“Am I missing something?” Asked Ashley. Her question was innocent, but I knew it would only set Jade off. She had no problem airing her disdain for my father and his bimbo of a wife.
“Uh, yeah. Kennedy’s father puts the ‘A’ in ‘asshole’ and his wife puts the ‘G’ in ‘Golddiggingwhorewithnobrains’,” replied Jade, just like I thought she would. Once she got started, there was little to be done about stopping her.
“That sucks,” remarked Ashley.
“You have no idea,” said Jade. “They’re the worst people ever, made from the rotting flesh of Lucifer himself.”
My brows lifted. Jade had never used that one before. Oddly enough, I myself couldn’t have come up with a euphemism more fitting than that.
“Anyway,” Jade flicked her hair over her shoulder, “we’re wasting precious oxygen talking about those…parasites…and getting ready for the party tonight would be a much better use of our time.”
“Amen to that,” I said, glad for the swift change of subject.
Ashley’s face broke out into a grin, and she turned her gaze to Jade. “Can we give Kennedy your gift now?”
Jade returned Ashley’s grin, and took my hand before leading me to her room with Ashley behind me. She left me in the center of her room, and disappeared quickly. She returned with one of her mannequin dress forms, and pushed it in front of me. The cloth covering it hid what was beneath, but when Jade pulled it off, a gasp escaped my lips, and my eyes widened.
Draped across the mannequin was a one-shoulder royal blue sheath mini dress. The sleeve was made of chiffon, and embellished with crystals, while the remainder of the dress was made of matte satin. It was breathtaking.
“What do you think?” Asked Jade. She bit her lip, and for the first time since I’d known Jade, she looked nervous.
“It’s incredible,” I said. “What’s it for?”
“It’s your last birthday present, for when we go out tonight,” she replied.
“Did you make it?” I asked.
Jade nodded. “I’ve been working on it for the last month. Do you like it?”
“Like it? I freakin’ love it, Jade. This has to be the most beautiful item you’ve ever made.”
“I bet it will look even better once you have it on,” said Ashley. “You have no idea how hard it’s been to keep quiet about it. I was sworn to secrecy.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I half-whispered. I was in awe of it, really. Jade had an incredible talent when it came to designing, and constructing clothes, leaving me in wonderment of her too.
A lump formed in my throat, and my eyes grew wet.
“Thank you,” I lifted my eyes back to Jade. “I really do love it.”
Jade hugged me, and I heard her suppress a sniffle. “I’m so glad, because it was a bitch getting all those fucking crystals sewn onto the sleeve. I would have cut you of you didn’t like it.”
We all laughed, and stared at the garment in question a little longer. It was just too stunning not to admire.
“Okay bitches, let’s get ready,” said Jade. “It’s going to be a fan-fucking-tastic night.”
KOLONY WAS SITUATED in the main road that separated the university campus from the sports fields. It was also the hot spot for most of Brighton’s students on a Friday night, provided there wasn’t a football game.
The line outside was all the way round the block, and on any other night we might’ve joined it, but Jade hooked her arms through mine and Ashley’s and led us straight to the door. When the bouncer saw us, or more specifically Jade, he smiled. He was huge, with muscles that bulged everywhere and hair shaved in a military cut. His black suit hugged him a little too lightly, but judging by the indent of the firearm at his side I guessed it was intentional.
“Hey, Bobby.” Jade spoke his name with familiarity, and returned the burly guy’s smile, causing his cheeks to redden. She had that affect on many a man, proving that no one was immune to her charm.
“Nice to see you again, Jade,” replied Bobby. “You enjoy your break?”
“It was great, but I missed this place.” She winked, and I thought Bobby was going to pass out.
“We missed you too,” he replied. “You girls celebrating something tonight? You look smokin’.”
“Actually,” Jade pulled me closer. “We are celebrating my friend’s birthday. Bobby, this is Kennedy. Kennedy, this is Bobby.”
I gave him an awkward wave, and smiled politely.
“Happy Birthday.” He said.
“Thank you.”
“You girls have fun, and be safe.”
We all nodded as he lifted the velvet rope, yelling at someone just inside the door to wave our cover charge. Jade kissed Bobby’s cheek as thanks, and led us inside.
The dark entrance gave way to a large room filled with students. The strobe lights flashed wildly, coating the room in luminescence. It reminded me of lightning during a summer storm.
There was a bar along the west and north walls, with a sizable dance floor in the center of it all. The DJ was situated to our right, overlooking the dance floor, while the impressive VIP section sat to our left.
Jade surveyed the room with confidence, and then walked towards the VIP section where she greeted another bouncer manning a rope.
