Page 54 of Freestyle (Academy of Stardom 1)

We both watch as he reaches up for an array of bottles filled with coloured liqueur and gets to work. After he passes us our cocktails Clancy points to one of the booths.

“Do you think D-Neath and Madame Tuillard are in one of those?” she asks, taking a large gulp of her drink before smacking her lips together, savouring the taste.

“If they are, they’re probably fucking… Apparently, there’s no limits to where they fuck or who might be listening when they do.”

Clancy’s eyes widen with mirth. “Oh, my God. You experienced that too? I thought I was the only one. I was scarred by it.”

“Yep. I’m one hundred percent positive D-Neath was going down on Tuillard whilst she was on the phone offering me a spot at the academy.”

“Dirty fuckers…” Clancy places her middle and pointer finger against her lips in a v then pokes out her tongue between them, wiggling it and making moaning noises. We both burst out laughing, and continue to giggle as the barman slides us both another cocktail each. I haven’t even finished my current one and am already feeling half-cut what with the vodka shots I downed earlier.

“Oh, no, we didn’t order these,” I say, slapping at Clancy’s hand as she continues to mimic oral sex. She ignores me and is even more provocative. The barman grins at her before answering me.

“These are compliments of the gentleman over there,” he says, pointing to a figure at the other end of the bar who currently has his back to us. He’s too far away and in shadow for me to get a good look, plus I’m going cross-eyed with all the booze.

Clancy peers around the long row of people, following my gaze. “I wonder if he’s a looker?” she asks, almost absently, then winks at the barman and tells him to thank the gentleman for his generosity before handing me one of the cocktails.

When she starts sucking on the straw like it’s a dick and she’s thirsty as fuck, I bark out another deep belly laugh. “Clancy, you’re being extra tonight.”

She winks. “Toldyou we’d pull.”

“You’vepulled. I’m here to soak up the atmosphere and dance now that my feet have finally stopped throbbing.”

“That’d be the alcohol numbing the pain…”

“No shit.” My head is already starting to swim, and whilst I can take a drink like the best of them, I know my limits, and make a mental note to drink water or Cola after I finish this cocktail, painful feet or not.

“Next time wrap your feet up, Pen. You’re not going to get through the year if you don’t look after those pretty little tootsies of yours. Dancers feet are ugly motherfuckers at the best of times, don’t make them any worse”

“I hear you.”

“Right, drink up, and let’s dance. Our admirer can come get us if he wants us…” Clancy suddenly blurts out, knocking back the rest of her cocktail.

“Correction, he can come getyou. I’m not hooking up with anyone.”

Rolling my eyes, I pick up the glass and swallow a mouthful of the sweet, tangy concoction that tastes suspiciously of Amaretto Sour and Bourbon.

“You don’t like it? I’ll finish it for you then,” Clancy remarks, misinterpreting my reaction to the taste and snatching the glass from me, downing it.

“Actually it was my favourite drink once…” I mutter, my words lost beneath the thumping music as I look towards the end of the bar to try and catch another glimpse of the person who’d bought them for us. But he’s gone.

“Hmm, yum.” Clancy grins, sashaying onto the dancefloor, leaving me with the bitter aftertaste of a night I’d rather forget.

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