“Don’t worry, we’ll causeallthe trouble,” I called to her back.
She shook her head and chuckled as she left through the front door.
I turned to Frederick. “Should we head out too?”
“I’m still unsure if this is a good idea or not,” he grumbled.
I laughed and hooked an arm over his giant shoulders and guided us to my minivan.
When we got inside, I turned to him and said, “You told me running away hasn’t helped with your crush, and I don’t have that option. So, we can only try something else: finding a new love.”
“And you really think we’re going to find that at a shady club?” he asked, clearly doubting my stellar plan.
I gave him a smirk and shifted the car into Drive. “Well, we’re about to find out, aren’t we?”
I’d dated a lot—and I meana lot—of people. Men, women, I wasn’t picky. But I never really tried to fall in love with any of them. It was horrible of me, but I simply used them as a means to an end.
That changed now. I was going to open my heart up to possibilities. I’d let a new love in and let go of the old one.
My confidence soared the entire ride out of Kither Springs, but it quickly evaporated when we parked outside the closest club located just outside the city limits.
It’d been a while since I last came here, and I remembered why that was. The place was packed. The parking lot was full. It was barely dinnertime, and groups of drunken people were already crowded together, laughing so loud I could hear them from inside the minivan.
It wasa lot.
Frederick turned to me, his thoughts clear on his face. He didn’t even have to say anything for me to know this wasn’t his kind of scene. It wasn’t mine either, but maybe what we both needed was to get out of our comfort zones.
“We’re doing this,” I told him, and exited the driver’s seat before Frederick could argue.
The air felt hotter here, like the haze of booze andsmoke from the patrons lingering outside suffocated the surrounding area.
I didn’t back down and strode toward the entrance. “I guess we’re really doing this,” Frederick muttered, not too far behind me.
“What’s the worst that can happen? We don’t find love and find a hook-up for the night instead? I don’t know about you, but I could definitely use a night to let loose.”
I vaguely heard him mutter under his breath, something about us ending up in a ditch, but I firmly chose to ignore that. We were both big dudes. We could take care of ourselves.
And,fine, the guy trying to push pills into our hands by the front door wasn’t thebeststart to the night, but I had confidence things would only look up from here.
It seemed the world was out to prove me wrong tonight, because as soon as we made it to the dance area, dozens of eyes landed on us.
“Why do I feel like I’m a piece of meat throwing myself at a pack of wolves?” Frederick leaned close to my ear and whisper-yelled. The music was so loud, yelling was the only way to communicate around here.
“You’re imagining it,” I called back and forced a smile, despite feeling exactly the same way.
Growing up in a small town, and even during college, I didn’t go to clubs often, so I couldn’t tell if these hungry, predatory gazes on us were normal.
I was used to looks of appreciation, but that wasn’twhat this was. These men and women looked at us like we were shiny new objects, and they wanted to be the first ones to claim us.
I could practically feel their gaze following us to the bar, where we ordered some beers. Nothing too strong, because getting shit-faced tonight was not the plan. It was the middle of the week, and we both had work tomorrow.
“One hour, then we can call it a bust,” I called over my beer bottle.
“An hour’s way too generous. Thirty minutes tops,” he countered and chugged his beer, basically draining it in one gulp.
I did the same, wiped my lip with the back of my hand, and tossed the bottle back on the bar counter.
“Fine, but we’re dancing.” I grabbed his empty beer and placed it on the bar, too, before dragging him straight onto the dance floor.
