Page 59 of With Wine Comes War

The waitress opened a few bottles of champagne and poured us all a glass except for Abby— who was drinking water— and Maggie got everyone’s attention by tapping on the side of her glass. “I’d like to celebrate being out and away from the kids tonight, first.” We all laughed and clinked glasses together. “But I would also like to let Alex know that this is her tribe, and she is never alone. We’re all here to support her in the coming weeks.”

Now why did she have to do that? I’m going to have makeup all down my face.

To hold the tears in I threw back that glass of champagne and said, “Thanks for that Mags, you Jerk!” Everyone laughed and we tapped each other’s glasses again.

Abby and Maggie grabbed my hand and yelled, “Come on girls, we're going to take advantage of this night out.” All the girls went out to the dance floor while the guys stayed back at the table for a bit talking and drinking.

***

ROMAN

Before we got in the car Harrison pulled me aside looking a bit irritated. “Hey, just a heads-up, Amelia said Alex told her this is a place her ex-husband hangs out in, and he likes to start shit.”

Great.

“Of course he does. Hopefully he doesn’t get a chance to get near her tonight if he’s there. Apparently, he texted her the other day thathe wanted to talk. For some reason she thought he was stalking her, but she wouldn’t elaborate as to why.”

“What? Has she talked to him? Has he done something? Do we need to be worried about this guy?” Harrison seemed more defensive than me about it.

“Don’t know. As much as I wanted to know, I left it alone.She hasn’t brought it up again.” I’m not really into that kind of drama and definitely don’t want to worry about things that are non-issues.“We have enough real issues to deal with as it is, don’t you think?” and I’m really in the mood to kick that guy's ass and that’s not a good thing.

“Ok, well he’s not gonna start shit tonight and if he does, I’ve got your back bro.” I slapped him on the back, and we got in the car. I hope he’s right.

Once inside, the drinks were poured and I put my arm around Alex. I could feel her anxiety radiating off her skin, so I held her close as much as I could to let her know I had her. I hoped that my surprise for her was going to be enough to help her calm down because I don’t think I’m helping at all. I invited the Stevens and the Fletchers to join us. The more people there to support her and help me keep an eye on her the better. I doubt she’s ready to be in a place like this yet, but it's too late now.

Harrison and I had discussed earlier that we wouldn’t let Alex out of our sight tonight. She wasn’t to go anywhere alone or talk to strangers. She did that eye roll thing again then laughed. I think the alcohol was already getting to her a bit and it rattled my nerves thinking of her getting taken advantage of while she’s inebriated. She was drinking a little faster than normal due to nerves I imagine. Amelia assured me that she’d make sure she was dancing more than drinking tonight. Hopefully she’d sweat some of it out on the dance floor.

We skipped the lines as Harrison and Amelia shook the doorman's hand. They held VIP status in this place, apparently. We headed up to the VIP area on the second floor. We’d have a good view of the entire place up there and it was private so you couldn’t go up unless you were invited.

It was uncomfortably crowded but being tall had its perks. I could see over most of the crowd.

I gave her hand a squeeze to let her know that I was still there and to let me know she was still there.

The shocked but excited look on her face when we arrived at the table was just what I was hoping for. I squeezed her close to my body more for my own mental health and whispered in her ear that there was safety in numbers, just as she liked it. Now for more drinking. I wasn’t sure I should have any more myself to remain in as much control as I could in this place. I hope they go dancing soon, I thought as she quickly swallowed her glass of champagne.

In the VIP lounge I met Alex’s work friends, Ryan and Landon. I already knew Owen, who was part of the investment group I worked with. He was seeing Shay, who was out on the dancefloor with the rest of the girls. They were nice guys and good friends to her.They didn’t give me any vibes I needed to be worried about.

Matt and Jack talked to me about the case a little before we changed the subject and talked about the kids coming over to the penthouse to spend the day or a sleepover. They told me they felt comfortable with me around their kids. It was a good distraction from worrying about Alex.

“How about next Friday? They can sleepover and then spend the day with us Saturday. We can bring them back early evening.” They both agreed and I put it into the calendar on my phone and sent the invite to Alex.

We must’ve looked like a wall of protective men as we leaned over the balcony, keeping an eye on the girl. They were dancing together in the middle of the dance floor. I looked in all directions to see if anything looked out of place and so far, nothing. No one was bothering them, and they looked like they were having fun. This is probably the best thing for her, to be with friends and face her fears like that, even if it meant facing mine as well. Then the men decided it was time to interrupt girl time. I definitely needed to touch Alex and have her close to me. I worried the protective side of me was going to come out and cause issues for us.It already reared its ugly head early on when she started going on those trips to Burrow Township, but I was able to control it somewhat and reign it in since we weren’t even dating then. I don’t know how I’m going to do it with all that she’s gone through and all the things that she will go through here soon with court. I gripped the railing tight and bowed my head to muster the strength to do this and remain composed.

***

ALEX

Damn it’s so loud and hot out here but being with all my girlfriends is such a blast. I looked around nervously. I felt paranoid not being able to see over the crowd of people on the dance floor. My breathing felt a little labored even with all the dancing. Thank God there was no sign of Luke, yet, so that was fortunate, hopefully he’s not here tonight.I peered up at the VIP balcony and the guys were looking down at us. I could feel Roman staring at me even if I couldn’t see him– damn that felt good. I’m glad my head has come to terms with my heart where he’s concerned.

Oh no, where’d they go?

I only looked away for a second. I scanned the room frantically but I’m too damn short. Maybe they’ve sat back down. About thirty seconds later, there were hands on my hips and lips on my neck, feeling his warm breath as he hummed into my ear, “MMMM.” That was magic. I reached my arms back to hold his solid body tightly to mine. I hope he didn’t mind all the sweat.

Maggie yelled over the loud techno beats, “Get a room!”

I winked at her, and she giggled when Matt came up behind her, doing the same thing– eliciting the same reaction.

We stayed out on the floor for what seemed like forever. I loved dancing with Roman. His hands on my hips and our bodies swaying perfectly in time with the music that was thumping so loud you could feel it. We fit together on the dance floor as well as we did in the bedroom. After a while it felt like just the two of us out there.

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