Disclaimer: The characters of Twilight are owned by the wonderful Stephenie Meyer. The original characters, content and ideas of this story are mine.
Beta'd by princess07890
Chapter 2
Blame it on the Alcohol
BPOV
As Alice had promised, she was promptly at my door at 8 p.m. with my other bestie, Tanya, in tow. I answered the door still wrapped in a towel from my shower. Let's just say Alice wasn't happy at all.
"Really, Bella?! Come on honey, get dressed; do I need to come and help you?" she asked, putting her hand on her hips.
"NO! Absolutely not; I can dress myself Alice just fine." I said, walking into my closet, looking for the perfect dress to wear.
As I skimmed over my wardrobe, my eyes landed on a navy blue sequin dress that stopped mid thigh and had spaghetti straps. I grabbed the dress, along with a small navy clutch, and, a pair of navy blue heels that I had worn for another friend's wedding, they matched the dress perfectly. After getting dressed, I looked at my still damp hair and decided to put it up in a bun with a few wisps of hair hanging down. I put on some mascara, lip gloss, and a tiny bit of blush for a very sexy, but very natural look. Once I was satisfied with my appearance, I grab my keys, ID, and credit card, throw them in my small clutch, along with my cell phone, and we head out for the night.
Thirty minutes later, we are standing outside of Provocateur, one of the most elite and exclusive clubs in Manhattan. The crowd is a mixture of sophisticated upscale socialites, European looking businessmen, and successful fashion models, Alice is a fashion designer, so she knows many of the models. However, this club is so exclusive that I don't know if even she has the connections to get us in.
"Alice, this club has a guest list and if you're not on…"
"Alice Brandon and two guests," Alice tells the security at the door while never taking her eyes off of me.
"Yes, right this way Ms. Brandon; you ladies enjoy your evening."
Alice smiles and winks at me as the security guy unhooks the red velvet rope to let us by. Once inside, we were led to a private sitting area by a waitress, who immediately takes our drink orders. She returned shortly with our drinks on a tray and another waitress holding a tray of mixed appetizers for us.
This club's atmosphere oozes of money and power from every corner from both the women and men. Scanning the room, I felt out of my element being surrounded by so many beautiful faces all looking as if they had just finished an exclusive photo shoot for Vogue or ELLE magazine. Trying to relax and remotely enjoy my night, I take a couple of big gulps of my Margarita and pop a couple of the appetizers in my mouth, not even bothering to notice what they are.
After finishing off my first drink and half way through the second, I felt a lot more comfortable and actually started to enjoy myself. The music was now sounding good to me and I had even started swaying back and forth in my chair. As I looked around the club again at the flashing lights and all the beautiful people moving their bodies to the house music the DJs were ripping through the speakers, I realized Alice was right. I needed this night out to relax, have fun, and just enjoy life.
"Someone looks like she's having fun!" Alice said, grinning ear to ear, while sipping her mixed drink.
"How can she not enjoy being in this place with all these beautiful, sexy, powerful, and rich men?" Tanya said, and the three of us started giggling.
"Alice, you made it." The three of us all looked up to see a very handsome, well dressed man with blonde hair and ocean blue eyes, smiling at non-other than Ms. Fashion herself, Alice.
Alice smiled back at him, but not her usual polite smile, no, this smile was different. It was sexy and filled with mirth. She stood and walked over to him and he grabbed both her hands and kissed her forehead, an act that has always been so endearing to me. This caused her to giggle a little and smile even more.
"I told you I would be here tonight; thank you for adding us to the guest list. I've always wanted to check out this place; it's really nice. I'm enjoying myself." Alice said, still grinning like a fool and so was he! Not to mention they were still holding hands and Alice had yet to introduce us.
Tanya and I looked at each other before Tanya cleared her throat, causing Alice to jump slightly.
"Oh, Jasper, let me introduce you to my two best friends; this is Bella and Tanya. Guys, this is Jasper; he is part owner of this wonderful establishment." Alice said, with a twinkle in her eyes that I hadn't seen in a long time.
"Nice to meet you, Jasper." Tanya and I said at the same time.
"The pleasure is all mine; any friend of this amazing woman is alright in my book." He finished, placing a kiss on the back of Tanya's hand and then mine, before returning his attention to Alice. Tanya and I turned and stared at each other and she mouthed "what the fuck!" to me as we both tried to figure out when and where did Jasper happen! I mean this guy was one charming piece of work and, to top things off, he owned one of the most exclusive clubs in Manhattan.
"I have some business to attend to in my office, but I'll be back to check on you, later, okay? He said, placing another kiss to Alice's forehead, letting his lips linger just a little longer this time. He then turned to us with that gorgeous smile and said, "Ladies, enjoy your evening and please let me know if I can do anything to make you visit more pleasurable." With one final stroke of his finger to Alice's cheek, he walked away.
