“Tony,” Jade greeted. They exchanged pleasantries, and then he allowed us into the VIP section. His eyes followed me, and it gave me chills of the worst kind. He made me feel naked, and I didn’t like it.

“Ignore Tony,” Jade murmured. “He’s harmless, and no man here will be able to ignore you tonight.”

I self-consciously fingered my curls, feeling slightly out of my element. Jade and Ashley had no problem fitting in, though. Ashley was dressed in tight black pleather leggings, with a sparkly gold top that hung loosely around her waist. Her dark hair was straightened, and held back with a black headband. The large gold hoops hanging from her ears caught the light, and shimmered, while the black spiked Louboutin’s donning her feet completed her rocker chic look. She looked incredible.

“Jade’s right,” added Ashley. “You look sexy as hell, Kennedy, and if I was a guy I’d be sporting a semi right now.”

Ashley’s comment caused me to giggle, and had somehow broken through my nervous haze. Both her and Jade had spent over an hour helping me get ready, and when they were done, the girl in the mirror was unrecognizable to me. My blonde hair hung in loose curls, reaching just below my shoulders, and I’d borrowed a pair of Jade’s nude Steve Madden platform heels. My eyes weren’t as dark as Ashley’s, but she’d somehow managed to still make my irises pop, making my green eyes, brighter.

I had a faint rose blush on my cheeks, and a nude gloss on my lips. Aside from my nude clutch, the only other accessory I had was the silver heart-shaped pendant hanging around my neck.

I’d thought twice about wearing it, worried that I’d lose it, but then I realized that having it with me was important. It made me feel like the two people who were safely nestled inside were here with me, and I took comfort in that. I hadn’t been able to wear it until now, the memories it came with still too raw and painful to think about. But tonight was the perfect occasion, and I chose to treat my birthday as the proverbial turning of a new leaf.

“Promise me one thing,” said Jade. She took my hands in hers, and leveled her gaze.

“Okaaaay,” I replied, drawing the word out.

“Forget about everything, and have some fun tonight. You deserve it.”

She didn’t have to explain what she meant by everything. I already knew. I’d been carrying the weight of circumstances beyond my control and their consequences for over a year, and I wanted to forget the cloud that had been hanging over my head since then.

“I’ll try,” I replied. “I’m sure you have something up your sleeve though, which should take care of that.”

Jade’s mouth formed a wicked smirk, and I was almost too afraid to know what she had planned.

“We’ll get into that later,” she replied. “But first, we need some birthday shots.”

“Yes!” Ashley threw her hands in the air. Her excitement was palpable, and highly contagious. “I’ll buy the first round. Tequila?”

Jade replied with a ‘hell yes’ before I could protest, and then Ashley disappeared into the crowd. It must have doubled in the thirty minutes since we’d arrived. Shortly after Ashley returned, we’d downed our shots, and Jade introduced me to some of the friends she’d invited. It was her way of getting me to meet new people, and I was instantly grateful for the way the tequila made me relax. I found I was slightly more approachable when plied with alcohol - liquid courage and all that.

Reid approached us, and my brows shot up in surprise. I started looking around, worried that Dane would be here too.

“He’s not here,” Jade whispered in my ear. “But I didn’t think you’d mind if I invited Reid.”

Just then, Reid stopped in front of us, and immediately pulled me into a hug. “Happy birthday, Kenny.”

I blinked, and then returned his embrace, ignoring the way his nickname poked at the embedded pain in my chest. No one had called me that since…

“Thanks,” I replied. “I’m glad you came.”

He dipped his head once, and then looked at Jade. Something flashed in his eyes, and I felt Jade straighten at my side.

“Jade.” His voice rumbled, and took on a huskier timbre.

“Reid.” Jade’s voice was impassive, but I caught the slight tremor. They stared for a moment, and it took someone bumping into Reid to break it.

Jade turned her gaze to me, a look of panic in her eyes. “You want to dance?” She asked me.

“Let’s do it,” I replied. She needed the escape, and I was ready to have some fun.

We grabbed Ashley, and piled into the middle of the dance floor. The DJ started playing a remix of Bastille’s ‘Things We Lost In The Fire’, and I allowed the music to carry me away.

CHAPT ER SIX

Dane

THE DOORS OF Kolony opened as students walked in and out, and the music from inside spilled out onto the sidewalk. Being here was a bad idea, and Reid had told me to stay away, but I just couldn’t. It was a Friday night, and the last thing I wanted to do was sit on the sofa or in my room like a scorned child. Granted, he had a good reason to tell me not come, but I had an even better reason to show up uninvited and unannounced.

Before I could turn my truck around and go back to our apartment, I found an open spot and parked. I walked towards the doors, greeted Bobby and tipped him when he lifted the velvet rope. Inside, strobe lights flashed, washing the place in brilliant light and revealing the sea of bodies filling the club.

The air was euphoric, and it seemed everybody was in a trance, either induced by dancing or copious amounts of booze. I spotted Reid in the VIP section, and headed in his direction.

He caught sight of me and grimaced.

“Just couldn’t stay away, could you?” He said. I smiled, greeting some of our other friends. Adam was on the football team with Reid, as was Carter. We met them both in our first year, and they’d turned out to be awesome guys.

“I’m always down for a party,” I replied. “You know that.”

I flagged down a waitress, and ordered a Corona. When I winked, her cheeks flushed and I noted that she was kind of cute. Her brown hair was piled on the top of her head, and her matching eyes were bright. I knew that look well, and when her tongue snuck out to wet her lips I knew I’d be seeing her later.

Reid grumbled, and I ignored his pissy mood in favor of a conversation with Adam and Carter about which girl they’d planned on taking home with them. The waitress came back, and handed me a piece of paper with her number on it before handing me my beer. A little too obvious for my taste, but I wasn’t about to turn a willing body down. I’d been tense for a few days, and she looked like she’d be real good at helping me get rid of it.

Classes had been frantic for the first few weeks, and it took me a little longer to find my stride. I had too much riding on this semester to let anything fall at the way side, and that included more studying and less partying, with tonight being an exception. I liked to think of it as extenuating circumstances, and nothing to do with the blonde firecracker that lived next door to us.

“Good Lord, that girl is damn fine,” said Adam, his comment dragging me back to the present.

Reid shot him a glare, and for a second I thought Adam had been talking about Jade. Reid had never verbally expressed his feelings for her, but the look on his face right now was pretty damn obvious. I had yet to see her, or Kennedy, but when I followed Adam’s gaze it became apparent I didn’t need to look.

Kennedy and Jade were in the middle of the dance floor with their friend, Ashley. I’d met her in the hallway a few times, and learned that she was their roommate. She was hot, but my eyes were fixated on Kennedy.