by Maegan Abel
"Oh!" Lili said, sitting up straighter and gesturing to the guy again. "This is… uhhh…" She bit her lip to hide a smile, trying to look ashamed but clearly not caring that she didn't bother to get his name.
"Stewart," the guy said, extending his hand to me first. Before I could even take his hand to shake it, Lili scoffed.
"Ew. No. I did not just make out with a Stewart. We're going to call you Charles," she said with a nod. "So, this is Charlie." Stewart looked over at Lili, his expression a mixture of shock and confusion.
I took the hand he still had extended to me and shook it, laughing. "Welcome to hell, Charlie." Lili was tiny but she was a blazing ball of contumacy and he would quickly learn there was no use arguing with her about anything.
Losing interest in the conversation, I held my bottle up to Carrie and nodded toward Bambi to let her know we needed another round. It was then I noticed the group of about ten women pushing through the crowd near the door. I watched, amused. The girl leading the group had one of those stupid fake veils on and a bright pink sash with ‘bride to be’ printed on it.
I would never understand why girls felt the need to announce to every person around them that they were out acting trashy the night before they were going to make a lifetime commitment to another person. It made no sense to me. I watched the group, only partly paying attention to them, as Bambi's hand traveled up my thigh under the table. I slid down slightly in the booth, opening my legs further so she could better reach her mark right about the time the girls stopped in front of a group of guys at the bar.
The ‘bride to be’ started shoving at one of the guys, clearly pissed. I chuckled quietly, wondering what the groom was caught doing. I closed my eyes a moment as Bambi's tongue started working along my jaw. The combination of that and her hand working over the denim of my jeans left my mind foggier than the alcohol I'd been drinking all night. I opened my eyes, knowing I needed to focus or I would be dragging Bambi back to the bathroom of this place to finish things off. That was really more Lili's style than mine.
I wasn't opposed to the occasional brief tryst in a dark corner but I preferred to take my time when it came to sex. Lili, with her practiced hardness and deep-seated distrust of people, was more of the “get in, get off, get on with life” type. From the way Charlie was twitching beside me on the booth, I was betting it wouldn't be long before they disappeared.
I let my fingers slide across Bambi's bare arm as I turned my attention back to the bride. Her entire face was red, obviously furious as she yelled at the group of men in front of her. I couldn't hear the words from across the room but the guy at the front glanced in our direction. Her gaze followed, landing immediately on the guy to my right, who had Lili draped over him as they laughed. The bride's eyes narrowed and she started through the crowd toward us.
"Oh shit," I laughed the words, covering my mouth with my hand as the train wreck that was about to happen fell into place. The tall blonde was a few pounds past curvy and a complete opposite of Lili. As she reached our table, she slammed both of her fists on the outside edge before Charlie and Lili even looked in her direction. Tish and Kas were watching with confused expressions, oblivious to the scene I'd witnessed at the bar.
"Stewart!" she squealed the single word, making me cringe as the sound grated in my ears.
"Oh, fuck! Erica, this isn't what it looks like!" Charlie quickly extricated himself from Lili's grip. Lili narrowed her eyes at the blonde across the table and reached out to trail her nail along his neck.
"Seriously? First my sister and now this skank! My mom was right. You aren't husband material at all," Erica said, her fists now clenching and unclenching at her sides.
"Stewie, she's really not my type. I don't do frumpy," Lili cooed, wrapping her arms around Charlie’s neck again and leaning close before turning her face back to the blonde. "But, she's welcome to watch."
The girl sputtered for a moment in her attempt to find a suitable retort. "Slut," she spit the word at Lili who just laughed.
"Oh, burn. I guess you told me. Listen, maybe you and I should go get a drink and I could give you a few pointers on how to keep your man here satisfied," Lili offered, patting Charlie's leg with a grin.
Erica just huffed and turned to push back through the crowd.
Before any of us could react, Charlie jumped up onto the booth. Using the table top as a step to leap down, he chased Erica through the crowd. “Erica! Wait!"
