Page 21 of Walk on the Wilde Side
"Do you know them?" I ask Dane, confused.
"They're doing some work for me at my latest project, and the big one, Zander, he's a total asshole." He just finishes his comment when the group meets up with me.
"Hey, Nevvie, didn't expect to see you," Zander is smiling. He doesn't notice that I'm not just standing by Dane, I'm with him.
"Don't call her that," Dane says sharply.
"Uh sorry, Hoffman, we're not on site right now, and you don't know—" He pauses and looks from me to Dane and then back at me. A laugh shoots out of his mouth. "No fucking way. Nevvie, tell me I'm hallucinating. You're not standing with this?—"
Jameson smacks his shoulder before he can finish his sentence. "Hey, Hoffman, good to see you. Nevada, good to see you," Jameson says in his best impersonation of a gentleman. If not for Jameson's ability to act polite even when he's not feeling it, their company would go belly up. Jameson knows exactly how to talk to customers. He's got that charismatic, suave thing down, one of the few helpful traits he learned from his dad. Zander, on the other hand, is like the proverbial "bull in the China shop" when it comes to dealing with customers.
Indiana winks at me but keeps out of the small fire that's blowing around us on the sidewalk. There's really only one major flame, and it's Zander. And now my intuition is telling me "I fucking told you so." The worst part about it is that I hate the way Zander is looking at me, almost accusatory, as if I'm somehow cheating on him.
A whistle catches everyone's attention. It's Jocko, the bouncer for Gold Rush. "Hey, Jameson, you guys are wanted inside. Nate's asking for you." Everyone turns our direction.
Ronan heads off first, and the others peel off and follow. Zander is the last to walk away, and he stares at me long enough that I feel his stare burned into my vision, like staring at two headlights for a long time. I watch him walk away with that angry, stubborn set of his massive shoulders, a shoulder tension I've seen so often that it, too, is almost burned into my vision.
"How come they get to go in? I thought it was against Rockhurst vibes," Dane says the last part like a snotty teen. I'm done with the night, and I haven't even stepped inside yet.
I look up at him, and he's wearing a snarl to go with the snotty teen tone. "The rules don't apply to the Wildes."
He scoffs. "Those dirt lugging apes? Why the hell not?"
"Cuz the whole Rockhurst vibe circles around the Wilde family."
Dane looks puzzled and plenty irritated.
"You'd have to have grown up here to understand." The line has started moving, and my date is no longer smiling. And now I know there's nothing but tension and grumbly remarks waiting for us once we get inside. "You sure you still want to go in?" I ask.
Dane nods. "Hell yes. After I saw the look on Zander's face when he realized that you and I were together—well, let's just say I learned a helluva lot from that one look. Looking forward to parading you around in there. He obviously likes you."
"First of all, I'm not a float to be paraded, and Zander and I grew up together. We have a long history, and the man has so many women, he starts to forget their names. Seriously. It's irritating. But you do your male ego thing, and I'll play the pretty little float." I smile up at him with a sugary sweet smile.
"No, you're right, Nev, that was wrong of me to say. It's just, I'm proud to be with you. You're smart, beautiful, successful?—"
"Go on," I say teasingly. The man is trying so hard. I'm not sure why I keep pushing against it. Maybe Kinsley is right when she tells me I'm a hopeless un-romantic, or maybe he's just not the one. It would be darn convenient if he were though because he's got a nice list of attributes, too. "Look, if you're determined to get the authentic Rockhurst experience, then a few hours inside a crowded Gold Rush will do it. We don't have to stay long, but I don't like dancing, so if you're feeling twinkle-toesy, you'll have to ask someone else to dance. It won't hurt my feelings at all."
Dane smiles at me, and it feels like we're having one of our warmer moments. "You really do pride yourself on being a party pooper, don't you?"
I laugh and bow my head at what I consider to be a compliment. He obviously finally figured that out about me, and I'm glad to see it. Something feels different. So far, it's all been a touch distant and awkward like we weren't able to find any kind of rhythm, but maybe that's changing.
"I guess we'll stick out this line, listen to the music, have a few drinks and then we'll see where the night takes us," Dane says.
"I guess we will." I'd been putting off sex with him, not sure I wanted to tangle myself deeper into the relationship, but maybe I'm being my own worst enemy, just like Kinsley likes to tell me. My little sister could be flighty and shallow and even, on occasion, ridiculous, but she knew me well, and while she was sure I ignored most of her advice or commentary on my life, plenty of it still got through. Of course, I wasn't going to let on to her that I was listening. She was my little sister, after all.
The line in front of us is pretty short now. I can even see Harry's sister Marion's red cheeks as she hands out tickets at the door. On the other hand, the line behind us has more than doubled. It's going to be a packed house, which means dancing won't be an issue. There won't be room for it. People will just have to stand like packed sardines, keeping their elbows close to their sides so as not to get bumped and spill their drinks. I'm not looking forward to being jammed inside with so many people, especially certain people, or a certain person, is more accurate. I'm hoping the suffocating scent of beer, sweat and perfume in one space will be unpleasant enough that we leave early. In the meantime, maybe I'll put away my party pooper hat and try to have a good time.
eleven
Zander
"It's starting to get hot and suffocating in here," Jameson says to Indi. She nods in agreement. They rarely go out late anymore because of Rio, but tonight she's staying overnight at a friend's house. I told my brother that if my kid was out for the whole night, I'd be fucking in every damn corner of the house. He considered that for a minute, only Indi was anxious to get out. She was thrown into instant motherhood, and starting with a preteen was probably not ideal, but she and Rio are inseparable. They adore each other.
Ronan and I manage to find standing room near the stage. The women are already filling in any pockets of air, hoping for a chance to catch Nate's eye. Ronan leans closer so he doesn't have to yell. "I think I should have taken up singing. Nate's got these women sweating in their panties."
"Yeah, don't think you can just take it up, buddy. You've got to have some actual talent. Hey, what happened to Ruby? Thought you two were getting serious."
Ronan shrugs. "Got bored of each other. We were trying that whole submission, dominance thing. I was kind of getting into it. Tying her up, the blindfolds, spanking but then she wanted to turn the tables. She wanted me to be the submissive. I laughed and that sort of ended it."
