PARTY OF FIVE TURNS INTO A PARTY OF TWELVE within an hour of arriving at Q. Girls voted to skip Tortugo in favor of dancing, where MJ spotted a few friends from college, and Kaya dragged two complete strangers into our booth.
I keep a steady pace with caipirinhas while the girls stick to bubbly, chatting, laughing, and rating the guys watching us from the bar on a scale of doability.
One is not even if he were the last man on earth, and ten is I’d let him fuck me right here on this table.
We move to the dance floor when a local DJ starts his set at nine. Most girls pick off random men to dance with, and within moments it’s just Amy and me dancing alone. In the next moment, she’s snatched up too.
Now that I’m with Theo, I won’t let any man into my personal space, so I retreat to the bar, swaying to the music as I wait to be served. “Caipirinha, please,” I yell to the bartender over the blaring music. “And a glass of water.”
I whirl around, watching my friends dance and spot Kaya writhing around a tall, older man, his hands under her dress, cupping her ass. She beams, her moves clumsy as she sways on her feet, eyes hooded, distant.
I tell the bartender to keep my order behind the counter, sauntering across the dancefloor to save Kaya from letting that man fuck her at the back of the club. The thought of leaving her to fend for herself makes my teeth crack together.
“I’m fine!” she yells when I grab her hand, her gaze unfocused. She drank three brimming flutes of bubbly while doing my hair and had already downed two drinks since we entered Q half an hour ago. “Feel his dick!” she grabs my hand steering it toward the inseam of the man’s pants. “It’s huge!”
I yank my hand back before it makes contact. “You’re drunk, girl. Come on, you need fresh air and a glass of water.”
She doesn’t listen, righting her stance, eyes back on the silver fox beside her, who now looks positively annoyed with me. He snakes one arm around her waist, dragging her further into the crowd.
No way I’ll leave Kaya unattended. She’s not thinking clearly, giving the guy a perfect opportunity to seize the moment. Whether she likes it or not, I’m not leaving her alone while she can’t stitch together a coherent sentence. Cassidy is nearby, utterly disinterested with the guy she’s dancing with. It takes nothing more than us locking eyes and me mouthing come with me for her to ditch him.
“What’s wrong?” she yells in my ear.
“Kaya’s wasted. She’s basically dry humping that guy.” I point toward them, and my stomach churns. His hand is now under her dress… by the look of things, he’s fingering her in the middle of the club. “We need to get her out of here, Cass.”
“Yeah…” She wrinkles her nose, swatting at the air. “Ignore it, and don’t worry about Kaya. She probably asked him to fuck her ten times already. She always does stupid shit like that when she’s drunk.”
“That doesn’t mean we should leave her alone!”
Cass huffs but ends up waving over Mary-Jane and Amy. The four of us separate Kaya from the obnoxious man, using our bodies as a cage for the drunk brunette. He tries to put up a fight, the outline of his hard dick clearly visible under the fabric of his jeans, but he gives up when I get in his face, threatening him with security.
“Should we call her a cab?” MJ asks once we safely deposit Kaya in the booth upstairs. “She’s wasted.”
“No cabs. You don’t know if the driver won’t take advantage of her. Give me a minute. I’ll ask Theo to send one of the triplets. Get Kaya a glass of water.” I walk through the back exit to the large smoking area on the balcony, pressing my phone to my ear.
“Done already?” he asks.
“No, but could you ask one of the triplets to take Kaya home? She’s really drunk. We just pulled a very touchy-feely guy off her.” I turn my back on the few people enjoying a cigarette. “She should go home while she can still walk.”
“Are you alright?” He asks, and the chatter in the background drops in volume as if everyone’s listening in on our conversation. “He didn’t touch you, did he?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Good. What about Kaya? Is she okay?”
I lower my voice to a whisper. “I’m pretty sure he had his fingers inside her in the middle of the dance floor, but I doubt she’ll remember it tomorrow.”
“Some party. I’ll send Cody over. Are you staying?”