Carrie paused in her approach, watching all of us grab bottles before they tumbled off the table from the weight shift. She shook her head, glancing in the direction of the couple before she stepped forward.
"It's always eventful when you guys are around," she said, dropping off the drinks and clearing empties before disappearing through the wall of bodies.
Lili burst out laughing and all four of us turned to look at her. She glanced around the table and shrugged. "Oops."
"Oops?" Kas asked, nudging Lili's shoulder. "Did you know he was engaged?"
Lili shook her head as she answered. "Not until she walked up."
"You're shameless."
"It's not my shame. I was only working with what I was given. He should've said he was engaged."
"I'm not sure he had time before you shoved your tongue down his throat," Bambi said. I leaned back, looking over at her. She obviously didn't know Lili well enough to run her mouth that way, but it was too late to stop her now.
Lili's laughter cut off at Bambi's words. She looked around me, her wide blue eyes narrowed menacingly. "Says the girl with a hooker's name. Did you bother to ask about Zane's relationship status before jerking him off under the table?" Her eyes looked pointedly at the table covering Bambi's hand on my crotch.
"Lee, shit," Tish said, making a disgusted face as he took the shot in front of him.
"Who the fu—" Bambi started but I pulled her hand off of me. I squeezed her fingers to draw her attention to me and shook my head.
"Don't," I warned, watching Bambi carefully. If she continued, she would just be digging herself a deeper grave. I didn't need to defend Lili and she knew I wouldn't, but that didn't mean I was in the mood for bloodshed tonight. Bambi huffed, yanking her hand free and pushing herself out of the booth before stomping off toward her friends.
I groaned and rolled my eyes as I looked back over at Lili disapprovingly. "Thanks for that."
"What?" she asked, looking offended.
"You weren't getting laid tonight so you wanted to make sure I didn't either?" I tugged on the thighs of my jeans in an attempt to relieve some of the pressure against my zipper before I took the shot in front of me. "By the way, it's not really fair to hold what Bambi was doing against her when you were doing the same fucking thing with Charlie."
"Can we please stop discussing this now?" Tish grabbed Kas' shot, downing it as well.
Lili ignored Tish's request, her attention completely focused on me. "Excuse me, but I was perfectly fine until your whore decided to talk shit. Maybe you should train them to only open their mouth to suck your cock."
"Maybe I could if you didn't go out of your way to try to intimidate anyone who even cracks a fucking joke."
Lili scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest as she turned toward me in the booth. "You mean the way you did last Saturday with that frat boy at the bar?"
"That mother fucker wasn't joking…" I trailed off when I glanced down at her and noticed the black ink lining up perfectly along her forearms. It made me grin despite my annoyance. 'Though she be but little, she is fierce.'
I remembered telling her about A Midsummer Night's Dream one night about a month after I moved back home. I told her she was tenacious in spite of her size. She laughed and told me theatre had never been her thing and she never really understood Shakespeare. I knew Shakespeare in the Park was scheduled to perform that play in just a few weeks, around the time of her birthday, so that night I took her to see it.
She had been in awe of the performance, laughing and
nudging me at the quote. On the way home that evening, she told me it had been the best birthday of her life. I'd spent next to nothing on the night, only buying a card in order to write where I was taking her on the inside. It was just a few days later when she got the tattoo on her forearms.
Now, just like every other time she was angry with me, I couldn't help but smile at the memory. I reached out and poked her in the ribs, directly under her crossed arms. "Okay, Pix. You win."
"Quit," she said, sliding sideways in the booth to try to get away from my fingers. Attempting to hold on to her anger, she snatched her own shot glass and downed it. My grin widened and I grabbed my beer, my gaze slipping around the large room. Our table was at a perfect vantage point to see the entire open area of the club.
As I scanned past the door, my breath caught in my throat. I choked on the mouthful of beer I was trying to swallow, my eyes widening as I forced it down, sputtering and coughing. Lili smacked her hand on my back as they all laughed at me, but I couldn't tear my eyes from the door.
She was standing there, right inside the entrance, wearing a short black sequined number that stood out in contrast to her tanned skin and dyed-blonde hair. She wore a look that told me she was searching for someone.
