The throbbing bass line pulsed through me like a second heartbeat as we stepped into the dim, sweaty recesses of the club. The flashing lights caressed my skin in fleeting electric touches, while the music's heavy rhythms seemed to massage my very bones.
This place was an extension of my own body - an amplified reflection of my desires laid bare through thumping speakers and undulating bodies.
"C'mon girl, let's get you a drink!" Kat shouted over the pounding music, looping her arm through mine and guiding me toward the bar. She was a force of nature. Boundless energy and wicked smiles.
At the bar, she leaned over and caught the bartender's eye with a flirty wink. "Two vodka cranberries, babe."
As he busied himself with our drinks, Kat sidled up next to me, her lips brushing my ear. "So, any prospects catching your eye tonight?"
"I just broke up with Theo like a week ago, gimme a freaking break!" I whined.
"Come on, Iz, you can't just mope around after that jerk dumped you via text! That's so not cool," Kat admonished. She eyed me critically. "Look, we both know just about every dude in here is desperate to get laid. How hard could it be to find yourself a rebound for the night?"
"Kat..." I started to protest, but she was already craning her neck, scoping out her chosen victim.
I recoiled slightly at her blunt words. "Jesus, Kat! I'm not about to just hop in bed with some random guy."
She rolled her eyes. "Why the hell not? It's not like you were getting any from Theo towards the end anyway."
That stung, because it was true. Theo and I had basically been roommates the last few months, our physical intimacy dwindling to almost nothing. Still, the thought of being so cavalier about casual sex left me feeling uneasy. I didn't want it to become my next vice.
"I don't know, it just feels...cheap, you know?" I fidgeted with my drink, unable to meet her gaze. "Like I'd just be using someone else's body to make myself feel better."
Kat snorted indelicately. "Um, yeah? That's kind of the whole point of a one night stand, babe." She threw back the last of her vodka cran and slammed the glass down. "Sometimes a girl's just gotta get some!"
I opened my mouth to argue further, but she was already zeroing in on her next target. "Oh hell yes, that's what I'm talkin' about..."
I followed her predatory stare to the VIP section cordoned off by thick velvet ropes.
There, lounging on a curved leather sofa like a panther surveying his territory, was possibly the most magnetic man I'd ever laid eyes on.
He wore an impeccably tailored pinstriped suit that likely cost more than my monthly rent - the fabric draping over his powerful frame like a second skin, accentuating every cut of lean muscle.
There was an unmistakable aura of danger and darkness that clung to him, an exhilarating edge that made my pulse quicken.
His features were chiseled to Michelangelo perfection, from the sharp slashing cheekbones to the rugged square jawline. But it was his eyes that truly arrested me - a pair of icy blue irises that seemed to bore straight through to my core with their piercing intensity.
Flanking his sides were two women dressed in the sluttiest outfits, their eyes locked hungrily on his impassive face as they preened and giggled.
One reached out with a perfectly manicured hand to trail teasing fingertips along his stubbled jaw. He didn't even seem to register her touch.
Instead, he was too occupied talking to the man lounging opposite him on the velvet seats.
"Oh hell yes, bet he's even better up close than from across the floor," Kat gushed under her breath. "Tall, chiseled and absolutely ripped under those clothes, I'd bet my next paycheck. The ultimate alpha."
Alpha, huh?
I couldn't tear my eyes away, feeling an odd thrill at the simple act of observing this supremely confident, almost predatory man holding court in the eye of the stormy club scene.
Who was he?
Some wealthy businessman?
A powerful CEO?
Or something... more?
"Right, that's it. I'm going in!" Kat knocked back the dregs of her drink decisively.
"Wait, what?" I sputtered as she began adjusting her outfit, pushing up her cleavage and hiking her skirt higher on her thighs. "You're seriously going to try and pick that guy up? Kat, did you see those women all over him?"
She just winked at me over her shoulder, eyes glittering with mischief. "Exactly. Fun's no fun without a challenge. Just watch and learn, babe!"
