by Kylie Walker
“It is so good to see you Ang. Thomas has kept me up to speed with everything that has happened. Just know that I am so sorry about Blake and that I would have been there for the funeral if I could have been.” She gave Angela a weak smile.
“It’s been a rough year, but I am working through it and hopefully this change will be for the better.” Angela’s smile matched Joanne’s.
She was excited to be in Los Angeles, to start her new life but she was also nervous and overwhelmed with her emotions over leaving her home in Miami… Leaving Blake.
“It’s really good to see you too Jo.” Angela took a sip of her drink. Joanne jumped up off the sectional and walked over to the window. “Well, Thomas told me you have two weeks before you start your new job. That will give us enough time to break you in and make you a true California girl!” Jo laughed walking back over to the sectional.
“Oh yeah, so many clubs to bring you to,” Thomas laughed.
“I hope you still know how to dance,” Jo stated.
“Jesus, you two, I’m 24 not 64.” Angela laughed out loud.
They spent the rest of the evening catching up, all three of them just relaxing like old friends back in school, sipping their drinks, laughing and not bringing up Miami. For now that was in the past and would stay there until Angela got a grip on this new chapter of her life.
Chapter 2
The following week flew by. Thomas had helped Angela settle in and had taken her to some of the cafes and restaurants that he normally went to. Joanne took her shopping for some new work clothes and they had done a little sight-seeing. It was nice to have some quiet time by herself during the day while Thomas was at work. He was the editing director at Lyons Advertising Agency where he landed her a new job. It was one of the top Agency’s in Los Angeles with clients such as Revlon, Fendi, and other well- known brands.
Angela was nervous about tonight. Joanne was taking her out to some nightclub that was having a private party and she wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“Are you almost ready?” Joanne yelled from the kitchen.
“Um...Almost,” Angela yelled from her room.
Joanne walked down the hallway to Angela’s bedroom and leaned up against the door frame. “You look smokin’ hot girl.” She squealed.
“Thanks.” She said looking down at herself with an uneasy look. “Do you think it’s too much? I haven’t gone to a club in over a year.”
Jo grabbed her shoulders and spun her around inspecting her outfit. She was wearing a perfectly fit white dress that was low cut around the top with shoulder straps. It hugged her tiny waist and flared a little above the knee. “Absolutely not, you look gorgeous.” Joanne smiled.
She really did look stunning. Angela had long black hair that fell over her shoulders with long wavy curls that gave her volume. The dress complimented her tiny twenty-five inch waist and her cleavage was showing just enough in a sexy, but not cheap sort of way.
“My God, Jo,” Angela looked down at herself. “I feel like a piece of meat in this. I don’t want to give off the wrong impression.” She said, looking nervously at her friend.
“Oh come on Angela, seriously. You’re in California for God’s sake.” She put her hand on Angela’s shoulder. “You look crazy sexy, but very lady like. Wait until you see some of the skanks in that club tonight.” Joanne winked, “You’ll feel like a saint!”
Laughing, Angela shot her a look and then fingered her long black locks one more time in the mirror of the armoire that stood in the corner of her bedroom.
Walking out to the kitchen, Angela looked at Joanne. “I need something strong. Let’s have a shooter.”
“Comin’ up chick,” Jo shot back grabbing a bottle of fireball from the cupboard. She poured two shots and passed one to Angela. They shot them back and Angela almost gagged. “Another one,” she said, covering her mouth and shaking her head. Jo just laughed and poured a second. Just as they shot the second one back Thomas walked in.
“Hey Thomas, want one?” Joanne held up the bottle of fireball.
“Uh, no I’m good.” He chuckled shifting his gaze to Angela. “Wow Angela. You look...friggin’ hot!”
“Thanks Thomas.” She looked flushed in the face, not from the compliment but from the two shots she had just downed.
“So where are you ladies off too looking like a pair of sexy vixens?” He asked as he walked over to the fridge to grab a beer.
