Page 40 of The Perfect Spiral
“Seven tequila shots with lemons, please! Kyle, get over here—we’re doing the first round of shots!” Andy hollered across the room to Kyle.
Asher, the guy Kyle had been chatting with, joined us. We alldowned our shots, and then Andy pulled me over to one of the couches. The boys followed us over almost immediately.
I knew Andy had intended to talk to me before the guys joined us, but they beat her to it. Honestly, I wasn’t in the mood for conversation.
Standing up, I asked, “Anyone want a drink from the bar?”
Andy nodded and said, “Surprise me, doll!” I laughed and sauntered over to the bar, drawing a few appreciative glances along the way.
My phone buzzed in my purse. I pulled it out to see who had messaged me.
What now? I sighed, placing my phone on the bar. I ordered two green tea cocktails from the bartender. As I waited, I felt a warm hand on my waist. I glanced over my shoulder. Knox? What was he doing here?
“You alright, baby doll?” he asked, a look of concern on his face. Before I could answer, my phone started buzzing again. I picked it up to see that Drew was actually calling me.
Groaning aloud, I was about to answer when Knox snatched my phone from my hand. He turned it off and said, “I’m keeping this for the night. I’ll give it back later. You need to forget about that douche and have fun. Let loose and get drunk! But not too drunk—I’m not picking you up off the floor.”
I couldn’t argue with that. When our drinks were ready, I reached for my wallet, but Knox grabbed my hand.
“The night is on me. You’re not paying for anything, baby doll. I’ll never let you when you’re out with me,” he said, winking at me.
I thanked him just as Andy came rushing over. She announced that we were all going to dance together. By “together,” she meant she’d be grinding on my brother and expected me to do the same with someone else.
I was all for it, but A) I wasn’t drunk enough, B) Kyle would kill any guy who dared to play Russian roulette with me, and C) If Kyle didn’t, Knox would.
Knox’s phone started to ring. He held up a finger to signal he’d be a minute and stepped away to take the call. I turned my attention back to the night.
I’m going to enjoy myself. It’s going to be fun! I repeated in my head.
I glanced over to see Andy and Kyle dancing together. Well, “dancing” was a generous term.
“Rookie mistake to leave a beautiful girl alone without a dancing partner,” a deep voice murmured in my ear. I recognized that voice—Travis. I turned to see him and gave him a hug.
“I didn’t know you were here! I haven’t seen you all night! How are you? Tough luck on the game today. You played so well!” I gushed, releasing him from our hug.
“I’m a lot better now that I’ve seen you! Yeah, I just got here a few minutes ago. Thanks, Alex!” He took a step back, took my hand, and twirled me around.
“Well, well, well, don’t you look absolutely gorgeous! I was wondering who the girl in the purple dress was that all the guys were talking about!” His words were slightly slurred, and I grinned up at him, blushing.
“Well, isn’t someone a charmer tonight?” I flirted back, playfully hitting his shoulder.
“Travis! There you are, babe! Want to get a drink? I’m sothirsty,” a voice called from the crowd.
I looked in the direction of the voice and thought, Yeah, thirsty for something, alright. Travis chuckled. Crap, did I say that out loud? I need to stop doing that.
I looked back at him to see him watching me. “Sorry, Trish, I’m a little busy right now,” he said, not breaking eye contact with me. He pulled me closer to him and asked if I wanted to dance.
I scanned the crowd and didn’t see Andy and Kyle. Thank God! I turned back to Travis and accepted his invitation.
Once we hit the dance floor, he pulled me close and started to dance. This guy had moves.
We laughed as he whispered jokes and compliments in my ear, making me blush. This guy was such a player.
He led me to the edge of the dance floor and pulled me against his chest. I wrapped my arms around his neck and swayed my hips to the music.
His hands were getting dangerously low. I looked up at him to see him smirking. He spun me around and whispered seductively in my ear, “Grind on me, Alex.”
His demand caught me off guard, and I turned back around to face him. Something about the way he said it set off alarm bells in my head. He was drunk, and suddenly, I felt a knot in my stomach.
