“You shouldn’t be. You’re amazing. You’ll do really well.” In fact, she was going to do really great. Alicia had just turned eighteen and was also joining the New York Ballet Theater—NYBT for short—on Tuesday. I couldn’t deny, she was better than I was. Maybe not a lot, but every little bit counted. She would be promoted to soloist before me. If I ever became a soloist.
Alicia and I had met over a year ago, during NYBT’s summer intensive program, and became friends almost immediately. The fifteen-month age difference between us didn’t really matter. She was kind and had her head in the right place. After the summer intensive, we were selected to join The Little NYBT, and now we were taking the next step together. Soon, she would step further. I just hoped to be able to follow along.
“You will too,” she said with a genuine smile.
Sienna came back to our table with a small paper tray and twelve Jell-O shots. “Here we go,” she announced, dropping the tray on our little corner table.
“Twelve?” I gaped at her. “Who else is joining us?”
Sienna rolled her eyes. “No one. They’re for us, silly.”
“Hm, I’m not sure I should drink,” Alicia said.
“Me too,” I said.
Sienna tsked. “You people. So boring with your strict diet and early morning practices.” She pushed four shots in my direction and another four to Alicia. “Come on, girls. Live a little. We’re here to celebrate your accomplishments. You can’t do that with sparkling water and juice.” She gestured to our glasses. “Come on, please. Just this once. Then I’ll let you go back to your boring drinks. I’ll even order more fries. Or maybe a chocolate lava cake. Sugar is good for alcohol, right?”
Alicia eyed the colorful shots in front of her. “I’m not sure.”
I wasn’t too sure myself. Yes, we had strict diets and woke up early in the morning, but the thing was, I didn’t really like drinking. The few times I ever drank, I had done things I regretted later.
“This isn’t too strong, I promise.” Sienna raised one of her glasses. “And I know you’ll be able to burn all these calories.” She smiled and batted her eyes. “Pretty please?”
Alicia looked at me, unsure. She didn’t know Sienna like I did—we had been best friends since middle school. Sienna wouldn’t stop pushing it until she got her way. Better get this over with.
I nodded and lifted one of my shots. “Okay, let’s do this.”
Sienna let out a small shriek. Alicia grabbed a glass and raised it, her eyebrows knitted together.
We clinked our glasses and Sienna said, “To success in our promising careers!”
I laughed. “You want more success? Jeez, woman, do you want to rule the world?”
She rolled her eyes again. “Just shut up and drink.”
I scrunched my nose and tipped the glass.
Her eyes shut, Alicia put her hand to her mouth. “Holy crap, this tastes horrible.”
I chuckled. “Just a little.”
Sienna pushed another glass in our direction. “Another one. Another one.”
On the third shot, Alicia only drank half, and she skipped the fourth all together.
“Here,” Sienna said, giving me one of Alicia’s shots. The intact one. “This one is yours.”
I shook my head. We had drunk the shots fast and the alcohol’s effect hadn’t hit yet, but I knew it would. “I shouldn’t.”
“Just one more, Ray. It won’t kill you.”
I knew I shouldn’t, but what the hell? This was our night, our celebration. The only person who could ruin it was far away from here. Another reason to celebrate.
“All right,” I said. Together, Sienna and I swallowed the last shots.
“That’s my girl.” Sienna raised her hand and waited for a high five.
Smiling, I slapped her palm with mine. “Okay, now more water.” I stood from the high stool and the world spun. “Whoa.” I sat back down. “I think these shots hit me harder than I thought.”
Sienna winked at me. “They were double.”
I gaped. “What?”
“I asked the bartender to double the alcohol in each shot.”
“You promised they weren’t too strong!”
“I lied,” she said, deadpan.
Oh, I was doomed. I would be out of my head soon and would probably spend half of the night in the bathroom spewing my guts out. “Why did you do that?”
She shrugged. “Regular Jell-O shots are too weak. I wanted to spice things up.”