"He could be a total asshole!"
"The bigger the asshole, the bigger the dick. That's what my grandma advised!"
I rolled my eyes at that. "Your grandma was a churchgoer. I highly doubt she gave out advice like that."
"Hey, just because she loved the Lord doesn't mean she didn't also love a big--"
"Ok, ok, I get it! Geez!"
"I'm just saying, maybe Grandma was onto something. I'll be right back."
And with that, she flashed me one last wicked grin before slinking towards the VIP ropes with a rolling sway to her hips, navigating the crowd like a snake through tall grass. I could only gape after her in stunned disbelief.
What the hell was she playing at? That man looked like he could eat people like Kat for breakfast and still have room for seconds.
I had the sinking feeling she might be biting off way more than she could chew this time...
She flashed a sexy smile at the hulking bouncer manning the velvet rope, batting her lashes in that way that usually melted even the frostiest of men.
To my surprise, he didn't immediately rebuff her. Instead, his beady eyes roamed over her body in an obvious leer that made me want to douse him in a bottle of pepper spray.
Kat seemed unfazed, taking his lewd inspection as an invitation to duck under the rope barrier.
That's when the other man - Mystery Man's slick-suited companion - stood abruptly from the plush leather couch.
He bent down to murmur something in that chiseled jawline, prompting a lazy dismissive wave from those long fingers.
Suddenly the burly goon was looming over Kat, his thick paw clamped vice-like around her slender upper arm as he physically wrenched her backward. She tried to protest with a look of wide-eyed innocence, but the brute simply bullied past, dragging her bodily from the VIP area.
A few moments later, Kat came marching back over to me, lips pursed in a furious moue and eyes flashing mutinous fire. "Can you believe those dickheads?" she spat, jabbing an acrylic nail toward the restricted lounge.
I could only shake my head mutely as she launched into a dramatic re-enactment.
Should've stopped her sooner.
"I give Mr. Muscles-For-Brains over there my sweetest smile, and he's all-" she dropped her voice to a comically deep baritone, puffing out her chest, "'VIP is for high-rollers only. Pretty little things like you ain't getting past this point without an invite.' Pretty little thing?! Who the hell does he think he is?"
She knocked back the last swig of my drink, as if it might retroactively dull the sting of rejection. "And then the other asshole in the stupid black suit goes-" she shifted into an oily, contemptuous tone, "'My friend doesn't wish to be disturbed further this evening. You'll have to find your...services...elsewhere.'"
Kat's eyes smoldered with impotent rage. "Services? Like I'm some cheap hooker? That pretentious, Armani prick didn't even look at me!"
Despite being scandalized by what the Mystery Man's buddy said, I laughed.
"You're laughing?!"
Sure, Kat could be a bit...forward sometimes, but she didn't deserve that kind of degrading treatment.
I sighed, placing a calming hand on her arm. "Kat, honey, you can't just expect to walk into the VIP like that. It's called VIP for a reason - it's an exclusive area for, well...very important people."
She whipped her head around to face me, perfectly arched brows shooting up towards her hairline. "Oh, so you're taking their side now? Those jerks had no right to treat me like trailer park trash!"
"I'm not taking anyone's side," I said evenly, trying to be the voice of reason as usual. "I'm just saying, there's a process to these things. You can't just demand entry anywhere you please just because..." I trailed off delicately.
"Just because what?"
I exhaled heavily. "Because you're pretty and used to getting what you want with a bat of your eyelashes. That's not how it works, at least not at a place like this."
Her eyes flashed with hurt for a split second before the fiery indignation took over again.
"So what, you think I deserved to be humiliated and called a prostitute just for shooting my shot? That's some backwards-ass victim blaming right there, Iz."
"Of course you didn't deserve that, babe. Those assholes were way out of line with how they spoke to you."
I risked a glance back toward the VIP lounge, suddenly very aware of the weight of someone's stare burning into me.