by J J Cobban
“Seriously, I trust Nico.” She rolled her eyes “Don’t worry about it.”
Seth blew out a breath as he looked around the room, the tension leaving his shoulders instantly.
“Fucking hell, I thought you’d rip my head off.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “So is snooping on Asher seriously why you dragged my ass away from valuable drinking time?”
“Yup.” Rissa rocked on her heels “Do us a favour though and don’t let the other guys know? Travis would worry about Lacey chasing Ash and then Asher would have to come and check on her. It would ruin everyone’s night.”
“As far as they know I was helping you move some furniture but I better take a bottle back with me just in case, you know, make it look believable.” He grinned wolfishly. I rolled my eyes at him, grabbing the unopened bottle of vodka and handing it to him with a smirk.
“The tour manager in me wants to tell you to behave but I know you’ll see that as a challenge.”
Seth took the bottle from me, winking as he backed away towards the door. He saluted us all with the bottle as he opened the door.
“Well you ladies have a lovely evening.”
“You too,” Kasia fired back sweetly as the door closed. As if on cue, everyone in the room turned to look at Jo. My eyebrows shot heavenward as I watched the evil smile spread across her face slowly. Her blue-grey eyes seemed to spark with electricity as the cogs in her head turned over an evil plan.
“Jo?” Rissa asked, looking slightly worried.
“Are you really okay with this?” Lacey asked in disbelief.
“Fuck no.” Jo pulled her hair from the braid she had it in “I trust Nico with my life but that doesn’t mean I like the image of some bimbo grinding on him.”
“So we’re going out?” Kasia asked excitedly.
“Hold on, Jo, you know nothing will happen. This has disaster written all over it. I don’t need you attacking some stripper a couple hours after I start to get a handle on Drake’s situation.” I tried to reason with her but as she stripped her shirt off and moved towards her wardrobe I realised I was fighting a losing battle.
“Okay, so let’s say one of those bimbo’s decides to crawl onto Drake’s lap? Maybe stroke his hair and rub his knee. Then she trails her skanky hand down his chest-”
“He’s mine.” The words were clipped and rushed as the image Jo described flashed into my head. My teeth pressed together as anger and possessiveness whipped through my system.
“So you see now why we have to go out? Stake our claim if you will.” Jo grinned, pulling a smokey grey cocktail dress from the wardrobe.
“So we’re going out?” Kasia asked again, this time looking like she needed someone to confirm her assumption. A knock at the door had us all pausing to turn. Jo covered herself with her dress as Jez walked into the room holding a small speaker in one hand with baby Koda in her other arm. Jez looked around us before eyeing the dress Jo held against her. Her mouth suddenly formed a small ‘o’ before she started to smirk.
“Boys night just got supersized, huh?” she raised a delicate brow before placing the speaker onto a small table beside the door.
“Hope you’ve got nightclub clothes.” Jo’s smile was small but filled with intention as she pulled the dress from her body and moved to the bathroom “I call dibs on the bathroom first,”
The bathroom door shut as everyone fell back into silence.
“I get to come?” Jez looked more than a little excited at that idea. “I thought I was babysitting.”
“I think we’ll swap places.” Rissa laughed as she took Koda from Jez’s arms “I saw the look in my cousin’s eyes. She is planning on getting shit-faced tonight and there is no way I’m dealing with this little one with a hangover.”
Jez’s attention suddenly shifted to me. Almost as if she were asking for silent permission.
“Alright.” I shook my head “I’m going to pretend for tonight that Jez is twenty-one and not nineteen although that does not mean you get to come home shit-faced. We better haul ass getting ready because I don’t think Jo is gonna wait for us once she’s ready.”
My phone vibrated against my ass, letting me know I had a message. I pulled it from my back pocket as a loud and shrill whistle filled the room. I winced at the high-pitched noise as I turned to find the source. Finding Kasia pulling her fingers from her mouth as the whistle came to an abrupt stop.
“So, I take it, we’re going out?” she asked with dancing eyes “I just want to make sure before shit gets real. Once I start getting ready and drinking, there’s no stopping that shit.”