“The Mayan, have you been there? Joanne asked.
“No, I’ve heard of the place,” he said, taking a swig of his beer.
“My girlfriend is having a private event there tonight featuring one of her new race car drivers. They’re putting on this big show featuring him and the new car.”
“Sounds like fun.” He said, his eyes scanning Angela again.
“What are your plans tonight?” Angela asked looking at Thomas.
“It’s poker night with the guys. We normally do this every second Thursday night. Depending on how fast we get cleaned out then we’ll hit the club for a bit.” He took a swig of his beer. “Well, don’t get in too much trouble. I have to take a shower.” He laughed walking down the hall with his beer.
Joanne downed one more shot and then squinted. “Fuck, I love that shit!” Letting out a laugh she said, “You ready? Let’s get this party started.” She grabbed Angela by the arm and they walked out the door.
They hailed a taxi and jumped in. Looking at the driver Joanne said, “We’re heading to The Mayan on 1038 S Hill St. Do you know the place?” The driver nodded in acknowledgement.
Joanne turned to Angela. “Wait until you see this place. It’s amazing.” She beamed. “My girlfriend Ana is the owner of this race car company. I forgot the name, but they rented out one level of the club just to feature their new driver and his car. It’s going to be blast.”
“Sounds like it,” Angela said.
“Yes, it will be. Lots of hot guys and some cool rides!” She squealed.
“Jo, I’m not going there to fish. I am going there to have a good time remember?” She looked at her friend with an annoyed look. “Don’t even think about trying to hook me up. I may be small but I will kick your ass girlfriend.” Angela laughed and gave her a soft jab in the ribs.
“It’s gonna happen sooner than later Angela. Just go with it.”
“Not tonight it’s not.” She said matter a fact looking out the window.
The cab pulled up to the club and Joanne paid the driver. The club was lit with brilliant lights that you could not miss. They both examined the lineup of people which seemed to continue over a few blocks.
“How the hell are we supposed to get into this place?” Angela looked at Joanne and gestured to the huge crowd.
“We’re covered.” She flashed a smile holding up two tickets that had, VIP - Victory Lap, written on them.
“Sweet,” Angela smiled feeling excited for the first time in a long time.
Joanne passed the tickets to the bouncer that was in charge of the line-up. He took the tickets and unlocked the chain so they could pass through to the entrance. “Your party is on the third level.” The bouncer said.
“Thank you.” They both yelled back as they walked in the club. It was outrageously enormous. Angela had been to some pretty cool bars back in Miami, but this one took the cake. Jo told her earlier that it was around thirty-thousand square feet with three levels and had four floors each with their own theme. When she looked around she could see the massive dance floor in the middle with bars in each corner. The D.J. booth was half a level above the dance floor with three D.J.’s rocking out the tunes. There were video systems with moveable screens everywhere and led lights dancing throughout the entire room.
“What do you think?” Jo tried to yell over the music.
“It’s amazing.” Angela smiled.
“Well this is the main floor; our party is on the third level. Follow me.” Jo grabbed her arm as they hit the stairwell.
They made their way up through piles of
people going in both directions, up and down. Entering the third level, they were greeted by another bouncer at the entrance. The music was blasting The Weeknd’s song, “Can’t Feel My Face” and there had to have been well over 500 people just on that level alone. Another D.J. booth sat perched up on a higher level in the corner overlooking the dance floor that was already full of party goers.
As they made their way to the large circular bar Angela noticed a large group of people in a more private lighted area of the club. She took another glance noticing the race car on show slowly turning on a lifted circular stage.
“Jo... JOANNE!” Joanne turned around when she heard her name. “Ana. Hey girl. Thanks so much for the invite. This is amazing!” Joanne gave her friend a hug.
“Ana, this is my girlfriend Angela. She just moved here from Miami.” Joanne said motioning her hand towards Angela.
“Hey, nice to meet you, any friend of Jo’s is a friend of mine.” Ana gave her a smile.