“Well what do we have here,” the tall, lanky guy said. He wasn’t as big as Bobby, but through his suit it was clear he was still well built. He had sandy blond hair, and could’ve easily passed for a surfer. His mouth tipped into a leer, admiring Jade’s outfit. Her silver dress had a plunging neckline, and reached mid-thigh. Her blue Steve Madden heels made her legs seem longer, but not as tall as the guy currently hugging her to his body.
“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.
CHAPTER 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.
Her hair was curled, and bounced with her movements. My gaze traveled down, stopping at her hips where her dress bound itself to her curves. It ended a little way below her taut ass, exposing the perfectly toned muscle of her thighs. She had on a pair of ‘fuck me’ heels, and the very sight of her would undoubtedly be my newest material in the shower. God, she was breathtaking.
“Man, I wouldn’t mind getting me a piece of that,” said Carter. He had a predatory glint in his eye, and I felt my body become rigid in response. I was a fucking hypocrite, because I was looking at her like I wanted to eat her too, but the thought of any man touching her jolted something inside me. Something that I’d been careful to conceal from the first time I’d seen her in a bikini at sixteen.
“No way, man,” replied Reid. “She’s off-limits.”
“Why?” Carter chuckled. “You already tapping that?”
My fist tightened around my bottle, and I gulped the remainder of my beer to keep myself from tearing into him. Luckily, Reid came to my rescue. Or in this case, to Kennedy’s rescue.
“Nah, man. I’ve known Kenny a long time, and I know a dickhead like you has no fucking chance with a sweetheart like that.”
Carter looked affronted, and my gratitude for Reid’s comment was surprising. When I looked back at the dance floor, I found some guy wrapped around Kennedy, pressing his body too close. Before my brain registered what I was doing my feet were moving, and I was pushing my way through the thick crowd to get to her. Jade and Ashley were both too preoccupied to notice Kennedy’s discomfort, and I decided to do what was necessary to get the random guy as far away from Kennedy as possible. I tapped him on the shoulder, and was met with a scowl when he looked back at me.
“Can’t you see we’re dancing?” He asked, his words slightly slurred. He was clearly the kind of drunk that forced himself onto women, whether they were willing or not. The words tumbled from my mouth sooner than what I could prepare for their consequences.
“Too bad, man. I’ve already paid for her services for the night.”
Kennedy’s eyes widened, and the guy looked between us. I stepped closer, sure to get in his face. “Step away. She’s mine for the night.”
With a frown, he stepped away, and resorted to finding another body to cling to instead. Kennedy was glaring at me, and then her hand flew up, making contact with my cheek. For such a little thing she sure packed a punch. My cheek stung, and I tightened my jaw as the pain traveled over my skin and into my bones.
“You asshole!” She shrieked angrily. “You just told that guy I’m a fucking hooker!”
The familiar exhilaration that pulsed through my blood whenever I got a rise out of h
er made its presence known, and my lips tipped into a dark smirk. “You keep dancing like one, and I’m pretty sure people will come to their own conclusions, baby.”
Her mouth dropped in shock, and her eyes glazed over. She was hurt, and I waited for her to fight back. I needed her to fight back. I needed her to yell at me, tell me she hated me. But it never came.
She spun on her heel, and ran through the throng of drunken college students. Jade noticed, and looked between us before frowning. I shrugged, and turned my back, walking towards the bar to grab a drink. I had no idea why I’d said all that, and I knew I was an asshole for it, but fighting with Kennedy was a drug to me, my own personal brand of cocaine. It was twisted. But it was us.
After my third Corona, I needed to take a leak. On my way out of the men’s room, a small body collided with me from the side, and I flung my arm out to steady it. I looked down, and my eyes collided with pale green orbs that had made my world stand still on more than one occasion. Even red and puffy from crying, Kennedy’s eyes still hypnotized me, pulling me closer with her gravitational pull.
“S-sorry,” she hiccupped. Her voice was small, and a little wobbly. Her lip trembled, catching my attention. I suddenly wanted to know if they were as soft as they looked.
My body responded to the thought without much provocation, and my grip tightened on her arm as I pushed as her against the wall. There were people around us, the music making the walls vibrate, but I didn’t care. Not enough to stop me anyway.
“Dane,” she whispered, her warm breath touching my face. “What are you doing?”
I stared at her, long and hard, hearing nothing but my own heartbeat thumping in my ears. Or maybe it was her heartbeat. I wasn’t sure anymore.
I leaned in closer. “I don’t fucking know, Kennedy. I don’t fucking know.”
I pressed my lips to hers, gently at first, testing. When her initial shock wore off she pressed harder, coaxing me. She sucked in a breath, and I took the chance to sneak my tongue into the hot contours of her mouth. The taste of strawberry’s, and caramel goaded my senses into an uncontrollable frenzy.
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