by Portia Moore
“Hey, Chris and I have been to some ragers in our day,” Aidan says trying to defend us.
“Oh please hon. We like that you’re small town boys, right Lauren?” Hillary teases.
“That’s the only thing that’s small about me,” Aidan tells her and I can’t wait to get a drink in my hand.
“You up for this, babe?” Lauren looks concerned, and I flash her a playful smile.
“Yeah, I’m good,” she says. I squeeze her hand in mine. We pull in front of the club Hillary chose, and get out of the car. There’s a long line of people. Hillary walks to a woman wearing a white dress that’s even skimpier than Hillary’s.
“Charlie!” She squeals, and she turns to her with a hard frown until his eyes trail down Aidan’s body.
“Hey babe, haven’t seen you in a while.” She says, and Hillary grabs Aidan’s arm and presses against him.
“Someone’s been keeping me busy.” Aidan rubs the back of his head and smiles nervously.
“I’d be hiding out too,” she tells Hillary and her eyes fall on me. I swallow hard and Lauren grips my arm. That makes me smile—she’s jealous or possessive—and either one is a turn on though she has nothing to worry about. She’s naturally beautiful, and even in the olive dress that shows ten percent of the skin most of the girls out here are showing, she’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.
“That’s Lauren’s husband, Chris. Hands and eyes off,” Hillary tells the Charlie girl, a hint of sharpness in her voice before we walk into the club. I chuckle at that.
The music is already pulsating as we make our way through the crowd. It’s some pop song and a rapper segues into it. This place is huge with two floors from what I can see. There’s more people here than I think were in my entire high school..
“Let’s head to the bar,” Hillary shouts over the music to us. We all follow behind her and squeeze ourselves in between the people. I feel my arm wrap around Lauren’s waist, and she smiles back at me. She feels good in my arms. She smells like candy, and her long, dark, wavy hair cascades down her back. I try to ignore the looks both her and Hillary are getting.
“What are you guys drinking?” A bartender approaches us wearing the same hairstyle that Collin was wearing. What’s with guys and girls hairstyles?
“Let’s do shots!” Hillary says sneakily.
“I’ll just have a beer,” I tell her and she pouts.
“An amaretto sour for me,” Lauren tells her.
“Oh, come on you guys. We aren’t in high school, so don’t be sticks in the mud tonight please!!!” Hillary shouts.
“Come on Scott, live a little. You too, Lauren. One shot won’t kill you,” Aidan urges us.
Lauren looks at me trying to read my expression. Hillary and Aidan look like we’ve killed their puppy dog.
“I guess one is okay,” I tell Lauren, and she smiles.
“Fine, one shot,” she tells Hillary who does some type of shimmy dance before telling the bartender. When the bartender spreads our drinks out before us, we pick them up to do a toast.
“To new beginnings,” Hillary lifts her glass and turns to Aidan.
“To fast cars and beautiful women,” Aidan adds.
“To life,” Lauren adds with a beautiful smile. “I’ll drink to that.”
Chapter 29
I wake up, and my head is pounding. I feel like a building has been dropped on my head. I sit up in bed, Lauren is lying across it still asleep, and it’s 8:00 am. My throat is dry and I feel like I’m dying of thirst. I get up and pour a glass of water from the sink. I try to gather my thoughts together. What happened? The last thing I remember is being at the club, we were toasting. How much did I have to drink? I head out of the room and down the hallway. I smell breakfast. I go to the kitchen and see my mom already getting it started. Caylen is in her high chair, and I give her a kiss and steal one of the grapes she’s eating.
“I’m surprised you’re up so early.” My mom laughs an amused giggle as she takes her famous homemade biscuits out of the oven.
“I don’t even remember anything that happened.” My brain feels so foggy.
“You drank that much?”
“I don’t know…” I mutter sitting at the table.
“I heard you all come in around three this morning,” she tells me and I scratch my head.
“I hope the car is okay.” I chuckle but I know someone had to have stayed sober enough for us to get home, or maybe we left it at the club. I hope it’s not sitting in a tow yard.