Things would get spicy all right.
I stood again. “I should call a cab and go home before I pass out in the bathroom.”
“Don’t worry, I got you,” Sienna said.
“You’re as drunk as me.”
“I’m not,” Alicia said. “I can help you get home if you want.”
I nodded to her before looking up at the stage. The band was kinda good.
My eyes shifted to the dance floor. Quite a few people were dancing. Without meaning to, I glanced across the dance floor, to the tables and stools on the other side, and recognized a few faces.
“Hey,” I called out. “I see Norah over there.” I jerked my chin to where Norah sat with a few friends. Sienna followed my gaze.
“Who is Norah?” Alicia asked, looking over.
“See the girl with the long, wavy brown hair, blue top and black pants?” I asked.
Alicia nodded. “She looks pretty.”
“She’s an old friend.” Sienna downed another shot, then continued, “Ray, Norah, and I used to go to the same dance school when we were younger. I quit when I started singing at thirteen, and Norah quit at fifteen when she found out she was better at street dancing.”
“We were good friends,” I explained. “Because of that, I even joined her crew, The S Team, so we could still spend some time together.” I had lost Sienna two years earlier. I didn’t want to lose another good friend. “But it didn’t work out. I couldn’t dance like them. I left the crew and soon we lost contact, though we bump into each other every few months.”
“So she’s still with The S Team?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Do you see those guys with her? They’re members of the crew too.”
Just then, Norah’s eyes met mine. She nodded in acknowledgment. Sienna and I did the same. Norah’s eyes briefly landed on Alicia before turning back to her friends.
“I’m sorry,” Alicia said.
“Why?” I asked.
“For losing her as friend. I know how that is.” Alicia had left her small hometown and everyone she loved behind to come to NYC to follow her dream. I knew she didn’t regret her decision, but she missed them a lot.
I reached over the table and squeezed her hand.
I glanced at Norah again. She was opening her arms and welcoming a hug from Reggie or Richie or something like that. He stepped aside and to introduce Norah to another guy, one I had never met before.
I couldn’t see much from across the dance floor, but the new guy looked handsome and charming. Before I could take a better look at him, the band started playing one of my favorite songs. Sienna looked at me with a knowing half-smile. I loved to dance, not only ballet. Anything. And with a song like that? Who could resist? Not me.
“Let’s dance,” she said.
“Dance?” Alicia looked from me to Sienna and back to me. “I thought you were leaving.”
“But this song …” I swayed from side to side, letting the rhythm take me. I knew I should leave, but I didn’t want to. Finally, I felt relaxed. I felt good. I took Alicia’s hand. “Yeah, let’s dance.”
Sienna hooked her arm through mine and the three of us headed to the dance floor.
***
Josh
The club wasn’t so bad. It actually looked pretty cool, despite all the red everywhere. And the band—made up of four dudes singing and playing guitar, bass, and drums—sounded nice so far.
Robbie and I walked around the dance floor toward two tall round tables where his crew
was. He handed me a beer and introduced me to his friends.
M.K. was a tall black guy dressed in a black tank that showed his impressive muscles. Thomas was average height with a tattoo sleeve on his left arm and bars through his eyebrows. Kim was Asian. Mateo was Hispanic. Norah was a pretty girl with long wavy brown hair and blue eyes. Sadie was a black girl with pretty black curls and an easy smile. Pam was a short blond who already looked a little drunk. Mack was tall and big like a truck. And Warren looked the oldest of the bunch, around twenty-eight.
Robbie liked them so they must be good people.
Soon, they were engrossed in conversation about dance schedule and upcoming competitions and events. They hushed the moment a group dressed in black and red invaded the dance floor, pushing other people to the side.
“The Five-Oh-Nine,” Robbie said beside me. “Our rivals. Well, of any crew in the city, actually. They’re a mean bunch.”
I narrowed my eyes at them. “They look like they’re ready to fight.”
