one
Sophie
"All right, all right!" I tell Vera as I hold up my hands in a motion of surrender to stop her begging and pleading. "I'll go with you if it'll just shut you up."
"Yes!" she squeals and starts jumping up and down before she runs over to the closet and begins rifling through hangers to pick outfits for us.
I shake my head with a barely suppressed smile. My college roommate is tenacious when she wants me to be her partner in crime, but I wouldn't trade her for the world. She's quickly become my best friend.
She has to be for me to agree to go to this new club she wants to go to. She knows that clubbing totally isn't my scene. I'm not much of a party girl. But what kind of friend would I be if I sent her alone? And because Vera is totally a clubbing party girl type, I'm usually dragged to all these places with her.
There's a new club that just opened that she's been particularly excited about going to. Club Ruby. That's where we're going tonight. Apparently, it's all the rage.
It's the place to be, so of course, that's where my bestie Vera wants to be. She's all into picking up hot guys and hooking up—something else that I'm not into.
But again, I'm not going to leave my bestie out on the field by herself.
She gathers all her supplies and bids me to sit down, chattering away excitedly the whole time. I think dressing me up is half the fun for her, so I sit still and don't complain while she curls my hair, applies my makeup, and picks out an outfit that I'm no doubt going to feel very self-conscious in.
Vera was always one of those little girls who loved playing with Barbie dolls, and I think a lot of times, I'm just a life-size doll for her to dress up and play with.
Unsurprisingly, she picks out a short denim mini skirt and a blue tank top that's just short enough to show a strip of my stomach.
I frown, still not liking how much of my skin is revealed, but hey, it's a compromise. When we first started going out like this, Vera used to try to put me in crop tops and tube tops that bared my entire midriff and skirts that would show everything when I walked.
While this outfit isn't particularly up to my standards, at least I'm only showing a tiny patch of my stomach rather than my whole stomach. I turn my back to the mirror and glance over my shoulder to check the back of the skirt.
It looks like it’s long enough that I'll only be flashing my ass to everyone if I actually bend over.
Vera, of course, is one hundred percent comfortable in her skin. And why wouldn't she be? She's a blonde bombshell with a perfectly tanned complexion.
I, on the other hand, always feel a bit awkward with my pale complexion and smattering of freckles. I'm a redhead, so I've got that light skin tone, and I burn easily. Hence why I like to stay covered as much as possible.
I'm not nearly as tall as Vera is either. She's tall enough to be a model with her long legs that seem to go on forever, whereas I'm so short that I have to ask strangers to help me reach the high shelves at the grocery store. I've totally lost all shame about it, too. I don't even get embarrassed about it anymore because hey, a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do.
When Vera is done dolling herself up, we call an Uber to take us over to the club.
"Oh my God, Vera!" I whine when I see the throng of people waiting outside. "We're never going to get in this place!” The line here is at least twice as long as anywhere else we've ever been.
"Sure we will," Vera insists. "Come on, Sophie!" Her hazel orbs are shining up at me like puppy dog eyes, pleading with me. "I really want to check this place out."
I groan but allow her to pull me along with her when she grabs my hand.
I cross my arms and let out a heavy sigh when we take our place at the back of the line.
It looks like it's going to be a long night. To top it all off, these heels are already hurting my feet, and I haven't even stepped foot onto the dance floor.
I glance over at Vera with another heavy sigh, but she just grins at me impishly.
She's lucky I love her to death 'cause she's a pain in my ass.
* * *
Axe
I'm standing in my business office at the top of the club, surveying my latest venture with pride. I knew Club Ruby would be a hit. Of course, I own two other clubs in the city, so I knew going into this what it would take to make a successful club, and I must say this has been my most successful venture yet. Catering specifically to the college campus really paid off.
Of course, college students aren't the only ones down on the dance floor tonight. There are plenty of men in their thirties and forties and even older out there, but I already know it's the wild, uninhibited college kids who are going to be funding the bulk of my sales.