Page 11 of Joint Custody

“One for you, and you, and you . . .” She handed each of us one. The girls didn’t spare a second. They downed that shot before I could blink. I followed their lead, trying to ingest it in one go and ended up screaming as the liquor shot through my nose and mouth.

“What thefuckwas that?” The girls died with laughter. “Why would you drink that?” I stuck my tongue out so that the dank air could somehow cool the scorching heat, and maybe even get rid of the bitterness. “Is that even safe to drink?”

The girls were still wheezing with laughter, trying to catch their breaths when Laura said, “I guess you’re not a shots girl.”

I shook my head as fast as I could. “No, I’m not a shots girl.”

“That was rough to watch.” I heard a chuckle next to my ear before a pink drink in a stylish wine glass appeared before me. I turned in shock to find Mario standing so close to me, I could smell his cologne, feel his chest resting against my shoulder. And man, he smelled good. He felt good too. His chest felt solid. Hard.

“Try this,” he said as the girls all gave me that teasing look.

The back of my neck grew hot, and it wasn’t just because of the heat emanating off the bodies of the people crammed in here. I turned away from my girls’ knowing looks so that my cheeks wouldn’t indicate the temperature change in my body, and I moved the glass to my lips in an additional attempt to hide them, in case they did.

The drink was a pleasant surprise. It was nothing like that poison I’d just tasted. If any of that poison was in this one, I was none the wiser. My eyes widened in relief as the sweetness of fruit coated my tongue, and I wiggled my body in excitement. Okay, I was in the mood to dance now.

“Thank you.” I smiled.

He leaned in and spoke so that I could hear him. “You’re welcome.” My body tingled. Was he chewing gum? His breath smelled so minty, and I was enjoying the coolness of it on my skin.

“Well, now that you’ve got your drink, let’s dance!” Simone said, tugging on my arm.

“Wait!” Mario yelled, and the bass of his voice intrigued my body. My body was likewho said that and can I have him please?

We paused and he pulled me toward him as the tingling settled over my chest, even more specific, in my nipples. I felt so naked, I found myself slouching a little bit in embarrassment. “Look, this isn’t me trying to be controlling and overbearing. I just care, okay? Always keep an eye on your drink, even if you’re dancing with it. Someone could easily slip something in there while you’re not looking.”

Ugh, okay. Here we go again. “You don’t think I know that? You don’t think I used my phone to research dos and don’ts of the club on my way here? I’m not brain-dead.”

“I know you’re not,” he said as I turned to walk off. Before I knew it, I could feel his breath on my skin as he brought his mouth to my ear again. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I was just trying to look out for you. It’s your first time here, and I just want to help keep you safe. Is that so bad?”

I shuddered and turned to stare into those glacier blues.

“I guess not,” I said as I downed the rest of the drink and handed him the glass. Then I was being pulled onto the dance floor, legs wobbling as I scolded my body for reacting the way it did. He’d laugh if he knew the effect he had on me. Maybe he’d even find it gross since it was clear that he was treating me like I was his little sister.Ahh.I was reminded why I wanted to come here and drown out these confusing thoughts about him and Anthony with the music blasting my eardrums. Damn, it was so fucking loud, I was sure they’d be bleeding by the end of the night.

I was thankful for the moment the drink hit, proving to me that there was alcohol in it after all. The feeling of running through a field of grass and wildflowers in a flowy sundress as the wind lapped up my legs and played with my hair returned. That feeling of moving through the air without a care in the world, with no pressure. The giggles found me again and so did an appreciation for the loud music as my body moved to whatever sound I heard. I didn’t care if I was in rhythm or out of it. I threw my hands up in the air, and when a pair of hands held me around my waist, I didn’t care that it was some random dude I didn’t know, I let his hands stay there as I danced along with him. Ooh, I was being scandalous and I liked it.

Okay, maybe not as scandalous as my friends. As I watched them, I couldn’t contain the laughter that erupted from me out of shock. How in the world did they get their bodies to move like that? Their dance partners seemed to be loving the hell out of it. I closed my eyes and threw my head back, letting the music do what I came here for—silence my thoughts.

I didn’t know how long I was dancing for, but I knew I was hot and sweaty, my feet were growing tired in these heels, and I was thirsty. When I opened my eyes again to talk to my friends, they were gone. Lucky for me, I was too intoxicated to panic. Instead, I set out to find them, squeezing myself through undulating hips, rocking from side to side as my body was being pushed this way and that. I came upon a black curtain and two thick men standing on the outside of it. Above the black curtain, on the wall, was a picture of two people doing the nasty, a precursor for what was to come.

The two men stepped aside and allowed me in, andoh wow. I wished they hadn’t because I got more than I bargained for. I yelped and shut my eyes as soon as I spotted two people in the corner going at it like rabbits. I almost wanted to apologize for intruding as I shielded my eyes with my hands. Yet curiosity had me peeking through my fingers as the sounds of moaning filled me with a sense of need I’d never felt before. I wanted to run out of there in shock of my body’s response, and I was about to since I must have wandered into the wrong place anyway. My friends weren’t here. Well, I just spotted Annie.

It was a strange experience seeing her in such a whole new light. Within this section of the club, the dark gray concrete walls and the thick black curtain worked to muffle some of the sound of the music. I was frozen as I watched her with her back pressed against the wall, her breasts hanging out over her dress, and heard her moan. She ran her hand through the hair of the person buried between her legs that were dangled over their shoulders. I should have looked away, but I’d never seen anything like this before, and the look of complete ecstasy on her face made me envious of whatever she was feeling.

I should have turned around and left them to it, but I found my feet moving forward, searching the room—filled with bodies slapping together as pheromones filled the air, creating a special concoction for the senses while grunts and moans blended together in a song—for Simone and Laura. It didn’t take long for me to identify and follow Simone’s outstanding vocalization, but I needed to brace myself against the wall as I came upon her being pounded into the concrete by some dude as she moaned, “Yes, yes. Oh, uh, you fuck me . . . so good” before she grabbed the guy’s face and kissed the hell out of him as he continued to thrust himself inside of her with vigor. I was worried for her back on that surface.

I felt my legs turn into noodles, and I was about to tap her on her shoulder to ask her if she was okay but once she screamed “Don’t stop” over and over again, I could tell that she was pretty content.

Not far away from Simone was Laura, with her dress up high as she bounced in the lap of someone sitting on the small protrusion that served as what seemed to be a very uncomfortable seat. Didn’t seem to stop them, though, as the hands of the person hidden behind her came to grip her breasts that were facing me.

I felt a wetness between my legs that caused me to clamp them closed. That was not pee. What was that? I wasn’t sure if the warm liquid seeping out of me was normal, but it had soaked my panties. Transfixed by the echo of sex and music deafening my ears, teasing my breasts and skimming the hairs on my skin, I almost jumped out of my heels as I heard a voice come up behind me. “Hey.”

I spun around, catching myself just in time to suppress the yelp as I stood face-to-face with my dance partner from earlier. “Oh! Haha, you scared me.”

I rested my hands on his shoulders to steady myself. “This is a weird place to find me, huh? It’s not what you’d think. It’s just, I was looking for my friends and—” My speech was cut short by him smiling and moving forward to kiss me. Instinct made me draw back. “Oh, whoa! What are you doing?”

He lowered his gaze to my lips and smirked to himself, placing his hand around my waist and pulling me into him. “Kissing you,” he said before lowering his lips again.

I put my arm between us, trying to launch myself out of his embrace. “Oh! No, thank you. I’m fine. Thanks.” I giggled in embarrassment.

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