Embracing Trouble (Trouble Series)

by Bridle, Dee

  We entered the club with smiles on our faces and headed straight to the bar. I was three shots in before I spotted Will. He came straight over and kissed us both in welcome and looked into Janey’s eyes to see her dilated pupils.

  “Where is he?” he asked stepping closer to her.

  “Don’t know who ‘he’ is,” she returned teasingly.

  “Your douche of a date,” he said leaning in very close to her lips.

  He paused for a moment and then turned to me.

  “Beautiful Ava is your date?”

  Janey giggled.

  “I’ve scored a very hot date,” she said into his ear.

  He chuckled.

  “You have, but don’t tell the Zac man I said that.”

  I tried to lean in closer to hear what they were saying, especially when I heard Zac’s name.

  “Thought you were off the coke,” he said next.

  “Little bit with Ava doesn’t hurt,” she said leaning in to kiss his neck.

  “I want some,” he said moving his hand to the back of her neck and returning the kiss.

  I looked around the club to give them privacy, curious if Zac was here yet. I heard more giggling beside me and stepped away from the bar with my shot. The place was buzzing with noise and laughter as people stood around drinking and shouting as they waited for Academy to come on stage. A couple of guys walked past, trying to meet my eyes but I looked away. I drank my shot and looked up at the stage, knowing I had missed this.

  Janey suddenly grabbed my hand.

  “Let’s go,” she said with a wink as she pulled me away.

  We followed Will over to the restroom area and then went straight into the female toilets as Will stopped to talk to someone. Janey found an empty stall and pulled me in. I leaned against the stall’s wall and watched Janey get her capsule out, ready for Will.

  “I told him I had a date tonight,” she smiled. “He’s a lot happier now that he knows it’s you.”

  “You big tease.”

  “You know it,” she said as we high-fived each other.

  Will appeared inside the female’s restroom area, winking at two girls who were washing their hands at the basin. He came in and went to close the stall door, but it was stopped as someone else joined us.

  Zac.

  He stepped in and then his eyes met mine in surprise.

  “Girls night out,” explained Janey passing the capsule to Will. “She’s here with me, not for you.”

  Zac closed the door behind him, still looking at me as he flicked the lock. Will chuckled and opened the capsule, pulling the mini spoon out and sniffing one into each nostril.

  “Zac! Are you in here?” called a girl’s whiny voice.

  Zac rolled his eyes as Will started to laugh.

  “No,” he replied looking at me.

  “Let me in. I want some, too,” she said knocking on the door.

  “Can’t,” he said still looking at me. “Cubicle’s full.”

  “Oh, come on, Zac,” she whined.

  Janey laughed and looked at me.

  “He’s too busy, so fuck off!”

  “Screw you, Zac,” the girl called out angrily.

  “He’s been there and done that,” chuckled Will under his breath.

  Zac glared at him and then back at me as we all went silent at his comment. I knew Zac’s lifestyle and I wanted to laugh out loud at them for feeling like they had to hide it all of a sudden. We were no longer together and it shouldn’t have meant anything to me. I couldn’t show how much it did actually hurt. My chest burned at the thought of the girl with the whiny voice being with him.

  “I don’t know what he sees in his blondes,” I announced mockingly, not meeting his eyes as I looked down at the empty shot glass still in my hand.

  “I’m trying to break my addiction to black-haired angels,” he answered dryly.

  My heart beat fast and wildly, but I still didn’t look at him, because I knew if I did, I would throw myself at him.

  Will leaned into me and took my shot glass away, replacing it with the cocaine capsule.

  “Here, beautiful Ava. The rest is for you and the Zac man.”

  He winked at me and then slipped out of the cubicle with Janey, closing the door behind them.

  I heard Zac flick the lock as I looked down at the capsule in my hand. I’d had some in the taxi earlier and didn’t feel like I needed anymore. My only drug of choice was standing in the stall right now watching me. I felt emotional and a little crazy. I knew that I couldn’t show him that. I took a breath and then passed it to him with a quick glance.

  “You have the rest.”