Angela couldn’t help but stare at Ana. She was beautiful. Her long light brown hair fell over her shoulders, but it was her piercing sky blue eyes and dark eyelashes that were so captivating.
“Thank you, Ana. This place is really amazing,” Angela said looking around the club.
“It’s a big night tonight. The main attraction is our new driver and his car.” Looking towards Joanne she said, “I probably won’t be around much, you know, work.” Ana shot her a smile.
“Russell,” Ana yelled at the bartender. “These two ladies are on the house tonight. Take care of them.” She winked.
“No problem Ana,” the bartender said.
“Well it was great meeting you Angela. Joanne, let’s try and get together soon.” She gave Joanne a kiss on the cheek and walked into the crowd.
“She’s beautiful Jo.” Angela said watching her in the crowd.
“Yeah, she is a vixen, but also a very smart business women. She runs her company with her older brother.” Jo said.
“What would you ladies like to drink?” The bartender asked.
“We’ll take two cosmos and two shots of fireball please.” Joanne turned around and moved her hips to the song.
“You’re going to kill me,” Angela laughed, swaying to the tune.
They shot back their fireball and headed for the dance floor. It was wall to wall people dancing to the club music. There seemed to be no room for any more but somehow when Angela and Joanne hit it, the space magically appeared. They danced together, all grins, just happy. Angela felt free and more alive than she had since Blake got sick. She felt the part of herself that was really her come out to play. She let herself feel the vibes of the music and her body followed. Angela had grown used to her quiet life and forgotten how much she loved these fun times with her friends. As they danced, they got bumped and grinded by other men and women on the floor. At one point two men tried to move in on both of them but they just slowly danced in the other direction leaving the men looking like they were dancing with each other awkwardly.
They danced until they were exhausted, and then had a few more shots and ordered another drink. They walked over to the semi-private area to check out the race car on display. It was gorgeous. It was perched on a little stage that was slowly turning so you could inspect all angles. To Angela it looked like a Mustang, although she wasn’t a car person and knew nothing about them.
“Nice looking Gen - 6.” The man’s voice came from beside her. Angela’s gaze slid up to the tall stranger that was standing beside her.
“Excuse me?” She said.
“The car, it’s called a Gen – 6,” he said smiling.
Angela took a breath as she looked at the gorgeous man that towered over her, waiting for a response. She found herself tongue tied as she stared into his intense grey blue eyes and his short well-kept brown hair. His features were almost chiseled to perfection and his smile was nothing short of pure sexiness.
As her eyes fell on his chest she noticed his white dress shirt button under his black suit jacket was undone. Angela couldn’t help but stare and notice that his chest was definitely sculpted to perfection with a little bit of a tattoo showing on his top left collar bone slightly trailing up his neck. He was certainly not hard to look at.
“Ummm…” She tried to look for the words but nothing would come out. Trying to seem as though she wasn’t flustered she tried again. “Yes the car is beautiful.” She looked away and felt her face flush.
“Not into cars right?” His voice was deep and smooth and oh so damn sexy.
“Not really.” She smiled.
“Hey Angela, I need another drink, you want one?” Jo shouted a little too loud.
“Sure, I’ll go with you.” She grabbed her arm and they headed towards the bar. As they walked away she heard the gorgeous man say, “Have fun.” She could feel his eyes on her all the way to the bar.
“Who the hell was that?” Jo asked grinning ear to ear as she looked back to check him out. “He’s fucking gorgeous, like magazine gorgeous!”
“I have no idea and don’t want to know. He looks like trouble with those tattoos,” Angela said stealing one more glance back.
As Angela took another look the stranger locked eyes with her, smiled and winked. She almost stumbled turning around too quickly trying to make her way back to the bar. Her knees went weak at the sight of him. He was definitely one of the sexiest men she had ever encountered.
It was almost one am when Angela checked the time. She was feeling the alcohol that she’d been imbibing all night and now the room in front of her had begun to spin in an array of shapes and colors. She felt a little sick to her stomach and the headache tomorrow was going to be fierce.