“In a way they are,” Robbie said. “Dancing is their way of fighting.”
“We shouldn’t let them dance here,” Warren said. “You know how it is.”
“How it is?” I asked.
“They’ll provoke us until we’re actually fighting,” Robbie explained. “And then we’ll all get kicked out.”
“We don’t want that to happen,” Norah said. “This is where we meet up every Sunday night.”
Warren jerked his chin at the crew on the dance floor. “I’ll talk to Jace. If he wants to start something, we’ll take it outside.”
As Warren walked toward the other crew, I asked. “Who is Jace?”
“He’s like their leader,” Robbie said.
We watched as Warren talked to Jace—it didn’t seem to go too well.
Soon, the Five-Oh-Nine were leaving and Warren came back to our tables.
“So?” Robbie asked. Everyone was huddled around the tables, listening intently.
“So we’re going outside,” Warren said.
Robbie rubbed his hands together. “All right, let’s go.” He turned to me. “Hey, man. It might take a while. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”
I showed him my empty beer bottle. “I’ll order something to drink and meet you guys outside in a few.”
“Sounds good.” He clapped my shoulder and then walked past me.
As I walked to the bar, I checked my phone and instantly regretted it. There was a long message from my mother and, idiot I was, I read it.
Your father’s friend, Mr. O’Connell, came over to have dinner with us tonight. You remember him, don’t you? You had an internship with him right before you started college. Well, he spoke wonders about you. Said that you’re dedicated, smart, and good with clients. Your father was bursting with pride. They spoke about you the entire night. Your father told him about your plans for the future and they both agreed you’ll go far. I’m proud of you too, dear.
I know you’re probably out with your friends right now. Be careful! I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Good night! <3 you!
Her fucking message gutted me. Shit.
I had come here to vent and relax and feel a little better about myself, now I was drowning in guilt and bullshit. Again. Still. Forever.
At the bar, I asked for two shots of tequila. I downed them both and then ordered another beer. Drinking was a shitty way to deal with my problems, but at least I wouldn’t spend the time alone at home, tossing and turning in my bed, and wishing I could break something.
I leaned on the bar and looked around. Yeah, I liked this place. Small, cozy, not too packed, and also not too noisy. On the stage, the band started playing a familiar pop song with a new rock ballad background. I liked it.
I looked at the once again occupied dance floor.
Then I saw her.
I couldn’t see her face, as she had her back to me, but she was something else. Long black hair swaying down her back, a dark blue blouse, and a black mini skirt, toned legs accentuated by her high heel sandals.
What made me stare like a star-struck Romeo was the way she moved. Damn, she could dance. Her friends too—a blond and another with … green hair? But this girl was something else. She danced with the beat, totally in control of each of her moves. I could be mistaken, but she looked like a dancer.
And then she spun and I held my breath. She smiled as she slowly turned in a circle. Once, twice, three times. Each turn had me on edge, hoping she would keep turning so I could see her gorgeous face again. Fair skin, plump lips, tiny nose, a contagious smile. I couldn’t see the color of her eyes, but I already thought they were beautiful.
She turned again, tilting her head back, exposing her smooth neck. Her hands slid down from her shoulders to her hips, slowing around her round, perky breasts and her tiny waist. She rolled her hips and parted her lips.
And suddenly my pants were very tight.
This girl … looked amazing. Dazzling.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed. In a moment, she and her friends were surrounded by males, males who were staring, waiting for an opportunity to pounce.
When the girl rolled her hips one more time, a guy stepped in and reached for her.
I didn’t think. Ignoring the way my head buzzed, I pushed off the bar and marched to the dance floor. I was ready to pull him off her, to break his nose if necessary, but the girl had everything under control. For about a minute.
She gently pushed the guy’s hands away and stepped closer to her friends. That kept him away … for about ten seconds. I knew guys like him. The drunk ones who didn’t know to take no for an answer. The ones who thought girls only served to pleasure them, willing or not. I hated these guys.
