Page 112 of The Blind Date

“I wanted to surprise you for your birthday.”

“Well, I’m certainly surprised.”

It didn't take long to find the rest of the group. All the stops were pulled out for Victor’s twenty-ninth birthday, and everyone here was to celebrate him, even Liam who wasn’t really part of the group but came to make Lottie happy.

I watched as Cedric went over to greet Liam and Jeremy, the former he knew from work and the latter whose brother was one of his friends. I watched as the two got him acquainted with the rest of the group while I stood at the bar, getting a round for everyone.

“So, you and Cedric, huh?” Alina giggled as she slid onto the barstool beside me. “What happened to him being the most infuriating man in the world and hating his guts?”

“Both of those things still stand,” I grinned cheekily. “But he’s far more tolerable now.”

“It’s funny how that works out,” she said with a smug smirk. I didn’t blame her for it. If the roles were reversed, I would be far less humble with the ‘I-told-you-so’. “Your parents said the both of you were perfect for each other. His parents said the both of you were perfect for each other.Isaid the both of you were perfect for each other, but did you listen? No. Now look at you two.”

"Just say it," I groaned and at that moment, I locked eyes with the bartender who came over for our drink order. Alina ordered a round of shots for everyone, and I got everyone a drink to get started for the night.

“I fucking told you so,” Alina sing-sang with a large, annoying grin. “You totally owe me for setting you up with the love of your life.”

“I wouldn’t say he’s the love of my life. It’s far too early for anything like that,” I snorted, but the words tasted absolutely foul in my mouth.

I immediately wanted to take the words back, but Cedric and I hadn’t known each other for long, and we had been dating for even less time than that. There was no way of me knowing that he was the love of my life, right?

Except, he was. I could feel it. Even if I wasn’t ready to admit it yet. Even to myself.

“Keep living in denial,” she chuckled. “You’re only making it harder for yourselves.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Oh, we definitely will,” Alina smirked at me, but the conversation was quick to fizzle out again when the bartender returned with two large trays in hand.

Just as we received our drinks, Horatio came looking for us.

“Trust you guys to be at the bar. We’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

“We were getting drinks for everyone,” Alina explained.

"Great, but we need to hurry,” Horatio said, grabbing both of our elbows and rushing us.

“For what?” I asked, balancing one drink tray while Alina handled the other.

"I've booked us in for a show in the basement tonight, and it starts in a few minutes,” he explained. "Everyone else is waiting for us. It’s going to start soon so we need to be quick.”

Alina pulled a face. “In the basement? That doesn’t sound creepy, at all.”

“Just wait until you see it,” Horatio smirked cryptically before leading us to this tall, dark door to the side, hidden behind curtains that ran along the entire length of that wall. Just like before, he nodded at one of the bouncers at the door who then opened it and admitted our entry into the basement. "Thankfully, I got us seats on the second level, so we should be safe,” he told us, guiding us away from the stairs and toward a passageway on the side. Once we reached the other side, we were greeted with a series of seats, the ones at the front occupied by our friends.

“What’s going on?” I asked suspiciously as I sat next to Cedric and passed around the tray for everyone to take a drink.

“I don’t know. Horatio said that we’re going to watch a show,” he told me when the lights started dimming.

As if our minds were on the same wavelength, our hands ran into each other in the dark like two lost souls. Our eyes were eagerly trained on the stage, waiting for the show to start, but our fingers were entwined, blurring the lines between where we began and where we ended.

“Why do I feel like we’re in for some kinky sex show?” Cedric leaned over to whisper in my ear, his warm breath fanning over the side of my neck.

“Judging by the look of the place, I wouldn’t be surprised,” I laughed in good humour, but the sound was quick to die when two men walked onto the stage, both as naked as the day they were born.

“I don’t know how I feel about this,” he chuckled, the sound suspiciously high-pitched for a man that sounded like he always spoke from the bottom of his throat.

“That’s too bad because I’m suddenly looking forward to this show now.” I leaned forward, trying to get a better view.

---