Page 8 of Once Upon A Sale

“Let’s go find our table. It’s one of those fancy booth things over there.” Tabby points to the raised seating area, a perfect spot to use as a base. We can use the table for our drinks and bags, and the dance floor is right there.

“It should be the one that says ‘Reserved for Minnie Mouse.’ The guy who took the booking thinks you’re famous, which is why I couldn’t give him a real name.” She grins at me, trying to look as innocent as possible before taking a sip of her drink through the straw.

I just shake my head at her. She gets shit done, and I won’t complain about that. We all needed tonight, this Kill List business is going to take a lot out of us, so a night to let our hair down and enjoy ourselves is perfection. Walking behind her, I check out how great her ass looks in her black sequin hot pants. In fact, her entire outfit is scorching, right up to the freshly dyed fire-engine-red hair she's got in a high ponytail, swishing from side to side as she leads the way to our seats. After everything she’s been through, it would be understandable if her confidence had plummeted, but this girl’s a fighter through and through.

As we get closer to our booth, I can’t help but notice the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen at a table to the side of the dance floor. He’s sitting on his own and seems to just be enjoying the band, a short glass of clear liquid in his hand. I watch him bring it to those plump lips of his before he swallows it down, his large, tattooed hands gripping the glass, showing a little tension in his muscled forearms, his Adam’s apple bobbing…

“I think you need to wipe the drool from your mouth, Fifi. You can play with the sexy man later.” Opie pulls me from my musings, grabbing my arm and pulling me to sit beside her as Tabby chuckles. I guess I really had been staring at him for an obscene amount of time.

“Oh, as if. I’ll just call Logan or put some new batteries in Big Blue if I need to play. We’re here for girls’ night, not fill my pussy night.” We all giggle at my ridiculous statement, raising our glasses in toast to a fun night out.

“Hear hear.” Opie clinks her glass and takes a huge swig before continuing. “But if a man as sexy as that decides he wants a piece of my pussy, then I’m afraid girls’ night is literally over for me because, yeah, it’s literally been six months since I last had a visit to pound town.” The way Opie speaks and the way she looks are two very different things. Tonight, she’s wearing a red knee-length pencil dress with a slit on the left thigh showing off herintricate tattoo of musical notes, and her deep-brown hair has been pinned up in a curly bun on top of her head. She’s like a modern day Audrey Hepburn. She would literally look good in a trash bag, but when she opens her mouth to speak, it’s a whole different ball game. Her cursing could make a sailor blush.

“Do you think he has any brothers? Because damn, girl!” Tabby fans herself and sips her cocktail.

“Why have a brother when you can have him?” I push aside the pang of jealousy, even as I say the words.

“Because he’s literally obsessed with you, Fifi. He hasn’t taken his eyes off you since your stare-off before we sat down.”

I glance over to his table, and Opie’s right. He’s looking at me. He has a grin that makes my knees go weak, a jawline that makes me need to fan my lady bits, and thick, floppy brown hair that’s short on the back and sides, but longer on top. His plain black button-down, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, hugs his biceps and chest in all the right places. Tattoos peek out on his neck and his arms are covered in them. I wonder if they’re all over his torso too…

I’m gonna bet yes.

When he winks at me and flashes perfect white teeth, my face heats up and I almost lose my breath. I haven’t had this kind of reaction to a man since…well, never.

Not even Logan.

Everything about my life is so controlled, so rigid in the way things have to be done, and there’s something dangerous about this man that makes me feel…I can’t describe it right now, but it’s different.

“Drink up, ladies. I asked the bartender to keep them coming, so we’ll have a steady flow of drinks all night. There are also some shots on the way.” Tabby wiggles her shoulders up and down as she tells me about the shots. Girl loves her shots.

They aren’t exactly my favorite thing in the world, especially when I know it’s tequila. Devil’s juice. But I’m gonna drink it anyway. Tonight is all about having fun, and tequila might help to take my mind off all the crap we have to do. There’s another charity gala this weekend that I have to attend, I have work meetings on Friday, and we have a trafficking ring to take down.

The music is loud, but it’s to be expected. I love the atmosphere in here. Everyone is just having a good time, singing along at the tops of their lungs, moving around the dance floor with no real rhythm, and slowly getting drunker as the night goes on.

A waitress appears just as we’re finishing off our cocktails like she knew we’d be ready. I mean, she didn’t, but the timing is awesome all the same. She takes the new, full glasses off the tray, putting them on the table, followed by six shots of devil’s juice, a salt shaker, and a small plate of lime slices.

And so the night begins!

A few hours, seven shots, and six cocktails later, I’m having the time of my life. I know I need to stop drinking now, but there’s no way I’m leaving this dance floor. The eighties rock band stopped about an hour ago and now it’s Rayne Over Knights. They’re one of my favorites and I’m pretty sure Tabby knew they were playing tonight. It’s a four-piece band; the female drummer, a guy on bass guitar, and a guy on lead guitar. The best thing about this band though, is the lead singer. The guy is rocking the shit out of everything. Even the people sitting down are clapping and whooping at the end of each song.

The next song starts, a cover ofBlack Velvetby Alannah Myles, only it’s not the same, it’s a way cooler, rockier version. Damn, they’re killing it!

Tabby, Opie, and I do the thing all girls do when a great song comes on; we throw our hands in the air and shout, “Yeeaaaaaahhh!” before joining in with the rest of the crowd dancing and singing along.

I sway my hips to the beat, giving my thighs a workout while I’m at it, until a feeling in my bladder ruins all my fun. I lean into Opie and whisper,

“Gotta use the bathroom, be back soon.”

The girls wave me off and blow me a kiss as I turn and walk to the other side of the room where the toilets are, next to the bar. This is the problem with so many drinks; I broke the seal a while ago and I’ve been to the bathroom three times since.

A look in the mirror confirms my thoughts: my hair is a wild mess from dancing, and I’m starting to get black smudges under my eyes from sweating so much. Oh well. Fuck it, I’m having the best time, and I can’t find it in me to really care what I look like at the moment. In aid of letting loose this evening, I’ve drunk more than I usually would while not within the safety of our property, but there’s no danger here. No trafficking ring to deal with. No debutantes or typical rich people to keep up appearances with. It’s just me and my girls.

On my way out of the ladies’ room, I’m clearly not paying enough attention as I walk into something warm and hard. Shit…

“Sorry, I wa—” I think my mouth’s hanging open, the rest of my sentence floating off into the non-existent wind. Transfixed by the deep, captivating shade of his irises staring down at me, I can’t say I’ve ever seen more soulful eyes than these. In fact, they’re brown, I think, but also…green? And they belong to the beautiful man I saw earlier…

He has a light stubble across his jaw and I wonder what that would feel like…

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