Page 36 of A Little Bit Extra

I shake my head. “You’re cute, you know that? We don’t have to sneak in. I don’t think there are any cameras back here, anyway.”

“Mhm, okay, Emmett. Well, if you end up on the front cover of some gossip site, you better not blame me.”

“I’ll be sure to tell my dad when he calls that I almost covered myself in a hood, but thought it wasn’t necessary,” I tease.

Cassie rolls her eyes and playfully hits me in the arm. “I don’t know how this works. Don’t make fun of me.” Her eyebrows narrow and she tucks her top lip under her bottom in a pout.

“I’ll make it up to you later.” I wink. “Let’s go inside.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

We exit the car, meet in the middle, and stand face to face.

Our hands accidentally brush, but she responds by intertwining mine in hers. I give her hand a gentle squeeze, the warmth of her skin brushing against mine, and steal a quick glance in her direction, unable to hide my smile. She returns a smile, her cheeks glowing under the street lights.

I guide us to the door, opening it and letting Cassie go in first. She gives my hand a squeeze this time and then lets go. As soon as we enter the club, people swarm us, making it impossible for me to grab her hand back and hold her.

People from past jobs, current jobs, and random others I don’t know come up to wish me a happy birthday. In the swarm of it all, I lose Cassie and try to look around to find her.

The Moonlight Club greets visitors with a dark ambiance, enhanced by the soft glow of low lights along the exits. Red lights illuminate different spots throughout the venue, where groups of people gather. Positioned to my right is the music and dance floor, and I have every intention of taking Cassie there later.

My gaze finds Tyler and a cluster of people huddled around a collection of tables. I wave. Finally, I spot Cassie on my left. She’s sitting at the bar, sipping a drink. When we make eye contact, she smiles and raises her glass a few inches like she’s toasting to me.

I start to move toward her, but more people swarm around me. Luckily, I can see Tyler headed toward her to make conversation. I’ve asked the guys to keep her company and help her feel welcomed if I find myself occupied at various points of the night. I’m glad I did, because there are way more people here than I expected. I thought it would be fun to throw a party and catch up with everyone, but I'm already tired of having the same conversation over and over. I pull out my phone to check the time. I’ve only been here for 20 minutes, but it feels like hours.

It’s like going to a family reunion and having to repeat the same answers over and over. Everyone asks about what you’re up to, how things are going, what’s next, blah blah blah. I don’t even think that’s the worst of it. It’s the smiling. The fake smiles and nods from people who pretend to care about what you’re doing. When truthfully they just came for the free drinks and publicity.

I guarantee most people are here to post that they attended my party. Hence why I’m not friends with a lot of them and I let Lane, Tyler, and Max be in charge of the guest list. I didn’t care who came. I thought I would spend the night sitting at the bar or in a booth with my core circle of friends and I would have a great time. Honestly.

Then, my priorities shifted. I now want to sit next to Cassie at the goddamn bar, but I can’t get away from these people.

Ah. I have an idea.

I bring my phone up to my ear and mouth, “Sorry, I need to get this” to some guy I was talking to, and he nods, smiles, and turns to walk away. Success.

Keeping the phone at my ear, I walk toward the bar to find Cassie. Except Cassie isn’t there anymore. Hm.

This place isn’t that large. Maybe Tyler coerced her to join him somewhere.

I survey the room.

She’s not at the booths. Or at a table. She’s on the dance floor. With every step, her hips effortlessly move in a seductive rhythm, tempting me to ask her to dance. She’s with my group of friends, and her laughter floats through the air to assure me she's having a great time.

I move through the crowd, offering smiles to those who approach, but I don’t let them distract me. I’m going to ask Cassie to dance with me and no one is stopping me.

11

Cassie

“Hi, I hope you’re having fun,” a familiar voice whispers in my ear. Little bumps rise on my arms as a chill runs down my spine, making my heart beat a tiny bit faster.

Glancing over my shoulder, I catch sight of Emmett grinning at me. He's standing a few inches behind me, and the warmth of his presence brushes against my back, leaving me wishing he were closer.

As if the universe heard my thoughts, Emmett’s body bumps into mine and his hands find my waist. His head whips behind him, glaring at whoever just bumped into him. With so many people on the dance floor, it was bound to happen. There isn’t much room between the clumps of people.

“Sorry,” he murmurs in my ear, but he doesn’t let go of my waist.

“Hey, man!” Tyler yells over the music. He walks across the circle of friends toward us. Emmett lets go of me with his left hand while dragging his right hand over the width of my waist until he’s no longer touching me and instead hugging Tyler. I’m suddenly jealous that his hands aren’t on me anymore.

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