“Do you know if Hillary and Aidan came back here?"
“No clue. I only heard you and Lauren.” She turns her attention back to the food. I run my hand over my stomach. I hope we didn’t do anything to be embarrassed about. My mom wouldn’t tell me if we did though.
“Here, take this up to Lauren,” she says fixing me a plate full of bacon, eggs, and a biscuit.
“You want to go up and see mommy?” I ask Caylen and she giggles and shakes her head.
“Cookie,” she squeals, and I laugh.
“If Lauren is hung over, I don’t think taking Caylen up there would be the best thing,” my mom suggests. Yeah, that makes sense. I head back up the stairs popping a piece of bacon in my mouth.
When I reach my bedroom, I see Lauren sitting up wearing a flirtatious grin.
“Hey.” Her face is flushed pink and a magnificent smile stretches across her face.
“Good morning.” I walk over and sit beside her and hand her the plate of food. She gives me a soft kiss on my neck and giggles. She seems to be in a fantastic mood this morning.
“You know why it’s so good?” She snickers before eating a piece of bacon. I look at her closely. She’s so beautiful with the sunlight reflecting off her hazel eyes, she looks almost angelic.
“We must have had a really good time last night.” I laugh, and she looks at me with an arched brow.
“Yeah,” she says running a hand through her tangled hair.
“I have to get up, or I probably would sleep all day.” She mutters with a smile.
“How much did I have to drink last night?” I am waiting for her to answer when she sits up in bed and her smile falters.
“You’re kidding right?” She asks bemused, and I frown at her.
“No, I don’t remember almost anything from last night.” When I say this her smile leaves completely.
“What?”
“I remember taking a shot, and after that, it’s all a blur.” I see her noticeably gulp and the color in her face drains.
“Uhm… what’s wrong?” My heart starts to race knowing that what she says next will not be good.
“You didn’t take that shot, Chris.”
“What do you mean?” I ask her, and her eyes dart from mine to her lap.
“You didn’t drink anything…” she trails off, and my stomach drops. I know exactly who doesn’t drink….
10 hours earlier
Cal
“Babe, are you going to take your shot?”
Collin’s a fucking prick! He’s kept me shut out for I don’t know how long it’s been. Looks like I’m out right on time, though. Lauren is staring at me with her eyes wide and looking completely fuckable.
We’re in a club. Damn, that was fast. I look around. I can’t help but grin at what perfect timing this is.
“Scott, take your shot,” I look and see Aidan, Chris’s annoying best friend is here with Hillary standing at his side slutting it up like she usually does. Too many people to deal with when I don’t know how much time I have.
“You okay, Chris?” Lauren is looking at me curiously, and I smile widely at her to let her know that everything is okay.
“Yeah. I’m fantastic.”
Her eyes narrow in on me. My eyes roam over her body, and I try to kick out the thought of Collin’s hands all over her. She’s going to forget about him as soon as I get her by herself. I feel around for my wallet and hand the bartender my credit card.
“Let’s dance.�
�� I grab her hand and lead her onto the dance floor leaving behind Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
“You like to dance?” She is surprised and should be because Chris’s lame ass would just sit at the bar all night.
“Oh yeah. Big dancer.” I circle my arm around her waist and pull her against me. She looks at me a little confused, and I turn her around so her back is against me and move her body to the music. She’s stiff at first but slowly melts into me. I run my hands along her hips as she begins to sway. What the hell have I missed? I almost feel bad for Chris— if this is how it is for him—well almost. She turns around and throws her arms around my neck. The music is loud, and the energy is off the charts. Damn my girl looks good. The way she’s moving her hips almost makes me lose my train of thought about how the hell Collin’s blocked me out, and how I can keep him out longer. I need to talk to Helen.
“What’s wrong?” she asks me leaning up towards my ear.
“Nothing.” I pull her body close to mine. I can smell the tequila she just drank. That’s gonna make her a lot more fun later on.
