Apparently, Brett's friend Will has an uncle in town. A rich uncle, who just opened a new club that we were invited to, on the condition we don't drive drunk. Oh, boy.
Victoria begged me to actually consider going. I don't really like the whole club scene. I'm more of a moonlight-drink-by-the-lake girl. We have this cool lake in Mellwood, Maryland and it is in a park with all sorts of big trees from oaks to willows to pines. It's no beach, but it's definitely nice.
So here I am in my 2002 Lotus Elise, following Brett's convertible to the club with Victoria in the only other seat my little sports car has. I'm designated driver. I shouldn't have to be, considering this night is probably going to be hell for me. Brett's really starting to grate on my nerves. It's been like two months, but he still thinks we should be having sex like bunnies. Unfortunately, the last time Vic was a designated driver she just got wasted anyway. Of course, my other friends and I didn't know this, so we were drinking hopelessly as well and when it was time to go home there wasn't a sober one of us. Victoria had to pay for the cabs (six girls don't fit in one) home and the cab (only Vic and I) back so we could pick up her car the next morning.
We pulled up to a modern looking place with chrome and black sheet metal where music was pulsing and thumping.
I looked over at a grinning, enchanted Victoria. Her eyes were glittering with the site before us. "Don't do anything too stupid," I said, rolling my eyes as I got out of the car.
I heard her laugh over the music. "Not a problem, A.O."
"Yeah, right," I scoffed under my breath. Victoria's mind is full of stupid things one should not do or say in public. It was her form of rebellion she used on her parents. That's what got the Alabama sweetheart to get sent up to Maryland and to Berkley. Apparently she didn't fit in at the tea parties her mom hosted.
You can totally see why. She has pink hair for starters. Her favorite color's black and she has multiple piercings: her tongue, eyebrow, nose and three-a-piece on her ears.
You would never match us up as friends. I like color. Coral and all blues look great on me. I prefer designer jeans with some form of stiletto. My shoes are my pride and joy right after my car and are normally outrageous colors like gold, hot pink, turquoise, or green.
My hair is thick and dirty blonde that leans a little closer to strawberry than brown but I'm no red head. Not at all. My hair also comes down to my butt, which I realize is very 19th century, but it has layers all over the place, and it suits me just fine. I guess I'm pretty tall. Vic and I have that in common, I guess.
Brett was waiting at the door for us, standing with someone else. It was pretty dark so I had reached them by the time I recognized Tyler. He smiled broadly at both of us but addressed Victoria.
She was much more likely to sleep with him than I was. And believe me, Vic's a looker. She's a bit less curvy than me but she makes up for her lack of assets by pure charm.
"Hey, beautiful," he drawled with a wink.
I rolled my eyes. Vic's heard that a million times, Ty, try being a bit more original, I thought. Victoria, on the other hand, looked flattered… and contemplative. I knew that look. She was sizing him up. Guessing how good he'd be in the sac, as she words it.
"Not looking to bad yourself, gorgeous," she laughed. I suppose Tyler was cute. Well, he was, actually. Just not my type. Nobody's really my type.
Tyler's teeth gleamed in the dark. "I'm supposed to show you guys up to the room."
"Room?" I said.
His eyes flickered to me and he nodded. "VIP, until we want to leave."
"Wow," said Victoria, looking excited.
"Come on," Tyler waved and started into the throbbing noise of the club. The bouncers looked at us but said nothing.
We were led by Tyler past the jumping swaying people to a staircase and climbed up to a thick door. We walked into a large room with pendant lights and candles around low red couches positioned in a rectangle around a low dark table. One wall was glass, overlooking the dance floor. The music was cut off when the thick door clicked closed.
Oh, crap, was my first thought.
Victoria Johnston and I were the only females in the room. The rest were guys ranging in age from Camion's senior year, all the way to men their forties. There were probably 15 of them and I only knew four others with the exception of the people I entered with.
I'm generally not great with people I don't know. I can not be a smalltalk-er to simpering girls. Guys are even worse. Thank God Vic is good at these things. And it was an added plus when the four Camion Senior guys I did know immediately acknowledged my presence by jumping up from their seats and yelling, "Rose!"
No one calls me by name, I swear. I like my name. Pity.
I smiled indulgently at them as we walked over.
"Will, Miles," I said. "Brian, Neeko." All were good friends of Brett, and two were ex-s of mine, but that's another story. "What are you boys up to?"
They just smiled or winked.
Will said, "Rosie, meet my uncle, Alex."
A guy I'm assuming to be around, 27, 28, looked up at me with a small, disarming smile. Damn. Not bad for an older guy.
He stood up when I was standing right before him. Vic and Brett at my sides. He held out his hand and I shook it.
"This is Brett and Victoria," Will continued.
He looked at them but kept holding my hand. He had pretty nice hands, too. Big and sleek.
"Nice to meet you, Rose," he said.
"Aurora," I said with a smile.
"Excuse me?" he asked.
"My name," I said. "It's Aurora."
"Beautiful," he looked me straight in the eye. 28's not that old, I reasoned. "But my nephew called you Rose…" His tone was a question. I dropped his hand and stepped back a little.
"Oh, God," Victoria groaned. I sighed. Why I corrected him was beyond me.
Brett, Will, and the boys laughed. Great…
Neeko slipped an arm around my waist. "She looks soft and gorgeous," he laughed. "But you can't touch her without getting hurt by the thorns."
The room of guys chuckled and I felt my stomach clench. I glared at Brett but he didn't even hide his smile.