“Yes, you’re going out!” Rissa laughed shaking her head. “You lot enjoy yourselves, I’m going to settle Koda down for the evening.”
Rissa had barely made it out of the door when Kasia took centre stage once again.
“Let’s get some tunes on then!” Kasia clapped her hands frantically “DJ Jez you’re in charge of getting the party vibes going! Let’s go ladies! We leave in T-minus ninety minutes!”
Watching Kasia order everyone around like some sort of military commander was a thing of beauty. She helped Jez choose what she wanted to do with her make-up before making a start on it herself. Sometimes it was handy having a professional make-up artist in the group. I glanced away from the chaos that was bachelorette night preparation to look at my phone.
Enjoy girls night, darlin’ - D x
I grinned down at Drake’s innocent message before feeling a stab of jealousy at the thought of him in a strip club. I was never an overly possessive girlfriend but there was something about the idea of him in a strip club drunk that didn’t settle with me.
That was normal though, right?
“Hey, Kas?” I called over to where Kasia was doing something called ‘baking’ Jez’s face. I didn’t fully understand the term but I didn’t dare questions her expertise.
“What exactly are we doing tonight? Jo seems set on something but I’m not sure if she has an actual plan in mind.”
Kas picked up a strange looking, egg shaped sponge before turning to face me.
“We’re gonna help give the guys a night to remember, of course.”
It should have been hard to look evil while holding a strange blending sponge but Kasia seemed to nail it. I squinted my head at her, realising then that she had a plan. The twinkle in her eye screamed mischief as she continued Jez’s make-up.
“Oh come on, now you have to tell me what the plan is,” I urged.
“Yeah, spill, Kas.” Lacey asked as she raided through the wardrobe for clothes. We all stopped what we were doing when Kas put her sponge down and picked up a different brush.
“Let’s just say we need to get ready and haul ass to a certain strip club,” she tried her best to stop her smile from doubling in size but failed miserably as it split her face “Yours truly may know the owner of said club. I think we could make this a very interesting night.”
“You’re awful,” Lacey laughed as she emerged from the wardrobe.
Jez hit play on the playlist she had been putting together while Kasia had been doing her make-up. She moved to place her phone on the speaker before spinning and fluttering her eyelashes at Kasia as “Without You” by Avicii filled the air.
“I want to be a Kasia when I grow up.”
Kasia threw something at Jez as she laughed.
“Stay close, Grasshopper, I shall teach you all I can.” I rolled my eyes as the two bantered back and forth. I moved over beside Lacey and scanned the wardrobe before moving to Jo’s case and picking out a simple black dress that looked like it might fit me. It was the safest option. It would easy enough to throw the dress on with a nice pair of shoes and some sparkly jewellery. It was quick and easy.
“Oh, fuck off.” My head snapped up as Kasia stood with her hands on her hips shaking her head. Her lips were curled in disgust as she eyed my dress.
“What?”
“Is that what you’re going to wear? Where’s the slut gear?” at my blank
expression Kasia rolled her eyes “You want Drake, don’t ya? You wanna hold him? Please him? Then-”
“Whoa,” I held my hand up “Are you trying to motivate me with a quote from a kid’s film?”
Kasia rolled her eyes “Shrek is not just a kid’s film, thank you very much, and I was going to say to try a little slutty-ness, not tenderness.”
I crossed my arms defensively.
“I’m comfortable with the black dress.”
“This is not about what makes you comfortable, it’s about what makes Drake uncomfortable.” Kasia moved towards her own stash of clothes. I watched anxiously as she pulled dress after dress out until she came to something that looked to be more lace than fabric. With a triumphant grunt she held it up. My eyes widened painfully. I wasn’t close to being a prude but I drew the line at having my breasts on show in public.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Kasia challenged “You wear it with a black bra and nobody thinks twice. The skirt has black fabric under the lace to hide your goodies. It’s sexy and with your body it will be killer. It should be longer on you to; my ass hikes the skirt up more than yours will.”
