“Okay, good. Now are we waiting here for the girls or should we go inside?”
“Madison already texted me, they arrived a few minutes ago.”
“Then let’s go.”
The low lights and the music were the first things to register as they entered the venue. The lighting made the mood almost intimate and the beat made the blood throb in his veins.
Or maybe it had nothing to do with the beat and everything to do with the woman standing at the bar.
There were enough people in the club to make it busy but not enough to make it packed. And certainly not enough to stop Nate from zeroing in on the one person he was looking for. It wasn’t such a big place anyway. He could spot her from where he was standing. It would be impossible not to. Especially the way she looked tonight.
She was leaning on the counter of the bar, a pair of black, form-fitting jeans hugging her body in a way that made his head spin. His gaze ran upwards, taking in the dark top that tied behind her neck but left her shoulders bare, shoulders that her loose hair grazed every time she tilted her head.
Nate still had some presence of mind to check with his friends before he started heading towards her. Friends who were simply standing there next to him with a suspiciously smug-looking smirk on their faces.
“What?” he asked defensively.
“Oh, nothing, we were just waiting to see when you would notice us,” Cooper quipped.
He scowled at them and they chuckled at him but they all made their way towards the bar.
Madison seemed to sense him just as he was sidling up next to her. Up close, she was even more breathtaking. Her dark hair fell in waves away from her face and she’d opted out of her glasses. Her eyes drank in his appearance in a way that he wished they were somewhere they would have no audience.
“Hey,” he finally said in a hoarse voice he didn’t recognize, only then remembering they hadn’t even greeted each other yet. They seemed to do that a lot.
Her gaze finished her lazy perusal before meeting his own and he couldn’t stop himself from catching a glimpse of her pink, wet lips as she uttered an equally breathy, “Hey.”
Nate suddenly felt that there was too much distance between them, and he would have done something about it if it hadn’t been for someone clearing their throat quite loudly right next to his ear. He reluctantly tore his gaze away from Madison to find Coop with a delirious smile on his face.
“So sorry to bother you, we were just wondering if you could do the introductions. And hi, Madison! It’s so good to see you again.”
It was a good thing Madison chuckled or Cooper would have been shoved out of the way quite forcefully for his interruption.
“You’re right, Cooper, I’m so sorry,” she said, ever so kind. “This is my best friend, Stacie, and right over there are Nick and Josh from work. And this is Nate and his friends, Cooper and Liam,” she finished, pointing to each one of them.
It was just then that Nate noticed the rest of her company. He’d only met Stacie, and the circumstances hadn’t been ideal. She smiled at him politely but he couldn’t help but feel that there was an edge to that smile.
Nate could see how protective she was of Madison and he respected that.
Even if it was unnecessary since he’d rather cut his own arm off and give it to Maddy as a present than hurt her.
There was a round of hellos and nods all around him that made him vaguely aware of his surroundings. But his focus never really wavered, his eyes drawn to the woman next to him.
“What are you drinking?” he asked, gesturing to the drink she was nursing.
She grinned in a way that almost made him miss her answer.
“I don’t drink actually so this is just a soda made to look like something else so I’m not asked all the time why I’m not drinking.”
“Okay sounds good, I’ll have the same.”
Her face suddenly fell. “No, no, you can have whatever you want, I’d hate to kill your buzz,” she said in an alarmed voice.
“Trust me, you won’t.” He’d probably be drunk on her before the night was over, so staying off the alcohol was not a bad idea.
He signaled to the bartender and placed his order, just as Cooper and Liam did the same. They both seemed to be chatting comfortably with the rest of the group so he didn’t feel too bad for not paying much attention to them. After all, he was pretty sure they came, knowing his attention would be sidetracked. He should also have felt bad for monopolizing Madison’s company but he was feeling a bit selfish tonight.
She was so close to him and he secretly loved when she had to rise onto her toes to speak to him. The music playing was a mix of electronic dance and hip hop, and it was loud enough to feel it pounding in his head, let alone hear someone talking.