“I think so. Unless the girls want to leave, but it doesn’t look like they care that much. I’ll let you know either way.”
“Yeah, okay. Stay safe, omorfiá.”
Clutching the phone firmly in my hand so I won’t miss Cody’s call, I go back inside. Minutes tick by, my party mood deteriorating fast. Even more so when Kaya steals MJ’s flute and dries downs the glass in one go, arguing with Cassidy. Her hands fly all over the place, missing MJ’s face by a hair’s breadth.
“Told you,” Cass mutters to me. “Don’t get me wrong, we all like to party, but Kaya’s out of control.”
“Don’t act like her bestie,” Kaya snaps, slurring her words. “You fucked her boyfriend!”
My cheeks instantly chill as if all blood has drained from my face. I gawk at Cassidy, waiting for her to deny it, but she chews her lip, cornflower-blue eyes avoiding my gaze. I knew she slept with one of the Hayes brothers, but considering how she acts around Logan, my money was on him.
Theo didn’t even cross my mind.
Now I know what she meant earlier when she told me she messed up and why she didn’t want to share the story.
Theo’s past is just that, a past. I’d never confront him about it, especially since I have a closet full of skeletons he’s yet to learn about, but if he slept with her after we met, that’s a different story.
“When?” I ask, feeling sick. “I… I thought it was Logan!”
“Yeah,” Kaya giggles, arms crossed, a bitch face laced with disdain on display. “She fucked them both.”
Holy mother of baby Jesus…
“Both?” I repeat, testing the word. I know the definition, but… shit, my head’s pulsing, and my hands turn clammy, and I can’t shake the how’s that possible out of my system. “Both?”
Cass’s chin quivers, but she gets a hold of herself before any tears spill. “It was last year. Theo and I… God, it was nothing, Thalia. I swear.” She grabs my hand as if she’s afraid I’ll get up and leave. Or maybe she’s casually restraining me, thinking I’ll smack her face. I’ve not ruled it out. “One night,” she continues. “Two strangers. It was just for fun. We met like an hour earlier at the bar, Thalia. Please don’t hate me. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but it was so long ago, and it meant nothing to either of us, I promise.”
“You sure don’t act like Logan meant nothing!” I yank my hand away. “Why should I believe you?”
Her eyes stop sparkling, filling with tears, her cheeks rosy. “Logan’s a different story. We were close, we went out for drinks a few times and had dinner, and I didn’t know Logan when I hooked up with Theo, and I had no idea they were brothers when I met Logan a few days later. It all happened so fast.” She swallows hard, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “It’s just different, okay? I cared about Logan. Theo was a mistake, I swear.”
The kicked-puppy demeanor doesn’t suit Cassidy, but it rings genuine. She’s upset and scared of my reaction, which tells me she cares about me and my feelings.
I take a deep breath, rationalizing. Theo’s lived here all his life. The city is full of women who were under or over him at some point, but not one was kept for longer than one night.
Knowing my friend slept with the guy I’m falling in love with is not an image I want in my head, but tossing the friendship aside over what she called a mistake that happened long before I knew either of them is irrational at best. Theo’s mine. He’s with me, and Cassidy gave me no reason for jealousy the few times I’ve seen her around him.
“Are we okay?” she asks, pumping her frail fingers around my wrist. “Do you want me to leave?”
“No… we’re okay, just don’t mention it again.” I lower my voice. “And you’ve got to tell me what the deal is with you and Logan now. I know you’re not over him, Cass.”
“I won’t mention it again, I promise. Thank you.” She pulls me in for a hug. “One day, I’ll tell you all about Logan.” She moves away, mindlessly picking her nails, but her cheeks burn brighter as she glares at Kaya. “You’re a bitch, you know that? If you want to hit rock bottom, be my guest. Just stop trying to drag everyone down with you.”
I’m not sure why she bothers with the speech. Kaya’s too busy sucking on the straw, trying to drink from an empty glass, to pay attention.
I fidget in the seat, growing impatient, and check my phone every few seconds, but Cody isn’t calling. It takes five more minutes before a familiar face stops by the booth, visibly annoyed. It’s a Hayes, sure. Just not the one I expected.