For me.
I had no idea what my expression revealed but everyone at the table craned their heads to look for what had caught my attention.
"Holy fuck. What the hell is that bitch doing here?" Tish sounded furious. Within seconds, Lizzie's eyes collided with mine. I didn't react, or I tried not to, but she gave a small smile and started along the edge of the floor, very obviously headed in our direction.
Over the course of the day, I'd missed several calls and texts. Everything from Lizzie was skimmed and ignored once I was convinced it wasn't about Conner. I was determined not to let her poison my birthday. But, here she came, unavoidable like the infection she was.
"Who?" Lili asked as she attempted to stretch higher, trying to see what had Tish and me so angry.
"Lizzie's on her way over." I looked away from the approaching nightmare, downing the rest of my beer in one drink before banging the empty bottle back on the table. I caught myself popping my knuckles and moved my hands back to the bottle instead. In an attempt to look nonchalant, I began picking at the label with my thumbnail.
"We could leave. Slide out of the booth and just head toward the door. We'll block her from getting near you," Kas offered, reaching across the table to steady the trembling container in my hands.
I glanced up and saw the black dress approaching the table on my side. "Too late."
"Speaking of repulsive skanks," Tish said loudly, a menacing smile planted on his face. "Lizzie! How inconsiderate of you to show up here tonight. I guess we shouldn't expect anything less from a worthless—"
"Save it, Jared! I just want to talk to Zane."
"Fucking bitch," Tish said, giving her the reaction she was looking for when she called him by his first name.
I could feel everyone staring at me, but I kept my gaze locked on the dark brown glass in front of me. My jaw clenched and unclenched several times as I tried to find my voice.
"Zane?" Kas' voice was soft and I knew without looking at her that it was an offer, a way out of this if I needed it. I exhaled a long breath, slammed the bottle on the table, and shoved myself out of the booth. Snatching Lizzie by the upper arm, I tugged her to the bar without speaking. I released her and leaned against the bar, ordering myself another shot and a beer.
"Talk," I said, not looking at her as I accepted my drinks and downed the shot.
"Z, look at me."
I ignored the request. Leaning my forearms on the bar, I tipped back a long drink from my beer. "You have thirty seconds to say whatever it is you need to say to me, Liz. Then I'm walking away." To emphasize that I meant it, I kept both hands wrapped around my beer and turned around, leaning back against the bar.
"Aren't you even going to ask about Conner?" Lizzie was pushing me already, goading me to snap at her. I knew what she was doing but I still had to force myself to stay calm.
"Conner is not the reason you came here. Are you trying to ruin today for me? Are you going to spend time rubbing in that he's not mine, too?" I asked through clenched teeth, avoiding the urge to throw my beer bottle against the wall just to release some of the rage.
"He's Adam's," she conceded in a quiet voice, making me drop my head. It shouldn't still hurt but it did. It so fucking did. "But, Zane, you're still his daddy. You were the one that was there when he was born. You were there for the first —" I spun, facing her full on for the first time, the motion effectively cutting her off before she could finish.
"Get to the fucking point or get the hell away from me!" I shouted, causing the people closest to us to back away. I ran my hand along the back of my neck as I waited for her to speak. Her hazel eyes were wide, shocked at my outburst. She looked almost nervous.
"Adam left. I haven't heard from him in months. Before that he was just… he comes and goes when he wants. The drugs… It's gotten bad, Zane. And I don't want him. I never wanted him. It was always you. You know that." She reached out a hand, her long fingers lightly grazing my arm. Before I had a chance to react, small hands slid around my waist from behind.
"Zane, come dance with me. I owe you a birthday dance." Lili's voice was slurred but in a way that I knew was completely fake. She poked her head around to look up at me and stepped to the side, holding out a hand. A lifeline. I'd rubbed my neck unconsciously but it was my normal sign for Lili to step in and rescue me when we were out together. After two years, she and I were like a well-oiled machine when it came to this kind of thing and I was thankful for her interruption.