  He didn’t take the capsule straight away. He only looked at it and then stepped closer to me.

  “How much of it have you had?”

  I swallowed and weakly answered, “Enough.”

  He took the capsule from me but held onto my fingers.

  “Coke and Janey don’t really mix well,” he murmured with dark eyes.

  “I’ll keep that in mind for next time,” I said coolly, moving my fingers out of his grasp.

  He stepped even closer to me and his leg grazed against mine, his eyes unrelenting. I moistened my lips, feeling the heady power coming from him. I knew I wanted him to look at me like that forever.

  “What are you doing here, Ava?” he asked huskily, his eyes suddenly full of torment, before he quickly hid it.

  “Having a girl’s night,” I said with burning defiance in my eyes. “And I like Academy.”

  He gave me a taunting look as he leaned in even closer to me watching me swallow nervously with anticipation. His hand reached up to pull my hair back from my neck and my skin burned at the touch of his fingers. He leaned down and softly kissed my neck and I wanted to close my eyes from the pleasure.

  I caught my breath as I heard him whisper, “You smell so damn good.”

  His words and soft lips felt amazing, and when I felt his warm tongue against my skin, I started to tremble.

  I dropped my head back against the cubicle wall, and my whole body now burned inside in flames as his lips and tongue teased me. I heard a soft groan and I didn’t know if I had made the sound or if he did. His mouth was then making its way up my neck, slowly towards my mouth where I was ready for him as it met mine. My arms went around his neck and he pulled one of my legs up and around his waist as he kissed me hard, all gentleness gone.

  He picked me up, cupping my bottom with his hands and held me in his strong arms. I kissed him back hungrily, squeezing my legs around him tightly, lost in a haze of desire and need. My body yearned for his taste and for his skin. I ran my hand through his hair, gripping it roughly, and feeling like I was going to erupt into flames.

  There was a bang on the door.

  “Can you hurry up in there? All the stalls are full!” said a female voice.

  Zac swore and I smiled against his lips as I slowly unwrapped my legs from him, and untangled myself from his amazing hard body.

  He gripped my bottom and gently put me down. His eyes burned into me as another loud knock broke the moment. Zac sighed in frustration and opened the door to the stall. He glared at the annoyed girl.

  “Academy is about to start. Hurry the fuck up.”

  I laughed as I moved out of the stall and saw the line of girls, waiting their turn. They all glared at me and then started to smile when they caught a look of Zac behind me. I quickly headed outside, not waiting for him as I went to find Janey at the bar. There were even more people in the crowd now. As I weaved my way through, I came across Noah.

  “Hey you,” he said over the noise of the crowd as he put his arm around me, “Who are you running from?”

  I leaned into him affectionately.

  “Just heading to hook up with Janey at the bar.”

  “We’re going in,” said the guy beside him, motioning to the mosh.

  Noah gave a nod.

  “Coming.”

  He let me go with a wink.

 
“Stay back tonight. It’s going to get crazy in here,” he said disappearing into the crowd.

  As I reached Janey at the bar, she passed me another shot and then Academy came on stage and there was a huge roar from the crowd. Will disappeared into the crowd to get into the mosh pit as well and I looked around for Zac but couldn’t see him.

  Janey turned to me.

  “Want to mosh?” she shouted.

  “I’m a mosh virgin,” I laughed.

  She grabbed my hand.

  “Let’s pop your cherry! Keep with me and whatever you do, don’t lose your balance.”

  “And if I do?” I shouted suddenly worried.

  “You’ll go down and be trampled on,” she called out over her shoulder. “And don’t go near the circle pit. Once those guys get going, fists start flying and you’ll be seriously hurt.”

  “Circle pit?” I asked not knowing what she meant, but I let her lead me through the crowd.

  Seriously hurt? Did I really want to do this?

  “Put your phone and things down your pants,” she called out next.

  I quickly did it and we started to weave our way in and around people trying to get to the stage. Guys looked me over appreciatively, while others deliberately didn’t move to let me through. They were forcing me to rub myself up against them to get past.