I licked my dry lips as I stared at the sheer dress. It was flashier than anything I had ever worn before but something about it was exciting. I tried to imagine strutting past Drake in it. Watching as his pupils dilated, as his throat worked overtime, as his fingers itched to touch me. My thighs clamped together as I imagined him ripping it from my body. It could be the ultimate foreplay.
I reached out and took the dress from Kasia, ignoring the proud look she was giving me.
“Ladies, tonight is going to be a good night. I can just feel it.” She declared, opening a bottle of tequila as Jo emerged from the bathroom “Let’s get this motherfucking party started!”
Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ Ｓｉｘｔｅｅｎ
Ｄｒａｋｅ
This was going to end in disaster. A full blown, apocalyptic disaster.
I walked alongside Travis as we headed inside the dimly lit strip club. The one place I knew Jo would have drawn the line. I’d done my bit to persuade the guys that a run of the mill club would have met our needs but Seth was having none of it and he’d somehow managed to get Asher and Mikey on side as well. I couldn’t help but wonder why the hell Nico was going along with it. I had no doubt in my mind that he always had been and always would be faithful to Jo. So why he wanted to hit up a strip club was beyond me. A small part of me wondered if he was simply going along with the majority. Once Seth, Mikey and Ash had all made their cases about why a strip club was a good idea, Nico’s brothers had jumped on the band wagon.
Then here we were.
Heading for the spotlighted stage in the centre of the room.
To give Seth credit where credit was due, the club was high end. There was nothing sleazy about the club or the patrons. Even the girls currently dancing on the stage seemed to have a certain air about them that screamed they did this job for the enjoyment more than anything. We grabbed the largest table near the stage and somehow managed to cram all eleven of us around the circular table.
“Alright gents,” Seth grinned, completely in his element, “It’s time for some shots! Al, come help me.”
Nico’s youngest brother stood with a matching grin on his face. Out of everyone, Seth and Alex were the most alike. They were laidback hell raisers that loved nothing more than causing havoc and having a good time. I watched as the two of them sauntered over to the bar, hitting on a couple of waitresses on their journey.
“Hey man, you with us?” I turned around to see Travis smirking at me. I couldn’t think of many occasions that he didn’t have that stupid smirk on his face.
“Yeah, just imagining the world of shit Nico’s gonna get for this,” I chuckled, glancing to the girls on the stage. They were hot and two weeks ago I might have paid more attention but right now they weren’t doing a damn thing for me. Now if a certain dark haired, green eyed girl was shaking her ass on the stage? Yeah, my eyes would be fucking glued to her.
“Tell me about it.” Travis laughed, drawing me back to our conversation, “I think even Lace would draw the line at this. Ash has been eye fucking the blonde waitress at the bar since we came in here.”
So Travis had noticed our bandmate’s infatuation with Ultimate Corruptions drummer. I tilted my head at Travis, uncertain of where his head was at.
“Should we be worried?” I asked, deadly serious. If there was a chance that Asher was playing with Lacey’s feelings then I was going to nip that shit in the bud. I’d made sure that the girls could hold their own as far as self-defence went. I’d taught Lacey, Rissa and Jo how to take care of themselves should they ever need it. Emotionally though, Lacey was sensitive. She had a good poker face but there was still a part of her that craved somebody to lean on. Somebody to carry her when her demons tried to weigh her down. She deserved somebody that was dependable, somebody that wouldn’t let her down.
“Nah, he’s oblivious,” Travis snorted “poor Lace is in deep though. Caught her sending the death glare to some chick that was all over Asher backstage at our first gig. Seriously thought the chick would combust from the heat in Lacey’s glare.”
I laughed at that. Yeah, Lacey had a hell of a death glower.
“You ready to run interference if her crush goes sideways?” I laughed as I said it but there was a certain level of concern in the question.
“I’ve been trying to distract her for well over four months now, D, she’s not having any of it. She’s set her sights on Asher and that’s all she wants. I’ll pick her up though if shit goes south. I always do.” Travis lost his smirk for a moment as he watched Asher gesture for the waitress to come towards him. “Hard not to shake the fucker though.