Nico grabs Kaya, yanking her out of the seat and into his arms. She glares at him for a second before her stunning features twist with recognition. As if a switch has been flipped in her head, she bursts into tears, fisting his shirt and pressing herself to his chest like a lost, little girl. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but Nico shoves her back into the booth and crouches beside me.
“What did that fucker do to her?”
“He was very touchy, but—”
“You remember what he looked like?”
“Yes, but—”
He grabs me by my upper arm, hard enough that it will leave marks, and hauls me to my feet, pulling me behind him like a misbehaving dog on a leash. We stop at the railing surrounding the VIP section overlooking the dance floor. “Show me.”
Neither the tone of his voice nor the way he manhandled me just now agree with me, but I’ve heard enough stories about Nico’s uncontainable rage that I wouldn’t dare argue with him while every one of his gestures screams bloody murder.
I scan the mass of bodies, searching for the man who fingered Kaya. He’s by the bar with another girl, equally drunk and leaning into him, swaying on her feet.
“There. Baby-blue shirt, glasses, light jeans.”
“The one with the blonde falling asleep on his chest?”
I nod, and prompted by the madness in his eyes, and afraid of what he might do, I go against all my instincts and try to tell Nico he can’t blame the guy for trying his luck. Especially that Kaya was willing, but he turns on his heel before I can voice my thoughts.
Maybe it’s for the best.
The silver fox sure deserves a punch to the nose for trying to take advantage of Kaya’s drunk ass. I just hope Nico won’t go overboard. Theo said there’s no stopping him once he gets going. He grabs Kaya and takes her downstairs, crossing the room toward the oblivious man.
In a protective move, Nico pulls Kaya behind him. Without a warning or a single word, he rams his fist into the man’s face, knocking him off balance. MJ and Amy stand beside me when Nico grabs a handful of the guy’s collar, says something in his face, and hits him again.
Not even a minute later, he leads Kaya out of the building, his arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders.
“Can anyone explain what the hell just happened?” MJ yells, arms crossed. “Since when is Nico all Rambo over a girl?”
Neither one of us has an answer, but Amy breaks the tension. “Cockus gripus.” She shrugs, returning to the booth where Cass awaits with two trays of shots.
“Drink up,” she tells me, clinking her glass to mine.
We put the incident behind us and quickly regain our party mood, heading back downstairs.
◆◆◆
Cody takes me home just after midnight.
The rest of the party stayed behind, even though Cassidy starts work at seven, just like me, and should lay off the shots already. She’s getting dangerously close to Kaya’s level of drunkenness. I bet she’ll call in sick tomorrow.
Great.
Jared will growl at everyone when he comes over to open the Country Club.
Despite his careless driving, Cody’s a lovely kid. He entertains me with chitchat most of the way back to Theo’s. I don’t stop him to say I don’t understand half of the technical terms he uses while he relays the entire spec of his Mustang, sounding as if the car is his pride and joy. Theo mentioned that the triplets are motorheads and love their cars. Cody confirms, telling me that he details the thing every weekend.
“Are the guys still there?” I ask when he turns right, heading down the road to Theo’s building.
“No, I took the last lot home before I came over to get you. Once Nico stormed out, the party kind of sucked.”
“Yeah, my party sucked, too, when he stormed into the club.”
“I can imagine. He was all fire and fucking death when he and Kaya got back in the car.” He pulls up by the curb. “Chauffeur Cody at your service,” he jokes. “You don’t have to ask Theo to call me, you know? Save my number.”
“I will. Thank you.” I lean over to peck his cheek and then get out of the car, my legs weak from dancing in five-inch heels.
By the time I tell Theo about the eventful night, wash up and change into pj’s, I’m so sleepy that no number of kisses could convince me to have sex, but I fight my heavy eyelids, waiting for Theo to emerge from the bathroom so he can cuddle me to sleep. I fail, and the next thing I know, the alarm is blaring at five am.