  It started to get hotter and sweatier as we pushed in further. Then the band started their first song. The crowd went wild and I was suddenly pushed and shoved. Janey looked back at me and laughed, still pulling me forward.

  I strained against the bodies, trying to find my feet as bodies got thicker and harder to move against. I hoped to god I didn’t pass out.

  I looked up to see we were close to the stage and I looked up at the band in awe. Everyone jumped and banged their heads to the song, screaming along with the lyrics. I was soon tightly packed in with Janey. I felt the crowd swerve to the right. I grabbed onto Janey as I nearly lost my balance. My body was being moved but my feet were stuck in the same position.

  “Just go with it!” she screamed into my ear.

  She put her hands up in the air and moved her head to the music.

  My arms were stuck to me, the bodies beside me were forcing them down. I gradually managed to get them free and stuck them up in the air. The song ended and everyone cheered and whistled.

  Another song started and they went wilder. A body flew over the top of my head and I realized they were all starting to crowd surf. Everyone around me started to push and shove each other, and I suddenly felt scared. I couldn’t move, even if I wanted to go back now. I was in too tight.

  I spotted Will at the front and I saw him going around in a circle. The circle pit was a bunch of guys going crazy in a fast whirlpool inside the mosh pit. They all pushed and shoved each other as they went around.

  My feet were still stuck like glue and I tried to put my arms down and hold onto something. Janey squealed in laughter as she was lifted up by a guy and then thrown on top of the crowd. Her body was taken over the crowd, and I lost sight of her. I gasped for air, hoping that they didn’t do that to me.

  I tried to move back but came up against a wall of thrashing bodies. I was stuck and I suddenly wanted to scream.

  The next song was even faster. The singer screamed his words and they all went wilder. I tried to get air and lifted my head up to look at the ceiling. I was going to pass out and then I would be trampled on.

  An arm of steel went around my waist and shoved me back against a warm wall of hard body.

  “What the fuck are you doing, Ava?” shouted Zac into my ear.

  I couldn’t answer him as I held onto his strong arm as he shoved his way back through the bodies, pulling me out. Another body went flying over me and Zac put his other arm up to protect me from getting a boot in the face.

  He trawled me out and then I felt air and gasped for some in my lungs. It wasn’t fresh, but it was there. He spun me around in his arms.

  “What were you fucking thinking?” he shouted into my face.

  He was furious.

  I gasped for air and shook my head. I was too hot and weak to answer him, so I did the only thing I could do. I giggled. He looked at me in bewilderment and I giggled more and fell into him. I nuzzled my face into his neck. His arms made their way around my back and then his hand nestled into my hair. He gently tugged my hair, forcing my head back so I had to look at him.

  “No moshing,” he shouted.

  I pouted my bottom lip at him, my eyes twinkling playfully at him.

  “You’ll fucking get hurt,” he said seriously. “And I’ll have to kill everyone in there who touches you.”

  “Why?” I shouted, all playfulness gone. “I’m not yours anymore, remember?”

  He answered with a hard kiss against my mouth, his tongue tangling with mine. He pulled me roughly against him and I once again felt the stirrings of a primitive and urgent desire. I swept my hands up around his neck, grasping onto his hair at the nape of his neck. I leaned back a little as he devoured me, his strong arms holding me tightly.

  He suddenly pulled away from me, and his eyes looked black and intense. He looked to be trying to get himself under control as he looked over at the band and let me go.

  My chest was rising and falling quickly as I tried to stop my panting. I wanted him so badly it was hurting me. Why was he stopping?

  He turned to me, his eyes full of steel.

  “Stay out of the mosh,” he shouted, and then he suddenly disappeared into the crowd.

  I groaned in frustration at him leaving me standing there and turned to head for the restroom again. Once inside, I looked at myself in the mirror and gasped. I looked hot and not in a good way, so I put my hands under the tap and then put them behind my neck to cool myself down. I wiped under my eyes where my eye makeup had smudged and then ran wet hands through my hair to tame it down. I was a wreck, and he had made me crazy.

