Page 12 of From Us, Forever

“That makes me feel a whole lot better,” Jay said flatly just as Mikey and Matt entered the room.

“Oh, fun night, huh? How about room for one more?” Mikey rolled out, grinning as he propped himself against the wall.

“No, girls only.” Katy fixed him in a hard gaze.

Mikey arched a brow in amusement. “Well, I at least see one of you with a dick.”

“Gabe doesn’t count. He’s one of us,” Katy retorted, giving him the middle finger.

“Fine.” Mikey held up his hands in defeat.

“Come on, let’s go, everyone,” Gabe announced, dragging Katy and Lily with him.

I nodded, waving goodbye to Jay and the others as I followed them through the hallway. But a presence shadowed behind me, pulling me into his arms before I got too far.

“Fuck, you smell so good.” Jay kissed the side of my head.

I sighed, burying myself in his warmth, gliding my cheek along his soft hoodie. We weren’t the ones for parties or gatherings. We’d rather cuddle under sheets, closed in our bubble, while we forgot that theoutside world existed. But that wasn’t always healthy, even if it was what we craved. Not like I cared about the definitions of a healthy relationship, but at times, I had to force a break, even if it was just for a few hours.

“Thank you, but I gotta go now.” I compelled my limbs to pull away from him.

“Okay.” He clamped the loose strand of hair behind my ear, smiling. “Have fun. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I blew him a kiss while I scurried fast to meet up with the rest of them.

The club we were going to tonight had just opened in the heart of the city and was the talk of the town, according to Katy and Gabe. It was exclusive and glitzy. If it weren’t for Katy, we never would’ve gotten in.

The inside was all red. From the neon lights to the skimpy dress the server wore to the velvet seats, it was all painted crimson. Even the dance floor was gleaming red.

Though it almost looked sensual instead of being flashy with tasteful techno music.

Even though I’d been to several exclusive parties since being back with the band, I could never get used to seeing so many pretty faces in one place.

“Cheers to one hell of a night,” we all yelled. We clinked our glasses and downed our shots in one go, then repeated it two more times. The buzz went straight to my head as Katy tugged us all to the dance floor.

The music flowed through our bodies as we danced, swaying and grinding to the beat while we laughed at Gabe’s funny moves. Thankfully, I was sporting my tall, club-appropriate sneakers. Soon, two girls wearing matching glittering dresses joined our little dance group, sharing our space as we let go to the night.

We’d been dancing for well over thirty minutes when a sudden weird prickle shot straight to my spine. My head twisted over my shoulders, but all I could see were blurring faces and dancing red lights. The sensation crawled throughmy bones; it almost felt like someone was watching me, but soon, it faded as if it had never happened. I shook my head, turning back to the group. It was probably nothing.

After three more songs, we halted our dancing while we carried our tired feet to a table that Katy had reserved for us.

I drank an entire glass of cold water as soon asI eased into the booth, feeling some sense of normalcy return as it washed down some of the alcohol.

We placed orders for fresh drinks, and soon after, everyone started to chatter around our table.

“Is this your first time here?” asked one of the girls who joined us.

“Yes, how about you girls?” Gabe asked, sipping his fruity cocktail.

She flipped her red hair over her shoulder. “Oh, we’ve been here a couple of times. BTW, I’m Sasha, and this is Trisha.” The girl in the short black bob beside her waved to us. They both seemed pretty young to be in aclub, but that was quite common among the rich. And they did look pretty loaded, decked out in gleaming jewels and flawless makeup.

“You guys want to have some real fun?” Sasha grinned while she opened her purse and fished out a small bag with purple pills.

I had no idea what they were, and I certainly didn’t want them.

“No, thank you,” Katy chirped while we all exchanged glances.

Trisha laughed at the expression on our faces. “Ah, don’t worry. It’s just something to loosen us up, and we don’t force it on people who don’t want it.”

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