He placed his hand on the small of my back and leaned over my shoulder as we approached the bouncer. He was a young man with tattoos and a shaved head. "I can take care of this," he assured me.
The bouncer nodded his head and held out his fist. You could tell that they had a good personal relationship. Maybe they had been old friends or maybe Jace was just a regular of the club. "What's up, man?" He pounded his fist against Jace's and motioned for us to enter the bar. "It's crazy in there tonight."
Jace patted the bouncer on the shoulder and thanked him before walking past him and into the bar.
The bar was so crowded that you could barely even walk without bumping into someone. This is crazy. I looked around feeling overwhelmed as Jace fought our way through the crowd and over to a little table in the back.
Everyone seemed to be dressed well and the bar was very eye-catching with black marble tables, leather chairs, black and silver tiles, and black lighting that splashed through the dark walls almost like a tie-dye. It made my jaw drop.
Jace leaned in, his lips brushing against my ear. "This will have to do." He grabbed the drink menu and pushed it over to the edge of the table. "I think we both know what we want," he said, looking me in the eye.
A shiver ran up my spine. I wasn't sure why, but it did. "Yeah."
Shortly after taking our seats, we were greeted by a handsome man with chestnut hair and tattoos that covered most of his exposed flesh. His gray eyes sparkled with life as he smiled between Jace and me.
He placed his hand on Jace's shoulder and squeezed it. "Hey, man. It's been forever." He looked over at me and smiled. "What are you guys drinking?" He nodded at me and grinned at Jace. "Is she yours?"
Jace patted the man’s back and then shook his hand. "No, man. This is my roommate, Avery." He turned his head the other way and took an exasperated breath. "I'm sticking with Jack and coke and a Cherry Mcgillicuddy’s and Sprite for the lady here."
His friend waved over one of the waitresses, a sassy looking blond in a little red dress, and placed the order. Then he took a seat next to me and smiled. "Hi, I'm Max." He leaned in and reached for my hand. His hand felt big and strong holding mine. "Nice to meet you."
Seeing Jace's uneasy expression made me nervous. I pulled my hand out of Max's grip and shifted in my seat. "Nice to meet you too."
Jace glared over at Max and leaned back into his seat. "How's business? He questioned coldly.
Max reached for the drinks as the waitress came back over and tossed her some money. He smiled. "Keep the change." Then he scooted the drinks in front of us. "It's been great. Been keeping really busy." He took a sip of his drink and then licked his lips, cockily. "Yours? Last thing I knew things weren't the greatest."
Jace shrugged his shoulders and glanced over at me. "It's good. We've been busy. Avery here has had her hands full."
I could feel the tension between the two men and I didn't like it one bit. They obviously had some past issues. I nervously grabbed my drink and slammed back the whole thing. I needed a buzz and fast.
Max looked over and grinned. He looked surprised as he watched me set my empty glass back down. "Hard day?" he questioned. "Let me grab you another one."
I looked at both Jace and Max as I ran my hand over my wet lips. They both looked on edge. "Yes and thanks."
Max smiled at Jace and lifted an eyebrow, and then he stood up and walked away.
Jace eagerly reached for his drink and slammed it, as he watched Max walk away. Then he pointed at his empty glass. "Looks like I need one as well." He pushed his chair away, got up, and walked away leaving me alone.
I sat there anxiously until they both arrived, drinks in hand. They each pushed a glass in front of me and then Jace quickly sat down next to me. He leaned in and stared me in the eye with a forced smile. "Since you're drinking so fast," he muttered.
I looked between the both of them and grabbed my drinks, pulling them right in front of me. Both of the men were expressionless as I watched them. "Thanks, guys." I leaned in and took a sip from one of the glasses. I wasn't for sure, but I was almost positive that it was the one from Jace because Max's lip seemed to twitch as he sipped his own drink. I was too nervous at that point to take notice of which glass I grabbed.
Max looked at me and grinned as a new song started playing over the speaker. He shook his head in approval and reached for my arm. "Come dance with me." He stood up and pulled me with him. I hesitated at first but then let the buzz do the talking. It was only a dance, after all.
"Sure."
Jace eyed us suspiciously, while taking long sips of his mixed drink. His eyes never left us as Max pulled me out onto the crowded dance floor.
Max grabbed my hips, pulling me close to him, but I refused to get too close. I was buzzing, but that didn't mean that I was going let my guard down. He forced out a laugh and looked down at my breast. "How long have you and Jace been messing around?" he questioned.
I glanced over Max's shoulder and caught a glimpse of Jace as he calmly sipped on his drink. "We're not messing around. He's just helping me out." I set my gaze on the ground and cleared my throat. "We're only roommates."
Max dipped me backwards and placed his lips to my ear. "If you're not Jace's then maybe you can be mine," he whispered.
I pushed my way out of Max's grip and pulled my skirt down as I felt it start to ride up my leg. "You don't even know me. Why-?"
Max bit his bottom lip and pulled me closer to him. "You're sexy as hell. Who wouldn't want you?" he questioned, as his eyes roamed my body. "You would have to be crazy-"
"Stop there." I cut in. His words were making me uncomfortable and his firm grip on me wasn't helping. I felt dizzy and suddenly felt sick to my stomach. "The dance is over."
I looked up to see Jace approach us of what seemed to be out of nowhere. He pulled me out of Max's arms and placed his hands on my face, while looking me in the eye. "Are you okay? You don't look so good."
No, not really. The room spun, causing me to hold onto Jace's shirt to keep from falling. I felt the puke slowly rise in my throat so I let go of Jace and ran to the bathroom as fast as I could, almost tripping into an empty chair.