Georgia held up her shot of tequila.
From their table on the upper level of Club Zero, they had a bird’s-eye view of the club below. Dark purple and chrome was the theme, and the whole place was surrounded by mirrored walls.
Shey clinked her shot against Georgia’s and Eloisa joined in.
She was the first to get the glass to her lips and swallow in one go. The burn in her throat was bliss after a day like today. Even though she got the article in early, Jude had acted like, well, a bitch and made her redo three paragraphs. Surprise, surprise. And she wasn’t even thinking about Mr. Cool.
It was almost nine and half the men in the club had already picked out the women they were going to dance with or take home. The rest were the ones other women had ditched for a reason. A quick glance around was all Shey and her roomies needed to find out why. Stragglers, Michelin Men, and the drooling desperados lurked in the shadows, waiting for the women to down a bit too much hard stuff.
There weren’t thick enough beer goggles in the world.
Shey turned away with a sigh. It didn’t matter who was left, she didn’t do one-night stands. She liked to have a connection with the men she got involved with. Going home with a guy or vice versa was dangerous in more ways than one.
‘We need to stop coming here after eight.’ The earlier they arrived, the better chance they had of grabbing a table downstairs the perfect distance between the dance floor and the bar. Not to mention finding a guy or two who actually wanted to talk, not drool.
‘You’d rather spend the night on EHarmony?’ Eloisa asked with distaste and flicked her auburn curls over her shoulder. ‘There are more psychos on the net. At least here you can see the ugly coming.’
‘Or the desperate,’ Georgia added.
‘I don’t think any of us will find what we’re looking for in a bar,’ Shey said.
‘Speak for yourself.’ Eloisa downed another shot. With watery eyes, she glanced at Shey. ‘You’re the only one uptight about dating.’
Her mouth dropped open. ‘I’m not uptight, just careful.’
Georgia rolled her eyes. ‘Come on, you’ve never even had a fling.’
‘That’s hardly a national disaster.’
Eloisa chimed in. ‘It could be. Maybe the world needs Shey Lopez to do one wild thing.’
Shey shook her head. ‘I’ve done wild things.’
‘Yeah right.’ Georgia picked up her glass. ‘Splurging on a pair of shoes you can’t afford is the craziest thing you’ve done.’
Being teased by her friends never usually bothered her, and it didn’t this time either. If she took the bait it was sure to get worse. But she’d come out tonight for more in the way of fun, and damn if she wasn’t going home until her feet throbbed and she’d had a good work out on the dance floor.
‘Let’s dance girls,’ she said.
They finished the last of the tequila and headed down to the main level. Club Zero was no back-street club or for the lower class. The cover price to get in was her weekly indulgence, and the drinks all had a few extra dollars added to the price. But the best bit? No trash. It was the high end of sophistication in Manhattan and they could dance without worrying about getting spills all over their new stilettos.
Finding an open area near the bar, they tucked their clutch bags under their arms and got busy. By the third song, Shey was feeling more relaxed, her body loosening and the stress of the day disappearing. It was weird that she found the atmosphere in the club calming, considering all the strobe lights and neon, but burning up a good sweat swinging her hips was her favorite form of exercise. Probably had something to do with the tequila too.
Eloisa came close and pressed her body against Shey’s. A typical move for her if there was a guy who caught her interest, so Shey went with it and grabbed her hips. Georgia was a few feet away, dancing with her eyes closed in that self-possessed way of hers, giving herself up to the beat of the music.
After a moment Shey realized Eloisa wasn’t giving anyone the eye. Instead she leaned close and shouted in Shey’s ear, ‘don’t look now, but there’s a gorgeous suit at the bar checking you out.’
Nodding to let Eloisa know she got the message, Shey changed the position of their bodies until their satin-clad rears ground together as they danced. Shey missed a grind and almost fell backward when she saw who was staring, but she got back with the program quickly. Holy hell, Mr. Cool was here—in a different suit—and he was staring at her from beneath hooded lids.
With one arm propped on the bar and a tumbler containing dark liquid in his other hand, he looked sexier than sin. Then his earlier words came back and even though the heat still sizzled between them, Shey forced herself to turn away. The guy had an ego to rival Hugh Hefner’s and could probably get a woman into his bed tonight with a click of his fingers. His bored tone, the disinterest in his expression, and his cocky remark about not needing a line meant he was not for her.
She liked a guy to make a little more effort than that before she decided whether or not she wanted to fall into bed with him.
Studiously ignoring him, she continued to shake what her mama gave her—though her mom would be horrified to see the size of Shey’s hips. Felicity Lopez was on the curvy side for a supermodel but weighed a good twenty pounds less than Shey. No way was Shey going to live on rabbit feed for the rest of her life. Food, like life, was there to enjoy.
Eloisa called a time-out and headed back to the table with Georgia since it was Shey’s round, and probably because they thought Shey was interested in Mr. Cool. She tried to act casual and crossed to the opposite end of the mahogany bar to avoid him. After placing the order for an army of shots, the bartender got to work.
‘If I said these were on me, would you think that’s another line?’ Mr. Cool was standing right next to her and she had to take a deep breath to orientate herself.
That was the wrong thing to do. He’d switched the spicy aftershave for something musky and that had an even stronger effect on her hormones. Eau de Pheromone, maybe? She hoped it was expensive so all the creeps in the city didn’t catch on.
Shey turned to him and squared her shoulders. ‘I’d say I’m perfectly capable of buying my own drinks.’ She fought the urge to thank him for the offer, especially when she saw the wry smile.
‘How about we start again? I’m Calvin.’ He extended his hand.
Placing her hand in his, she shivered at the electric contact. It woke up her insides like she’d swallowed a couple of hormone pills. His head bowed over her hand, but he never took his attention off her face. Her breath caught as his lips brushed her knuckles and she had to jerk her hand back.
The flash fire that burned over her skin was epic and worse, Shey wanted him to kiss her again. Crazy. Even though he seemed to be trying politeness on for size, he had this confidence that said he knew she’d end up naked on his bed, and though her body went wild with the idea, no thanks. Shey was the result of her mom’s stupidity. Felicity had fallen for a charmer, and all it had done was stall her mother’s career.
Quickest way to cut off his interest would be to lie through