“Yeah, I get that.” I agreed as Seth and Alex came back with trays of shots. I felt my lips twitch as Alex sat two shots down in front of his big brother.
“For every shot we take, you take two,” he announced smugly “If you puss out, we double the shots and force them down your throat.”
Nico raised a brow at that as he took both shots without so much as flinching, “Are you forgetting who used to drink you under the table, baby brother?”
The challenge had been set as Alex picked up two shots.
“Emphasis on the ‘used to’, fucker, game on.”
I laughed as we all reached for the remaining shots.
“To Nico, we wish you all the best and send our condolences to Miss Joanna Yancy for being stuck with you for the rest of her life. Poor girl.” Mikey raised his glass into the air. We all followed suit before throwing them back. The liquid burned as it touched the back of my throat, warming a trail from my throat to my stomach.
“Fucking hell,” Asher coughed “I fucking hate tequila.”
Once the first round of shots were demolished, Mikey and Jace headed to the bar to order more drinks. I turned to speak to another of Nico’s brothers when a voice suddenly came from behind us.
“Gentlemen,” I looked over my shoulder to see a well-dressed man in his mid to late thirties “My name is Carson and I’m the owner of the lounge, I understand you’re here for an occasion. Can I interest you in our private VIP area?”
“Damn straight you can.” Nico’s other younger brother, Max, jumped up from his seat, “We’re celebrating my big brother’s last night of singledom, let’s not waste time.”
“I’m not single, idiot,” Nico rolled his eyes as he got to his feet.
“You know what I mean.” Max shoved Nico as the man, Carson, gestured for us to follow him. We all shared a look before shrugging and following him. We were already here, may as well make the most of it. After the rollercoaster of a day I’d had I was looking forward to throwing some drinks back with the boys.
“Travis, where the hell is Lace?” I looked over my shoulder as Max fell into step beside Travis. I shook my head, smiling, at the disappointed look in Max’s eyes.
“Dude, it’s a Bachelor party.”
Travis laughed “Lacey is busy with the girls tonight, so you’re stuck with me and these nine ugly fucks.”
“Ah shit,” Max laughed “After that last night we all hit the town I was getting excited for Miss Lacey joining us. Ain’t never seen a girl hold her drink like her.”
I couldn’t help snorting as his adoring tone. Looked like it was the season for unrequited love. I zoned out of the conversation between Travis and Max as we were lead behind a large, blue velvet curtain. Joe and Leo, the older of Nico’s brothers, let out a low whistle as we all looked around. Just like the rest of the club the room was dimly lit with a smaller stage at the far side of the room. A selection of navy leather couches and armchairs were placed around the stage with small tables beside them for drinks. The colour scheme seemed to run towards dark blue and silvers. It was tasteful, something I hadn’t been expecting when Seth had said he had the ‘perfect’ strip club in mind.
“I’ll send a server in with a fresh round of drinks, on the house,” Carson smiled and nodded his head towards Jace and Nico, clearly sensing them as our unspoken leaders. As soon as Carson had swept past the velvet curtain again, dropping it to give us some privacy, Seth was on the stage. He had spotted one of the poles at the far side of the stage. Like a moth drawn to a flame, Seth was drawn to the stripper pole.
“What make you think we want to see your dumb ass working the pole?” Jace laughed, “Do you even know how to use one of those?”
“Sure I do,” Seth shrugged, his eyes twinkling with mischief. I groaned as I realised what he was about to throw back at Jace.
“Your wife taught me.” Seth grinned daringly as he swung himself around the pole clumsily, trying to do it to the beat of the music playing in the background.
As soon as the words left Seth’s mouth Jace was up on the stage and heading straight for him. Years of taunting his band members had made Seth ridiculously quick though and he easily managed to evade the angry bassist.
“Make one more wife joke, motherfucker, and you’ll be eating through a straw.” Jace narrowed his eyes menacingly.