He stands and leaves the room, the rest of us trickling out after him and I grab a stool at the bar and order a beer.
“Chance,” someone says from my right and I peek over, trying to keep the smile off my face. Knew he’d come around eventually.
“Storm.”
He rubs the back of his neck and glances down. “Listen, about the other day…”
“It’s forgotten.”
He looks up and nods before slapping me on the back. “Thanks, dude.”
Laughing, I slide my unopened beer across the bar to him as I chuckle. “Have a beer with me.”
He slides onto the stool next to me and I look around the room at everyone laughing and talking.
“About Carly. If you want to date her, I’m not going to stop you. You both are adults; I’m sure you can handle it,” Storm says and I sigh.
“Thanks, man, but even without your approval, there was no way I was gonna walk away.”
Chapter Eight
Carly
“Damn,” I whisper, taking a sip of my vodka cranberry as Dalton, our regular bartender, looks on. Satisfied with my reaction, he smiles and leaves to go help other customers as I turn and scan the bar. Izzy, Ali, and I have been coming here for years and it’s our favorite place. A large circular bar sits right in the middle of the room and tables line the walls on three sides of the large space. The lights are low tonight and a remix of Sex by Cheat Codes blasts through the speakers on the little stage in the corner. Beneath that, the dance floor is packed, just a massive blob of writhing bodies as the beat directs their movements.
Taking a deep breath, I lean back in my barstool and take another sip of my drink as the music seeps into my system and carries my stress away. You’d think after getting laid, I would be relaxed but having the best sex of my life with Chance has done the complete opposite. I am a wreck and coming out tonight is exactly what I need to let it all go.
“There you are!” Izzy exclaims from behind me and I almost spill my drink down my top as I spin around to look at her. “I thought you stood me up.”
“Excuse me, lady. I was here on time.”
“So was I. I just got…distracted.” She glances away and I follow her gaze through the crowd to the door where a large man is checking IDs. Almost as if he feels her watching him, he looks up and smiles, flashing her a wink. Of course, she found a man on her way into the club. Only Izzy. “Did you know they hired a new bouncer?”
“I can’t take you anywhere,” I tease, rolling my eyes at the way she keeps glancing over at him. The truth is Izzy and I are much more alike than anyone would ever guess but I’m discreet about my affairs. Sometimes, I envy the way Izzy just totally owns who she is. She doesn’t worry about what anyone thinks of her and if it doesn’t make her happy, she doesn’t do it. I can’t even imagine the fit my mother would throw if she ever heard me explaining my sex life to someone. Although, if I did tell anyone, I would have to explain why I prefer to keep my relationships casual and it’s something I avoid at all costs.
“Did you get his number?”
Her mouth drops open and she plasters her hand over her heart. “Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?”
“You’re right. I lost my head for a moment. My apologies.” I finish my drink and just as I set my glass down, Dalton appears again as if summoned by magic.
“Ladies,” he purrs, flashing us a naughty smile as his eyes twinkle.
“Dalton!” Izzy all but squeals and I roll my eyes again, but a smile stretches across my face. God, she’s such a flirt.
“What can I get for you, gorgeous?”
“What would you recommend?” She props her chin up in her hand and bats her eyelashes at him. I can’t help but laugh as I turn to look out at the dance floor, my mind wandering to Chance. Normally, I would be seeing two or three guys at a time but as I stare out at the crowd, I don’t see a single option. And it has nothing to do with the rule Chance threw down. The truth is each guy I land on gets compared to Chance in my head and inevitably, they come up short. Since when did this happen?
This is exactly why I’ve spent the last three days putting some distance between us. When he was in my house and in my bed, it was so easy to forget my rules and things got a little too intense. Our chemistry and the amazing sex blurred the boundaries of our relationship and we both lost sight of the fact that our arrangement is casual. We let our feelings run wild when we shouldn’t have. I just didn’t expect it to be so hard to ignore his texts and not call him back. And even worse, I actually feel bad about ignoring him. I’ve spent the last few days stressing over whether or not this is bothering him. I have to put a stop to it.
“Would you like another?” Dalton asks, pointing to my empty glass and I nod as he grabs it off the bar and turns to mix our drinks. Izzy spins to look out at the dance floor before turning back to me.
“You want to go dance?” she asks, wiggling in her seat and I nod.
“Yeah,” I tell her before turning to Dalton. “Hey, can you put a hold on those drinks? We’re going to go dance.”
He nods, offering me an easy smile and we slip off the barstools and start making our way to the dance floor, our bodies already moving to the beat. Just as we reach the edge of the group, Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-A-Lot comes on and Izzy spins to face me with an excited expression.
“I haven’t heard this song in forever,” she practically squeals as she starts dancing and mouthing the words to me. I laugh and when the beat drops, I get swept up, too – dancing and singing along with her. She gets really into it, moving closer to me and pressing up against me as she shimmies. Throwing my head back, I laugh and she starts singing the words out loud.
“Shake that healthy butt. Baby got back.” She smacks my ass and I shake my head. Izzy keeps singing the words as we dance and I completely forget anyone else is here. It’s almost like we’re at my apartment instead of this crowded club and I feel more of my stress melt away. Everything from my mother to Dottie and Ivy’s fight to the recent anniversary I tried so hard to forget and the check that came in the mail, I let it all go. Closing my eyes, a smile forms on my face and I feel lighter than I have in a while.
The song bleeds into another remix – this one of Ignition by R. Kelly and Izzy squeals. “What is this? Throwback night?”
“You don’t seem like you mind!” I yell to her and she shakes her head with a big grin on her face. Folding her arms on top of her head, she rolls her body as she closes her eyes for a moment and lets loose.
“Oh my God, do you remember the time we had a sleepover at Ali’s and danced to this song?” she asks, opening her eyes and I nod.
“Yeah, you guys got so freaking drunk.”
“That’s just cause you didn’t pull your weight. You had like one glass and that was it. Everyone knows once you open the bottle of wine, you have to finish it.” She reaches out and grabs my hand, pulling me closer as we dance and I let her lead me for a moment before a feeling of uneasiness washes over me. Opening my eyes, I scan the crowd, but nothing seems out of place.
“Hey, I’m going to go get a drink now. You staying here?” I ask Izzy and she peels her eyes open just as a man steps up behind her and starts dancing with her. She peeks over her shoulder before meeting my eyes with a grin on her face.