After staring at him walking away, Alice finally turned her attention back to us and sat back down, picked up her drink, and avoided eye contact with either one of us.
"It really is a nice club,… right?" Alice said, smiling at us.
"Don't even try it missy! Where the hell did he come from and why are we just now finding out about him." I asked, looking at her with narrowed eyes.
"You have been holding out on us, and now it's time to spill the beans!" Tanya exclaimed, giving her the same look.
"What? Jasper is a really good friend and one of my best clients. I designed a couple of suits for him and his father, who owns this club with him." She explained, now looking nervous while still sipping on her drink.
"Client, my ass; not with the way he looked at you. That man is not looking to be you friend or client." Tanya said, and we all started laughing.
"Seriously, Alice, did you see the look in his eyes; he totally adores you!" I said, feeling happy for her. Alice is one of the sweetest people I have ever met and she deserves for someone to adore her.
"I know, and I adore him." She admitted, beaming at us.
So, for the next hour, she sat and told us the story of how and when they met as we went through another two rounds of drinks.
By the time, she finished, we were pass buzzed and moved to the dance floor, moving our bodies to the music. Jasper joins Alice while Tanya and I dance with each other. I hadn't felt this alive and carefree in years and I couldn't stop smiling right now. I was sure the alcohol was to blame for this euphoria I felt. We danced until we were literally out of breath and then we made our way back to our private booth. As the night continued, I remembered having my seventh Margarita and felt quite inebriated.
Just as I was starting to believe this night out was just what I needed, I looked up and saw the last face on Earth I wanted, or needed, to see, Jessica Stanley.
"Well, well, well, Bella, I must say I'm shocked to see you out in a place like this. Now, let's see, would you be out celebrating or drowning your sorrows?" She said, tapping her finger on her chin. For the life of me, I couldn't get my brain to work fast enough to give a witty reply, so silence was my response. Her two friends with her giggling by her side did not help matters.
"In any case, I hope you're watching your spending habits; you wouldn't want to go broke, you know since you're unemployed." She said, with that same smug grin from earlier on her face.
And there it was; the reality that I had tried to forget for just a little while. I could feel the tears prickle my eyes and I fought hard to not give her the satisfaction of seeing me upset.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Alice stepped in, seeing how upset I was; she looked quite appalled herself.
"Jessica; Jessica Stanley." She said, holding out her hand to Alice in which Alice just stared at it.
"Ah, yes, of course, Jessica Stanley, aka "late night office blow job queen", I do recall Bella mentioning you now." Alice said, tapping her temple and looking at me. When I looked at Jessica, her smug grin was gone and replaced with a sneer. Jasper suddenly walked up behind them.
"Is there a problem, ladies?" He said, addressing Jessica and her friends.
"No problem, Jazz, they were just leaving." Alice said, now sporting the smug grin.
"We would like a private booth." Jessica said, turning to Jasper.
"I'm sorry, ladies, our private booths are for exclusive guests only. However, I'm sure I can find seats for you at our bar. I'll have a waitress walk you over." Jasper said, while waving one of the cocktail waitresses over and then he turned his attention back to us.
"Thank you, Jasper, I really appreci…"
"No need to thank me; I will not tolerate anyone upsetting you or your guests in my club." He said, cutting her off before winking at Alice and walking away.
Suddenly, I didn't feel so well, anymore and I just wanted to go home.
"Guys, I've had a little too much to drink; I think I'm going to head home." I said, and the words sounded quite slurred, even to my ears.
"Okay, just let me tell Jasper I'm leav…"
"No, I'll be fine, guys; please stay and enjoy yourselves… I'm just tired; it's been a long day. I'll get a taxi and I'll call when I make it home.
"Are you sure?" Tanya asked.
"Yes, I'm positive." I said, standing up and giving each of them a hug.
I started walking towards the door and each step became harder than the last. The room started to spin slightly and the door appeared so far away. When I finally stepped outside, I gasped for air, my lungs felt constricted from holding in my sobs. I ran to the first taxi I saw and jumped inside, rattled off my address to the driver quickly, and let the flood gates open finally.
After a few minutes, I realized the taxi I was in was not moving and the driver apparently had said something to me, but I was having a hard time comprehending his words. I looked up to see the most beautiful green eyes I have ever seen in my life staring back at me with confusion in them. I could see the owner of said eyes mouth moving, but, I heard no sound. As the sobs continued, I repeated my address and did my best to talk as clearly as I could.
"Please… take me home."
A/N: Alright guys leave me your thoughts on chapter 2. Next chapter will be EPOV. Thanks for reading!
