a glance, I can see that the object of his anger is H, who seems totally ecstatic that he has managed to piss off his friend so much. He grins from ear to ear and I can see him motioning for a drink while laughing and the only actual words I can hear him saying is ‘dry humping’.

  Oh My God I am mortified! I just want the floor to open up and swallow me, or even for the roof to be torn off and an Alien space ship to beam me up into its belly and perform painful experiments on me. Both of these scenarios are so much more preferable than the one I find myself in at this precise moment. I need to find Liv and gain back some of my self-respect . . . did we really look like we were dry humping??

  I try to remove myself from Jake’s hold but he is not having any of it, I can feel him looking at me but I cannot make my eyes move up from scouring the sparkling flooring beneath our feet. He links his fingers through mine and guides me across the dance floor back towards the VIP and I do nothing to stop him.

  I just hope when we get there that Liv or Nate or Harry for that matter, do not loudly tease me over what we were just doing on the dance floor. I’m sure some ‘Bambi Dry Humping’ jokes would be hilarious . . . for them!

  Jake doesn’t glance at me once on the journey there, he also doesn’t relax his grip on my hand for even a second and the electric pulse I feel through his touch seems to amplify with every single step.

  When we approach our friends who are sat at the same table, I can see more drinks have been ordered and everyone seems to be having a great time in each other’s company. Even though I’ve had too much alcohol as it is, I’m desperate to quench my thirst with something cool and wet and I’m hoping it will also extinguish the fire inside me that is threatening to burn out through my cheeks.

  Catching Liv’s beaming smile when she notices us returning, I almost stumble when Jake stops abruptly and appears as though he’s about to turn back to face me.

  Shit! Is he going to ask me to leave with him and not go back to our friends? What the hell am I supposed to say? Do I want to leave with him? Can I just leave with him?

  All these thoughts are sprinting through my head at a million miles an hour and I do not immediately notice the stunning, exotic, beauty who has just appeared in Jake’s path. In fact not only has she stopped right in front of him but she is pulling his head towards her and they are kissing erotically in the blink of an eye.

  What the fuck?

  Stunned and frozen to the spot, I’m not sure what my reaction should be.

  While they are playing tonsil tennis, he is still holding my hand. Seriously??!! Who the fuck does he think he is??!!

  My little, alcohol fuelled, erotic dance session might have made him think I am easy but I am not fucking threesome easy!

  Tugging my hand from his, he hasn’t even come up for air yet and I stride over to our table, aiming for a look
of nonchalance but knowing I haven’t succeeded.

  Everyone at our table is looking behind me, ping-ponging their eyes from them, still probably slobbering all over each other, back to me.

  Shit, shit, SHIT! Without thinking I grab another two shots and knock them back one after the other.

  How foolish am I? I knew someone like him would never be interested in me and yet I’d let him make me look like a slutty idiot just because he got my heart pounding with some racy moves. Just because, for a few seconds I allowed myself to think a man like him could want me.

  Whether Liv wants to leave or not, I am done here.

  Even I, who has had my fair share of embarrassing moments, could not stay here and have the piss taken out of me because I was stupid enough to think an absolute Sex God wanted me.

  Or even worse to think that he was going to stroll over here, with her and offer me a ménage a trois.

  Stupid, stupid, stupid Emma!

  Downing a third shot and not caring whose drink it is, I do not even look at Liv before picking up my bag and turning on my heels ready to flee.

  I know leaving her is wrong but I hope she will follow and agree for us to leave together, in fact I’m sure she will.

  Begging myself not to look towards Mr Beautiful and her, I force myself to look straight ahead but at the last second I see Ms Exotic pull his head back towards hers to resume their make out session.

  This second glance stills me for all of a beat as a flash of recognition hits me but I cannot place where I have seen her before.

  Fuck them! I am done.

  I do not care if I see either one of them again. I mean it’s not like I have a claim to him, he’s not and never will be mine.

  Time to get out of here Emma.

  With that thought in my head I stride purposely through the VIP, not even glancing back to see if Liv is following me.

  My head is spinning and I feel slightly sick but right now I do not care.

  I feel embarrassed and really foolish and I just want to leave and go home. I want to take these killer shoes of, peel this ridiculous dress from my body and curl up in my bed feeling sorry for myself while I wait for my hangover to strike me down and I’m sure it’s going to be one hell of a hangover in the morning!

  Goodbye nineteen . . . Hello twenty . . . . I will not be sad to see the back of you.

  Trying to force my way through the crowds of people who are in my path isn’t an easy feat.

  The large amount of alcohol I’ve consumed isn’t helping my coordination or balance and these damn heels are going to be the death of me!

  I bend down to take them off and the motion makes my head spin uncontrollably.

  Allowing myself a moment for the feeling to pass I stand there, slightly stooped, hoping that my swirling brain stills. I can feel myself wobble slightly on my bare feet but I manage to straighten myself and I resume my battle with the crowds of people swarming between me and the exit doors.

  I’m vaguely aware of the dance beat that feels like its closing in all around me, the words muffled in my ears ‘Yellow diamonds in the light . . and we’re standing side by side’

  The beat seems to quicken and urge me on to my escape, my unsteady feet cause my body to sway even more but I never let my eyes deviate from their target of the exit doors.

  Focussing so much of my attention, attention that I’m struggling to muster, stops me from noticing that I am being followed. That is until arms encircle my waist and lift me up off my feet.