“You ready to go?” she asked Joanne, “I’m a bit wasted.” Angela giggled and let out a hiccup.
“Yeah, I’m feeling no pain myself,” Jo said with a glazed look on her face.
There was suddenly a man standing a little too close to Angela at the bar. She heard him say, “Hey baby. You’re fucking beautiful.”
“Excuse me!” Angela whipped around shooting a “Don’t fuck with me look” at the stranger. He licked his lips, worsening her nausea.
“You’re gorgeous. You wanna dance?” He seemed completely oblivious to the annoyed look on her face.
“Are you serious? Is that your best line?” Angela laughed, “Um...No thanks. I’ll pass.” She grabbed Joanne’s arm and motioned her to start walking.
They had almost made it to the front door of the club when a fight broke out. Angela saw it happening in front of her as if in slow motion. She tried to step back but her body was thrown to the ground as one of the men was punched in the face and flew back into her. He went down hard, taking Angela down with him. She fell to the floor hard and as she did, her arm landed against a shard of broken glass.
“Angela!” Joanne screamed.
Chaos ensued as the bouncers rushed in and made their way through the crowd. They grabbed the two men and dragged them out of the club.
Angela was disoriented from a combination of the alcohol and all the chaos going on around her. She suddenly felt her body being lifted upwards. Someone had scooped her up off the floor. Someone strong. She felt dizzy as she looked up into the man’s grey blue eyes. It was him, that irresistible hunk of a man she was talking to earlier. She could smell his cologne as her head rested against his bicep. Her head was spinning and she wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol, the excitement or the Adonis whose arms she suddenly found herself in. He brought her through a set of doors and sat her down on a stainless steel table.
“Are you alright?” He said looking at her arm. Blood was oozing out and running down towards her wrist.
“I’m ok, it’s just a little cut,” she said staring at him like she was in a trance.
He stood in between her legs and held onto her waist with one hand. He reached around her slowly, and she felt him stop and breathe in as if taking in her scent. His lips came so close to grazing her neck that she could
feel the heat of his breath. She was shocked as she realized she could feel herself becoming aroused.
“Here let me see,” he said, taking her arm and inspecting the cut. He gently wiped the blood away with a towel he’d grabbed off the table.
Angela could actually feel the heat of his eyes on her body. When she looked into his eyes, her heart sped up. She realized now that she got a good look at him underneath the lights, he was even more beautiful that she’d thought. His lips were full, almost perfect and his cheek bones were cut to precision which complimented his tanned skin tone and he had one huge dimple on his right cheek. His facial features were nothing short of male hotness. He was absolutely stunning.
“You’re so beautiful.” He said as he looked into her brown eyes.
She felt ripples of excitement course through her body. His voice was deep and sexy and reminded her of Vin Diesel.
“Thank you, but, I’m really ok.” Drawing in a shaky breath she pulled her arm back slightly from his grip.
He wrapped the thin towel around her arm and tied it into a knot so it wouldn’t fall off. “If you insist,” he said, giving her an irresistible smile. He ran his thumb down her hip and traced her thigh, touching the skin on her leg. Slowly, he pushed the hem of her dress up and she stopped him with her hand.
“What are you doing?” she asked, looking at him like he was crazy.
“You have a small cut. Look.” He smiled again, not moving his thumb.
“It’s ok, really.” She tried to say it sternly, not wanting him to know that she secretly enjoyed his touch. She moved his hand off of her leg and simultaneously, his other hand snaked around the back of her neck and pulled her ear into his lips.
“You smell so damn good,” he whispered as he slid his parted lips along her skin and traced it slowly with the tip of his tongue.
Angela was filled with a desire she had never felt before. She knew this was wrong. It was too soon. She was just drunk…right? His sexiness was overwhelming her. It was almost demanding and surprisingly, she liked it. This instant attraction was something she had never encountered before. Breathe Angela, Breathe.