“You shock me more and more every day Chris.” She laughs breathily, and I try not to cringe when she calls me Chris.
“I’m full of surprises,” I whisper in her ear, and kiss the skin below her ear. Her eyes glitter with confusion and lust but it passes, and she throws herself back into the music. I think back to the days when I would watch her dance with her friends, she’d ride the beat of the music and I’d take her home and watch her ride me.
“Uhm since when did you become king of the dance floor?” Aidan taps me on the shoulder. I look back at him and fight the urge to tell him to get lost. I’m supposed to be Chris…
“Oh yeah, my girl just brings out the beast.” I laugh, and she blushes.
“Another drink?” Hillary pushes another one into Lauren’s hand. I start to stop her but then realize the more intoxicated she is, the easier it is to keep up playing dull farm boy with a heart of gold. She throws it back quick and I can’t help but think how sexy it is. But that’s drink number two, and I want her tipsy not falling over drunk.
“That a girl,” Hillary eggs her on. She smiles widely, her wavy hair is wild and makes her look like some type of hot Wonder Woman. She jumps back into my arms and kisses me with wet tequila on her lips, and I grip her waist before she pulls away. I feel her heart pounding against me, and this is what Chris and Collin don’t get. I light up a spark inside of her they’ll never be able to, they can’t copy what I make her feel. She pulls back, her face flushed, and she’s eyeing me looking caught between suspicion and lust.
“I’m hungry,” I say wickedly. Chris is always eating something, and it sounds like the right thing for him to say, and it’s not entirely a lie. I’m hungry just not for food. She smiles, a little at ease.
“Come on, Lauren. Let’s show them how we were back in The Vault days.” Hillary takes Lauren’s hands and they dance together—playful and flirty like girls do when they want attention. I head back to the bar and notice Aidan following me. Out of all the people who Chris likes, Aidan gets on my nerves the least. But if he realizes I’m not Chris, this night is not going to end the way I want it to and I look at this as practice for what’s to come.
I look around and see guys staring at our girls, and I laugh because I get to go home with her. They only get her in their dreams.
“Maybe we should break them up?” Aidan says nudging me. That’s the one thing we can agree on. We head towards them. I pull Lauren away from Hillary and into my arms and through the crowd putting some space between them and us. A slow tempo song comes on, and she looks up at me almost shyly, reminding me of when we had our first date. She leans her body weight on me, and she looks at me with a sexy grin on her face. I wrap one arm around her back and hold her close to me. She rests her head on my chest, and I run my hand through her hair and massage her back. I see the change, the alcohol flowing through her system. It has quieted her suspicions of me if there were any to begin with. She’s not a drinker other than the wine she likes, so she’s carefree now which means I can get away with more. I miss her—I’ve missed her being in my arms, moaning my name, saying my name. She sways to the music, and I guide her each step of the way, wishing that it was just us. Her skin is hot against mine, flushed red, and I bite my lip to maintain as Chris-like as I can, but this is hard… literally.
“Are you having fun?” she asks, her voice quieter—sensual. I have to lean in closer to focus so I can hear her.
“The time of my life,” I whisper in her ear and fight the urge to nibble on her earlobe. Instead, I just kiss it and when she shudders, it takes everything in me to stay on this dance floor with her. Chris wouldn’t pull her off and demand we leave to have our own party because Chris is “sweet.” I wrap my fingers around her wrist and lift it to my mouth to kiss the inside of it. Her eyes flit to mine—the almond-shaped orbs I fell in love with search mine—and even in her intoxicated state I wonder if she recognizes me— if she really sees me.
“You,” she says quietly.
“What?” I ask, and she shakes her head.
“You seem different tonight,” she trails her hands up my chest.
“So do you,” I counter and she grins at me with a lazy smile. “Good or bad?” I ask her. She arches a perfect brow at me.
“I’m not sure.” She giggles, but leans her head against my chest. I can’t fight the smile that stakes claim on my face. I run my hand through her hair and kiss her head.