True to his nature, the drunk went after the girl again. He sidestepped her friends and bumped into her, pressing his chest into her back. Startled, the girl jumped away and turned, a look of disgust on her pretty face. He closed his hand around her wrist and leaned into her. With a hand on his chest, she pushed him away, but he didn’t budge. Her friends started helping her, but soon they had drunk guys over them too.
“Get off me,” the girl said.
I wrapped my hand on the guy’s shoulder and yanked him back.
He glared at me, baring his teeth like a crazed animal.
“You heard her,” I said. “Let her go.”
Still holding her wrist, the guy straightened and puffed out his chest. He was bulkier than me, like a bodybuilder, but I was taller. “This ain’t none of your business.” His beer breath made me wrinkle my nose. Sure, I probably wasn’t much better in the drunkenness department, but that didn’t make me a douchebag.
“I’ll make it my problem.” Using both my hands, I pried his fingers off the girl. Once free, the girl scurried back two steps.
The guy grabbed me by my collar. I heard a little gasp from behind me. “You want to be pummeled?” the guy asked.
I closed my hands around the guy’s wrists. “I want to see you try.” I wasn’t huge like him, but I wasn’t a lightweight either. I pulled the guy’s arms away from my T-shirt, even though he fought me. He stared, dumbfounded that I could actually stand up against him. “Now run along.”
He clenched his fists and shoved into me.
The band stopped playing abruptly. “Hey, you two,” the vocalist said. The entire place hushed and looked our way. “You want to fight? The street is that way.” He pointed to the door. I saw two security guards—even bigger than the guy in front of me—coming our way. Another three huge guys were suddenly behind the green haired girl. What the hell?
I spared a glance over my shoulder. The girl, the beautiful girl, was staring at me like I was some kind of lunatic.
I sighed and walked away before the security guards could throw me out. The band started playing again, but the crowd stared as I walked by.
At the door, I paused and looked back. The guy was being carried out by the security guards, and the girl was still staring at me.
Chapter Three
Rayna
The band resumed playing, the crowd slowly returned to whatever they were doing before the commotion, but some still glanced my way. Probably wondering what had just happened.
The thing was, I didn’t know either.
Sienna turned to me. “Who was that guy?”
Alicia stepped closer to hear.
“I don’t know,” I answered.
Sienna raised an eyebrow. “A random stranger came in and saved you? Just like that?”
Smiling, Alicia sighed. “Sounds so romantic.”
It didn’t make any sense. The random stranger—the gorgeous guy I had seen with Norah and her crewmates—had swooped in, helped me with that big guy, and then left. Granted, Sienna’s goons or the security guards were going to throw him out, but he didn’t even ask my name or anything. Hell, he barely looked at me. Why help me, then? As much as I wanted to believe there were good people in the world, I wasn’t naive enough to believe there were many of them.
Even if he were that good of a person, it would be too much. Handsome and a gentleman? I thought all men sporting both those qualities were extinct. And this great specimen was leaving.
He was leaving …
My feet were moving before I thought about it. Sienna and Alicia called after me.
“Be right back,” I said, though I wasn’t sure they heard me over the music.
I weaved through the crowd, ignoring some still-staring faces. Outside, The S Team and the Five-Oh-Nines took up most of the sidewalk, readying themselves for a dance battle.
I spotted him right away. He was on the sidewalk, a little to the left, talking to the guy I had seen with Norah—what was his name? Reggie? Roger? Something like that.
I halted beside a lamppost and watched him, hoping this conversation wouldn’t take too long—not long enough for the alcohol to clear my system.
He really was handsome. Tallish—maybe six feet—well built, but not overly so. There was definition in his arms, and his shoulders were wide, but not too big. His blue T-shirt blended well with his bright blue eyes and black hair. His fair skin accentuated the package, creating a breathtaking god.
Dazzle Me (When You Dance Book 1) Page 2