  My phone vibrated in my jeans and I pulled it out. Tyler.

  I groaned softly and contemplated whether to answer it or not. He wasn’t meant to be a part of this night, but I felt guilty as I looked down at his name. With resignation, I leaned against the sink and put the phone to my ear.

  “Hey.”

  “Oh, hey, we’ll be going past HiFi soon. Thought I’d see if you needed a lift home.”

  I closed my eyes at his thoughtful but annoying attempt at keeping me away from Zac.

  “I’m okay. I’ll go home with Janey as planned.”

  “Maybe we’ll come in and have a drink with you guys.”

  I mouthed a swear word and rolled my eyes.

  “It’s sold out.”

  “I’ll ask at the door.”

  The restroom door swung open and Janey stomped in, the music blaring into the quiet space.

  “You okay?”

  I nodded with the phone in my hand and then ended the call.

  “It’s fucking nuts out there! You’re missing out in here!” she said leaning in to grab my hand and pulling me back out.

  The crowd seemed even wilder and as she pulled me back in, I remembered Zac’s warning of no moshing. Where was he? Was he still in the mosh pit? Would Tyler manage to get in? Janey pulled me in further and I gritted my teeth and pushed my way in.

  Zac

  I pushed my way out of the crowd and scanned the club for Ava, tension making me climb up near the speakers to get a proper view. Part of me hoped she had gone home, because she was just too much of a temptation. I only had so much self-control left before I took everything that I wanted.

  I scanned the crowd hoping to god that she hadn’t gone back into the mosh, knowing I would break every limb of anyone who touched her in there. I looked back to the bar and paused at the sight of Tyler standing there with two friends. What the hell was he doing here? He was obviously checking up on what he thought belonged to him. I wanted to suddenly set him straight. Tyler hadn’t seen me yet, and I could tell he was looking around for her as his friends lo
oked around. They were trying their hardest not to look uncomfortable.

  Tyler’s stance changed and he said something to his friend and pointed. I looked over to where he was pointing and saw Ava and Janey climbing up on the other side of the room. They were both laughing and moving fast to the kick drums with their arms up in the air. I stopped breathing for a moment as I watched her laugh and shake her head with the music. She was fucking beautiful.

  Tyler moved closer, waving his arms at her, but she was too engrossed in the band to see him. I watched her flick her hair back and sing along to the chorus with her hands up in the air doing the devil sign.

  The thought of her listening to Academy and learning the words made me happy. I watched her tight T-shirt ride up as she lifted her arms to show her flat tanned stomach. I felt like going over and claiming her right then. She would always be mine. What the fuck had I been thinking?

  So I wasn’t up to standard and didn’t fit the ideal mold, but I would love her like my life depended on it. Wasn’t that enough? Fuck, did I just say love? No way.

  I looked back over to Tyler, knowing pretty boy would love her and be more than enough. The panic on Tyler’s face registered with me and I glanced back over at Ava.

  Before I knew it, Janey had taken Ava’s hand and climbed up a little further against the speakers. I knew instantly that they were planning to jump and crowd surf. Ava had a wickedness in her eyes that no one would be able to control. I didn’t panic. I watched instead, completely smitten with my wild cat.

  They both then jumped into the sea of bodies as hands reached up from everywhere to move them across the crowd. I didn’t want to focus on the hands going for free grabs, but I was relieved to see Noah in the center, helping her across. I turned and saw Tyler almost bursting a blood vessel. I looked on, highly amused. She was hard core and there was nothing pretty boy could do about it.

  Ava

  I could see security were at the front of the stage, pulling the crowd surfers over the barrier as I moved across, a hundred hands on me. I looked up at the ceiling and laughed. I had done it and it had felt amazing. The crowd was one big heaving mass of hands that threw me around and I felt excited and alive.

  I got to the front and Noah was there, grabbing me before security could get at me. He pulled me down at the front and protected me from the mosh by pulling me against him. His body was a barrier to the worst of it, and I could see Will doing the same for Janey. I caught Janey’s attention for a second and laughed in excitement. She cheered before we were shoved further away from each other.