Happy reading!

2

"You know I was only trying to lighten the mood when I said that." Rose is looking at me like she's never seen me before, which I guess she hasn't. At least not this version of me.

"I know, but we're about to graduate. I'm due some spontaneity. And aren't you the one that's always trying to get me to be more adventuresome?" I look between the two of them, feeling more and more sure of my decision.

"Yes, more adventuresome, not go home with a stranger." Alice is looking like she might have a conniption and trying to decide if I need medical attention for my sudden personality change.

"I know that." I tell them both. "We'll all go out together and if we get a bad vibe, we'll come home and pretend like it never happened." I sigh, standing up straighter to get across to them how serious I am about this. "I'm going to do this whether you two come with me or not. I would prefer if you did."

After a moment of silence and a shared look between them, Rose is the one to finally speak.

"You know we always have your back."

I hug them and I realize how much I love and appreciate them in this moment, because even though they might think I'm crazy, they're still going to be there for me to make sure I'm safe.

-SS-

"We need shots!" Rose yells over the music.

Less than two hours after our conversation in the apartment, we're at Ora Nightclub in downtown Seattle, which is packed this Saturday night. The dance floor is crowded with bodies and it's so hot in here that it's almost hard to breathe.

I'm wearing a sapphire blue dress with spaghetti straps that, if I'm being honest, barely constitutes as one, and it almost too tight for me to be able to breathe. I paired it with a pair of fuck me heels. I look hot, which is exactly what I was going for.

Rose makes a b-line for the bar, Alice and I trailing after her, the crowd of people parting before her and she didn't have to say anything. Rose had a presence about her that commanded the room. When she spoke, you listened. She was going to make a great lawyer one day.

It also didn't hurt that she was wearing a bodycon white, strapless dress that hugged her curves like it was painted on. Several eyes were already following her as we made our way through the crowd.

We make it to the bar, Rose flagging a bartender with black hair that was slicked back away from his face. His eyes looked as black as his hair in this lighting. Tattoos snaked up his arms, disappearing into his tight black t-shirt that showed off his defined biceps. There was something about him that reminded me of Jake and my heart gave a little twist.

"Can we get three tequila shots please!" Rose yells to be heard over the music, the song changing to Camilla Cabello's "No Crying in the Club", which feels a little too fitting.

"Coming right up!" the guy yells back, his eyes lingering on me for a second before he goes to work pouring the shots.

I took the shot Rose handed me, licking the back of my hand and applying some salt.

"To a great night!" she cheers over the noise, clanking glasses with us.

I lick the salt off the back of my hand and shoot the tequila, feeling my face twist at the burn and the taste of the alcohol.

"Oh my God!" I took the lemon wedge Alice gave me. I'd never been a fan of tequila, my liquor of choice had always been vodka.

Rose tortures us with another round of shots and once they're done, I order a sex on the beach to wash the awful taste of tequila out of my mouth, the bartender giving me a wink when he slides my drink over.

Rose lifts her eyebrows at me, taking a sip of the margarita she ordered. The look on her face says she thinks I've found a contender, but I shake my head at her.

I pull her to me so I can speak directly in her ear so she can hear me over the music. "He looks too much like Jake."

She looks back, taking him and she nods. "True."

When "Latch" by Disclosure and Sam Smith starts playing, Alice squeals. "It's our song!"

The three of us had been obsessed with this song when it first came out, playing it all the time and dancing around my room until my parents yelled up the stairs that we were being too loud. It had been so long since I'd heard it and it brought back a flood of memories, making me immediately nostalgic.

"We have to dance!" I yelled to them, dragging Alice with my free hand to the center of the dance floor.

I lose myself in the music, letting my mind go mercifully blank. I finish my drink a little too quickly, my body becoming warm and languid, my inhibitions down just enough. My free hand is in my hair as I move my body to the music. Rosalie, Alice and I are singing along to the song, laughing, sweating and having a great time.

As the song is ending, someone runs into me, bumping into my shoulder, causing me to lose my balance. But instead of falling, I ran into a firm chest.

A/N: Next chapter will be up tomorrow!