Page 18 of Boss On Notice
“Ben.”
“Who is Ben?”
“Ben is Ben.”
When I shake my head, it feels like it’s floating above my neck. “No, who is Ben to you?”
Ben nods at the drink after the waitress sets it in front of me. “Bottoms up,” he says with the tiny glass against his bottom lip. His hooded gaze seizes me as his tongue draws slow circles against the rim of the glass.
“Ben is an old friend. But I agree with him. Bottoms up.” Orion downs whatever alcoholic beverage that’s contained in the shot glass.
I shouldn’t do it. Something deep inside warns me not to. I’m already three sheets to the wind. The tiny glass full of blue drink is between my thumb and forefinger. Everybody at the table is on their second shot. The waitress serves me number two before I finish number one.
“Go for it,” Orion says. “You’re safe in my hands.”
I turn to the table full of all the VIPs. I quickly make a plan. If I get too drunk, I’ll just return to my old seat and ask Paisley or Lake to walk me back to my room. They’ll look after me if I ask because that’s the kind of girls they are.I down the drink and I’m shocked by how delicious it tastes. I thought it would be stronger liquor, but it’s not. I quickly consume the next shot, realizing that it’s more juice than alcohol. I should be okay!
CHAPTER6
That Night When…
DELILAH O’SHAY
It's like I'm having an out-of-body experience. I see myself as though I'm not myself. I'm laughing. Lina, Mina, Chase, John, Tucker, Craig. I feel like I’ve known them forever. Ben, who has curly hair cropped close to his scalp had said something about Yancey’s dog showing up at his doorstep last week.
“That’s because she’s in heat and knows where to go,” Yancey replied.
That’s why we’ve erupted into a fit of uncontrollable laughter that feels more like a release of unnamed emotions. I don’t know Ben personally, but the fact that the waitress who had been serving our drinks all night is now sitting on his lap—legs crossed, arm hooked around the back of his neck, and fake knockers in his face—says a lot about his character. He’s a fuckboy.
But on a larger scale, the pre-wedding night dinner has turned into a real party. I can’t pinpoint when it happened. The music came on. A DJ started spinning dance music. Led by Treasure, the soon-to-be married couple was the first to blaze the dance floor and then more people joined them. The air is filled with so much laughing, dancing, talking, and drinking.So much drinking.I’m trapped in a state of euphoria. I had a plan before I got this inebriated, but I’ve forgotten what it was. The plan was designed to keep me safe from Orion’s allure. Even though my inhibition has been blasted away, a small part of me knows that I should not have my shoulder against his while leaning against him.
“You two are looking more and more like a couple,” Mina says, eyeing us accusingly.
“Ha,” I scoff. “You really think I’d be with a man who will let his distant cousin rub him off under the table?”
Mina’s face is the epitome of cute—round cheeks, square jaw. She reminds me of a bad little Kewpie doll as she snorts a laugh while inhaling on an e-cigarette like a gangster in a Mafia movie. “That’s very possible as far as Orion is concerned.” She winces. “Maybe Lina, not me.” She cocks her head in the opposite direction, one eye nearly closed, and a plume of smoke flies out of her mouth. “I’ll rub you off before I touch his cock.”
I thrust my head back in surprise. I would’ve never guessed she was into women.
“Once,” Lina, the twin who has lighter hair says. At this point, and only because of my condition, hair color is the only way I can distinguish one from the other. “He’s good in bed, but I wouldn’t recommend him for you, babe. You’re too delicate. He’ll break you.”
The thought of her seeing me as delicate makes me laugh uncontrollably loud. I’m not delicate and I’m strong enough to not give a fuck what she thinks of me. However, I do agree with her on one thing. “I know. I know…” I say past heavy lips. My lips and tongue aren’t sharp enough to explain the traffic jam of thoughts waiting to get out of my head. I want to tell the twins that Xena and I talk about how dangerous it would be to fall for a man like Orion all the time. “Xena,” I say, slurring my cousin’s name and laugh harder. “Xena. Lina. And Mina.”Why is that so funny?
Orion’s warm breath spreads against my ear. “All right, come on. Let’s get you some air.”
I turn my head. My face is too close to the poisonous apple. I could take a bite. But I wonder if I should leave this venue with a man I loathe so much? Do I loathe him? I like Orion right now, more than I ever had.
“Okay,” I sigh, my lips parted.
The weird energy tethering us together has me in a trance. I should kiss him. I really want to. His sensual lips have never looked more tantalizing.
I teeter on my feet. Before I’m able to fall back down in my chair, Orion’s firm hands grip my waist, steadying me.
“Be a good boy, O,” Lina calls.
“Don’t forget to bring her back,” Ben says.
Now Orion’s arm is curled around my waist. His body is so hard against me. Has he always been this hard-bodied?