That was there little private joke about me. They thought themselves geniuses coming up with the name. I thought they were mentally retarded. Vic agreed wholeheartedly.
I removed his arm. "Ha ha," I said dryly. "You are so smart, Neeko, really, it blows me away."
Victoria tugged on my arm and we sat down on one of the vacant firm red sofas. Brett dropped down next to me and pushed a possessive arm over my shoulders. I raised and eyebrow at him but he pointedly ignored me.
"Heartbreaker, are you?" Alex asked casually as he sat back down.
"Always," I answered devilishly. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
"And that's the fuckin' truth," remarked Miles before he downed a shot of… something and fell on the couch opposite us, only about four feet distance.
"Let it go, man," sighed Brett.
"Just wait till she leaves your ass," he said angrily. "Then you 'let it go'."
I was starting to suspect Miles had had a few of those shots before we came. I regarded him coolly. Did he actually think Brett cared about me enough to be hurt when the inevitable came? I was more like a toy than a human to him.
So it was quite the surprise when Brett's grip tightened on my shoulders and he said, "What makes you think she's gonna leave me?"
Was he serious? Well, of course I was going to leave him. I was eighteen! Life had barely begun.
Miles snorted. Neeko and Tyler—who was—unsurprisingly—sitting by Victoria—exchanged glances. Brian decided to sip his drink. Miles and he were my ex-s. I knew Brian was a little disappointed but he wasn't as crushed as Miles, who never saw it coming. He was one of the captains of the baseball team and stuff like that didn't happen to him. Too bad, really.
"She leaves everybody, dude," he sounded like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's cuz her parents." I tensed, and so did Victoria. "Get her real drunk and she'll spill the whole story to ya. They died, ya know, and now she don't let nobody get close. Do ya, Rose?"
Victoria jumped to her feet, her hands balled up into fists. I reached out and laid a hand on her arm to stop her and stared into Miles' glazed eyes. I should have known earlier he was drunk. Normally he would have hugged me or made some sarcastic joke. He was probably drunk before Victoria and I snuck out of the school.
"So," I said calmly, noticing the stillness of the room, tensed with this awkward piece of news. "You think you got me figured out?" My voice wasn't hard, cold, angry or bitter. Just blank. This is what I consider 'internal'. This is choice number two for an abandoned eleven year old. I'm quite good at internal. I'm even better at being ice-like than a roaring flame.
Victoria, my protector, sat down slowly, giving Miles a death glare. She figured I could handle it on my own and a surge of warmth bloomed in me. The only person I'm faithful to would be her. I'd break her out of jail, beat the sass out of any ex-boyfriend that hurt her, and go to jail myself, even bury a body, no questions asked.
Miles looked me over and his eyes focused just a fraction more.
"You don't let people get close, Rose," he said, looking sad.
I laughed. A completely harsh and humorless sound, but not loud, the other men were starting to resume there conversations.
"Oh, I think we got pretty close, Miles," I grinned at him and looked pointedly up and down his body.
He laughed too, but it was a much happier laugh than mine. "We did, huh, Rosie?" The goofy grin I liked on him was back. "Some good times," his eyes gazed longingly at my chest.
This conversation was a bit quieter than it had started out and now only about eight or so people could hear us. The room had a small and sleek sterio that was playing jazz. Classy, I thought.
One of those eight people was Brett and he didn't like the change in topic. Though, I do have to say that it was pretty smooth on my part to steer Miles off like that.
Brett cleared his throat and looked at Miles meaningfully. Victoria started up coy conversation with Tyler and I heard him mumble something about dancing.
Victoria looked nervously at me. I saw the worry in her eyes and had to restrain laughter, though I did smile.
"I can handle myself with these guys," I informed her.
She looked skeptical.
"Ty, take her downstairs and get her drunk," I ordered.
Now Vic smiled and Tyler positively beamed.
"You're the best, Ao," Victoria said. "I've told you that a million times but I really mean it, girl."
"Of course you do," I pretended to look conceited. "Now go."
Tyler practically dragged a very willing Victoria out the door and the music was cut off again as it swung closed behind them.
"Make sure you are the one taking her home tonight," Brian finally spoke to me. "I am not spending one more night in Miles' and Neeko's room."
Tyler and Brian were room-mates.
"How many nights have you spent in their room?" I asked curiously.
"So far?" he asked. "Four. Lily was the 21st of February."
My jaw dropped open. "Lily? Lily Caters?"
He smiled and nodded.
"Next was that Jessica girl. Then it was Jordan and after that Jenny." He took another sip of his drink while I stared at him. Completely flabbergasted.
"Oh, come on," drawled Will. "They didn't tell you? We sure heard enough about them."
"They beat me to it!" I gasped. It had never been a goal of mine to go out and have sex, but I do admit I always thought I would be second. Vic lost her virginity when she was thirteen, so there is no way I would have been first. But jeez!
"So you two haven't done the nasty?" Neeko asked wickedly. I threw a decorative pillow at his head. I didn't miss.
"No!" I breathed. "You idiot!"
"She's not ready," Brett mocked my excuse I'd been using for the past week and a half.
"Oh, I'm ready, baby," I purred and nipped at his neck. I placed my hand on his chest and shifted a bit of weight onto his lap. I glided my other hand up his thigh. His breath caught and I grinned in satisfaction. Then I jumped up to my feet. "I think I'll go find a volunteer now."
And I headed for the door with chuckles following me. Apparently most of the room had been observing the scene. I blushed a little but looked over my shoulder to look at one angry Brett, then burst into the throb and pulse of the music beyond.