“Okay, deuces, let’s get this party on the road!” Jade shouted from the kitchen. Despite my earlier mood, I was excited to have a night out with my friends.

“Where’s Ashley?” I asked as soon as we were in the kitchen.

“She bailed last minute. Something to do with a biochemistry assignment gone wrong,” replied Jade.

“That’s too bad,” said Grady, waving his hand in dismissal. “We’ll send her pictures from the club. Now let’s get the hell out of here so I can go find me a Pimp.”

BY THE TIME we arrived at the club, it was already well on its way to being filled to the brim.  People queued outside, and from the looks of it the line ran all the way around the corner. It wasn’t unusual for a Friday night, but the ‘Pimps & Hoes’ theme was so popular that many people drove an hour from Brighton just to attend.

I slipped my hand into the crook of Grady’s arm, and we followed Jade to the door where the bouncer, Bobby, let us in. They’d definitely gone all out with the décor, and had even gone so far as to have stripper poles situated throughout the large space.

There was very little room to move around, but after a few shoves, and some elbows to the ribs, we made it to the bar. Jade ordered us some tequila shots to get the night going, and included a few bottles of water to help us pace ourselves.

“We drink to those who love us, we drink to those who don’t. We drink to those who fuck us, and fuck those who don’t!” Shouted Jade.

Grady replied, “Amen to that!” And we clinked our shot glasses, and swallowed back the vile clear liquid. I coughed, and blinked back the way my eyes immediately teared up.

“You okay, honey bee?” Grady rubbed my back, and I nodded.

He surveyed the crowd, and when his eyes stopped on someone in the middle of the dance floor, he kissed each of us on the cheek, and made his way out into the crowd. He looked good in a light grey tailored Armani suit, black button up shirt, and just to stand out, a red silk tie. His hair was perfectly coifed, as it always was, and tonight he had a glint in his eye that I’d never noticed before.

Jade came up to my side, and I noticed that she too was scanning the crowd. When she came up empty, she turned to face me. “I need to ask you something, but I don’t want you to be angry with me.”

I looked at her, and saw genuine apprehension on her face. She nibbled at her lip, and the nervousness radiating from her was unusual. She was always so confident, and never hesitated to tell me, or anyone for that matter, what was on her mind.

“You can ask me anything,” I replied honestly.

“Well,” she hesitated, looking around the room before turning back to me. “Did something happen between you and Dane the other night? At the Halloween party?”

I schooled my expression as well as I could. Jade would know if I was lying. “What makes you say that?”

“You’ve been acting really weird since then, and according to Reid, Dane has been too.”

“Yeah, sure.” I rolled my eyes. “Having a new ‘chew toy’ is hardly weird behavior for him.”

Jade’s eyes remained fixed on my face, but they were searching. “You know, for what it’s worth, I don’t believe a word Ash said.”

Lifting a shoulder in a shrug, I replied, “Doesn’t matter to me.”

“That’s just it, Kennedy. I think it does. I saw the way you reacted at lunch.”

This conversation was messing with my plan, and I needed to divert. “I’ve just had a lot on my mind, and tonight is about letting our hair down. Can we forget about him and everything Ash said, please?”

Jade remained quiet for a moment, and for a second I thought she’d seen through my bullshit. She always had an uncanny ability to read me, and I hoped that she’d drop it, even if it were just for tonight.

“On one condition,” she finally said.

“And that would be?”

“You tell me if anything happens. I don’t want you to think you can’t come to me just because I’m friends with Reid.”

“Of course I’d tell you,” I lied. “Not that anything will happen.”

I hated lying to her, but I was afraid that she just wouldn’t understand. Hell, I didn’t even understand how I’d gotten myself into this situation, and to explain it would only make me feel worse. Jade would blame Dane when in reality it wasn’t his fault.

“If you say so.”

She wasn’t satisfied, but she had to accept it. I wasn’t willing to get into it with her, especially when all I wanted to do was erase it from my mind completely.

Beyonce’s ‘Baby Boy’ boomed through the speakers, and I had the urge to start dancing. Jade had the same idea, and after another tequila shot, she grabbed my hand and I followed her to the dance floor. We started moving to the beat, grinding our bodies in unison. The music filled my ears, my lungs, my limbs, and soon the rest of the world faded away. The song changed, and Kings Of Leon’s ‘Sex on Fire’ bled through the crowd. I was high on the energy pulsating around me, and focused on feeling the lyrics, how they made my pulse race, and my skin dampen with a light sheen of sweat. I wasn’t drunk, not even close, but anyone watching me could’ve made that assumption.

I spotted the giant speaker next to the DJ booth, and before Jade could talk me out of it, I hoisted myself up. I slipped my shoes off, dropping them to the floor, and reveled in the way the sounds of the music vibrated beneath my feet. I bent my legs and dropped down, swaying my hips while pulling my fingers through my hair. On the way up, I trailed my hands up my sides, and moved my head from side-to-side in a slow, seductive motion.

I startled when a pair of hands grabbed my hips, and jerked me from the speaker. I opened my eyes, and found a furious-looking Dane glaring at me. I opened my mouth to speak, but one moment I was standing, and the next I was in the air being flung over Dane’s shoulder.

“Dane!” I squealed, trying to pull my dress down at the back before the people got to see my butt cheeks. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

He either didn’t hear me, or he was purposefully ignoring me. My bet was on the latter.

His steps were determined, and he shouldered his way through the crowd while carrying my weight like it was nothing. The people we passed gave us strange looks, but no one bothered to help. Apparently, being hauled out of a club on the shoulders of a guy was the norm, and no one seemed to think that anything sinister was going on.

I squirmed in his hold, looking around frantically to see if I could spot Jade. I found her in a corner, close to the bar, but she was preoccupied with…wait, was she making out with Reid? I was being jostled around so much it was hard to tell.

“Dane,” I hit his back with my fists. “Put me down! Now.”

Rather than respond with words like a normal human being, he embraced his inner caveman and slapped my butt.

The sting traveled over my skin, and I jerked in surprise. That was actually kind of…hot?

Oh my God. You are hopeless, Kennedy.

The door opened, and I saw Bobby smirking as Dane stormed past.

“Thanks for the help,” I yelled.

He snickered, and replied with, “Doesn’t look like you need it.”

Seriously? I was being dragged out of the club on Dane’s shoulders, kicking, and hitting him, and no one thought I might’ve needed help? Idiots.

“Where are you taking me?” I hissed, turning my head to try and look at Dane. From his profile I could tell his jaw was tense, and his brows were furrowed. Still, he ignored me, and once he’d marched across the parking lot to his car, he finally let me drop to my feet. His arm was tight around me as I slid down the front of his body, but I didn’t have a chance to notice how my body reacted. The door behind me swung open, and Dane lifted me by my waist to deposit me in the front passenger seat. I scowled when he shut the door, and rounded the hood.