“I missed you,” I say, but the music’s too loud for her to hear me. I inhale her scent, and my hand goes to the small of her back, almost instinctively I start to trace my name… but that’d give me away, and tonight I don’t want to explain or argue or fight. I just want her like this. I want to talk to her, and an almost desperate need comes over me. I lean down and whisper in her ear.
“Let’s go outside…. can we go outside?” I quickly correct myself. She nods her head and smiles at me, a hidden dimple appearing at the side of her mouth. I take her hand and we make our way through the club and out the entrance. The air is cool, and I take it in to try to get my thoughts together. Looking at her makes me want to tell her everything, but I can’t. Now’s not the right time. There aren’t many people outside as I expected there to be, and I’m glad it’s just us.
“What are we doing?” Her words are a bit sluggish now after her drinks. Her eyes are bright and she looks like she’s on a cloud. I can’t help but grin at her.
“I just wanted to talk to you,” I tell her and she tilts her head at me.
“Are you okay? Maybe you should have had a drink?” she asks, almost pouting.
“Why would I need that?”
She shrugs. “So you can have some fun?” She rests her hands on her hips. I step toward her and lift her up in my arms.
“You’re the only fun I need.” She bites her lip and squints at me, and I think I might have given myself away, but then she smiles brightly.
“Can you sing to me?”
“Sing, babe?” I ask her and she nods enthusiastically.
“Now?” I ask her, cringing. Chris sings, I’m not a singer.
“I love your voice,” she gushes and I laugh. “Later I promise.” I latch my lips onto hers. She moans while pulling me closer, and I’m ten seconds from dragging her away from this place. She lets out a sensual breath and presses her forehead against mine.
“Do you think my gallery is going to do okay?” I can see the worry in her eyes, so I set her back down on the ground. When is her opening? With Collin blocking me I don’t know what’s been happening, and it makes me that much more eager to get things back to how they should be with all of us.
“Why wouldn’t it?” I ask her and she shrugs, but I can see that she’s nervous and I don’t know why. She’s a phenomenal woman, and the gallery is the one thing I will give Collin credit for. Hopefully it will allow her to see how great she is.
“What if I picked the wrong pieces
? What if I’m not cut out for this?”
I take her face in my hands. “You can do anything, don’t ever doubt yourself… I’ve never doubted you,” I tell her sternly and she gives me a weak smile, then studies my eyes and when her breath catches, and I let her face go.
“Chris?” she asks—it isn’t accusatory but she’s asking—like she knows it’s me. I know she does, but she’s hesitant, and that’s all I need.
“Who else would I be?” I ask her playfully and she smiles tightly, and flushes with embarrassment. But there’s nothing to be embarrassed about and I want to tell her because it’s me. It’s not the right time, but it will be soon.
“Tell me a secret.” I look at her, and she’s teetering from being tipsy to drunk. I put my arm around her neck and guide her to start walking.
“What type of secret?”
“Something that I don’t know—something that you want to tell me.” Is she playing with me? Is she asking me still? Her eyes search mine, and they’re still heart-stopping, turns-a-guy’s-thoughts-upside-down gorgeous. If she wants a secret, I’ll give it to her.
“I’ve been having dreams.” She looks at me giving me one of her flirtatious grins that make me think of things I’m trying not to focus on.
“Wow… I didn’t expect that Chris,” she teases me.
“Not those type… about that night… with my biological mom,” I say trying to think of how Chris would say it. Her expression goes completely serious.
“Are you okay?" She gently touches my chest as if I’ll break. I grip her tight.
“I am. I just… things are different in the dream than what I remembered from that night.”
“You remembered that night?” she asks solemnly, and then I remember I’m Chris… he probably doesn’t remember anything.
“I mean started to remember—it’s complicated but—there’s someone else there in my dream,” I tell her and she looks bewildered.
“I mean my mom was there, and I think there was another kid and someone else but I don’t know who, but…” I rest my head on hers, my pulse speeding up just thinking about it and she hugs me tightly.