"You'll have to forgive me for not caring, Lizzie." I forced a grin at Lizzie's shocked and furious expression and took Lili's outstretched hand, leading her to the dance floor.
"I thought you didn't dance?" I asked as we stopped in the middle of the heavy crowd moving to some techno version of a pop song that was playing. Lili was glaring back toward the bar.
"I don't but I'll make an exception," she sighed. "If it wasn't your birthday, Zane…" She left her sentence hanging as she began moving to the beat of the music, her hips swaying as she rested her hands high on my shoulders. In her beat-up, old, black combat boots, she was nearly a foot shorter than me. I moved with her but it was awkward, like she was intentionally trying to be bad at this. I'd seen Lili move, I knew she had more grace than this walking. But, I'd never seen her dance so I couldn't be sure. I wondered if it was Lizzie watching that made her nervous or if it was just that she was dancing with me.
The next song started and the beat turned sultry. I was about to suggest that Lili and I head back to the table when she stiffened and tilted her head to the side, her eyes narrowing at something behind me.
"Fucking…" Lili clenched her jaw, not finishing her sentence. I froze as I felt the press of a body against me from behind. An all-together too familiar body. Long nails trailed along my back in a way that made my muscles clench and other parts of me tighten against my will. Lili's eyes flashed angrily and she spun away from me. For a moment, I thought she was leaving the floor and my brain argued with the one part of my body that wanted me to stay. I took a step to follow Lili and she bent over, folding her body down before throwing her ass back into me and uncurling her torso upward in time with the music.
I was sure my surprise was evident to the people around us as she rolled her body in front of me, her hips grinding against me in a way I'd never imagined before. It was strange, given the height difference, and I stared wide-eyed down at her. Lili's head tipped back to look up my chest at my face as she extended her arms above her head to my shoulders and dragged her nails down slowly. The blue of her eyes was almost electric under the pulsing lights and matched the color of her shirt perfectly.
"Oh, hell." I grabbed her hips automatically, my knees bending to put myself closer to her height as my movements mirrored hers
, our bodies rolling and grinding into one another.
This was why I loved coming to the club instead of the bar. But, I never expected it from Lili. As she continued to move against me, I felt Lizzie behind me. It wasn't completely uncomfortable, being wedged between two exceptionally beautiful women as they moved against me. I'd been here before and usually ended up fucking both of the girls together. This time, I wouldn't be fucking either one of them. My head was reeling as I attempted to keep my cool.
Lili spun to face me, sliding her leg between mine. "Give it up, bitch," she spat past me while grinding herself against my leg. I licked my lips and kept moving, trying not to think as I wrapped my arms around her back, pulling her closer. I glanced down at the short black skirt and the dark tights showing along her thighs.
"You have a lot of nerve thinking you're better for him than his wife," Lizzie's acidic words came in a lull of the music and the heads of those around us craned to see who had spoken. Lili paused for only a second, her eyes locking on mine. I knew what she was thinking and I nodded my approval. She stood straight and grabbed my neck with both hands, yanking me down. I used my grip on her to lift her as she crushed her lips to mine.
Lili and I had kissed before. In fact, we kissed regularly to rescue one another, but tonight it was different. Maybe it was the music, maybe it was the dancing, maybe it was the fact that Lizzie was behind us, but, for whatever reason, I could tell Lili was putting all she had into the kiss and I reciprocated. I was shoved from behind and I almost lost my balance. Lili released me and slid down my body quickly, spinning to find Lizzie.
The music changed again. A very distinct and popular hip-hop beat started over the cheering and Lili started moving to the beat in an aggressive way. I saw the look in her eyes, the challenge. Lili was competitive, almost obsessively so at times. I had no idea she knew how to dance at all, but to see her move to the beat, I could tell it was something she had done for a long time. Even that realization didn't prepare me for what happened next.
Lili danced up to Lizzie's face and the crowd around us parted, making a circle to watch. It was like we were in one of those mediocre, characterless dance movies that were so popular now. Only this was real, hotter, and a thousand times more intense.