  The shock of being picked up causes me to drop one of Liv’s killer heels and my addled brain tells me I need to get that shoe back or else Liv is going to go apeshit!

  I scramble against the strangers hold and try to bend myself over in his grasp to retrieve the dropped shoe but my struggle is futile, he never even gives an inch, in fact his hold begins to get so tight across my stomach that it is starting to hurt.

  ‘Stop fighting me bitch!’ a dark and angry voice snarls into my ear.

  Fuck! Who the hell has picked me up?

  Panic surges through me and I fight against his hold, I do not realise I’m being carried backwards until I can no longer see Liv’s dropped shoe on the floor in front of me.

  Frantically I look at the faces in the crowd that surrounds us but no-one seems to notice that I’m being carried off against my will and no-one can hear me begging for help over the loud beat of the music. I realise too late that it’s because I have not yet screamed and with that thought in my head, I let out what I think is an ear piercing wail. A hand clamps down over my mouth just as I’m pulled into a dark space away from the mass of clubbers and out through what must be fire exit doors.

  The outside air hits me in an instant and my stomach churns threatening to expel its contents.

  It’s only then that real fear strikes me, I hear the music from the club muffle as the doors slam behind us.

  Running on pure terror and instinct, I bite hard into the hand that covers my mouth, its owner growls and rips it away as the first taste of the blood I’ve drawn hits my tongue.

  He launches me into the wall, my back and head both jarring against the impact and he is back on me in a flash. I do not register the fist swinging towards my face until it makes contact.

  ‘Fucking cock teasing bitch, you are going to pay for biting me!’ with those words ringing in my ears his hand comes back and hits me again, harder. So hard my head ricochets off the wall and I can feel darkness taking me into its depths.

  Muffled noises break into my darkness but I cannot open my eyes, they feel heavy and sealed shut.

  I try and compose the murky thoughts swirling around in my brain. I know I’m outside, I can feel the damp, frigid air. I know I must be on the floor, as I can feel hard, wet concrete beneath my face.

  My head pounds not allowing me a second to grasp any other thoughts clearly. Far away, maybe miles in the distance I can hear music ‘We found love in a hopeless place . . . . we found love in a hopeless place’ The words sound like they are on a never ending loop in my brain.

  Focussing all my efforts I manage to prise my eyes open a fraction and all I can see is a dark blur, my head refuses to move on my prone body. Trying my hardest to concentrate, my vision clears momentarily and I can see a large form crumpled on its side a little way away from me.

  I need help, can anyone help me? I try to open my mouth to get the words out but my lips are not obeying my command, they feel as tightly sealed as my eyes.

  Oh God, please help me. My parents would not survive another tragedy. I really do not want to be here alone like this. Someone please help . . . .

  I feel the darkness enveloping my mind, threatening to take me back under.

  A single tear escapes my eye and I swear I can feel someone tenderly wiping it away. Before the darkness swallows me fully, my last thought before it all goes black, is of the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen.

  Trying to force my way through the crowds of people who are in my path isn’t an easy feat.

  Mrs FML did not like me prising her off my face and body, like some sex crazed leech and caused quite a scene in the VIP. This made me to lose precious minutes in my search to find Scarlett.

  After FML slapped my face and stormed off, I had to convince Tallulah and Nate to let me go after Scarlett on my own.

  Nate was easy enough, he found the whole situation extremely funny. Funny to him because:

  I have never knocked back an easy lay like the delectable (yet obviously crazy) Mrs FML when offered on a plate and

  I have never chased after a girl, knowing that in doing so, I was cutting my nose off to spite my face, or in this case, cutting my dick off to spite my lust.

  Tallulah on the other hand was not so easy to convince. At one point I even thought that she was going to try and slap me and it took all my composure to not tell her to ‘Go fuck herself!’

  Could she not see I wasn’t the one who had instigated the whole ‘getting off with another woman thi
ng’ while holding her mates hand?

  No she couldn’t see it and she didn’t want to see it, in fact she told me at one point she was going to call the police if I didn’t ‘Back the fuck off and leave me go find my friend’.

  Nate had calmed her though and told her to trust me, she didn’t look like she trusted me one bit but I promised to find Scarlett and bring her right back to her once I had.

  Knowing Scarlett had a good three or four minute’s head start on me, I forcefully push my way out of the crowded VIP area and into the even more crowded main club.

  Shit! She could be anywhere; in fact she may have already managed to get herself out of here and into a waiting cab. What the fuck was I doing chasing her?

  I push that thought aside, I’d promised to bring her back to her friend, so that was what I was going to do.

  Forcing myself through the sweaty masses earned me no friends. I had umpteen blokes threaten to deck me and just as many glares from girls, telling me to ‘Watch it Prick’.

  Half way towards the main doors my foot catches on something on the floor and I kick it a little way in front of me.

  Glancing down at the offending object I see that it is a sky high, metallic pewter, ladies stiletto shoe. I cannot be 100% sure but something tells me it belongs to Scarlett. That conclusion seems reasonable when I recall the colour of that unashamedly sexy, metallic dress she is wearing.

  Bending to pick it up, my ears catch a noise that sounds like a shrill scream coming from the side of the club. I shake my head at the crazy thought, there is no way you can hear something like that over the volume of the music in here.