By the time we reached our destination, I was in serious need of a shot of something. The bar was busy, busier than Emilia and I usually witnessed since usually we came on weekdays. But we still managed to find a small, two-person table to sit at in the back corner, in perfect view of the dance floor.

"Are you drinking at all tonight?" I asked Emilia.

"Yeah, I'll have one," she said. "I should be good to drive by the time we leave. Especially if," she looked at the menu, "ah yes, mozzarella sticks."

"Right then." A waiter came over at that moment to take our order. "One order of mozzarella sticks," I said. "And I'll have a cosmopolitan."

"A gin and tonic for me, please," Emilia said.

"And can you bring two shots of tequila?"

The waiter nodded. "Of course. Anything else?"

"No, that's it. Thank you."

He left and then Emilia eyed me suspiciously. "Two shots? I told you I was only having one drink tonight."

"I know," I said, giving her a teasing smile. "They're both for me."

Emilia laughed and shook her head. "Of course, they are."

"Hey, I want to dance tonight. And not have to run to the bathroom every five minutes. This lets me do that and still get drunk."

"Hey, do what you gotta do."

Our food and drinks arrived and I chugged my cosmopolitan faster than I probably should have. But at least I ate a few mozzarella sticks to soak up some of the alcohol with carbs. I waited for Emilia to finish her gin and tonic before turning to the shots.

"I'm probably going to regret taking these both at once, aren't I?" I asked her.

She nodded. "Probably."

I was already buzzed from my first drink, but I took the plunge and threw back the first shot. I grimaced as it went down, but as soon as I got through the first, I picked up the second.

"You're unbelievable," Emilia said as she watched me throw the second one back. "And I mean that in the nicest way possible."

I snorted and put the shot glass back down on the table. "Thank you," I said sweetly. I hopped off my high chair and grabbed Emilia's hand. "Alright, I have about ten minutes before those hit me," I said. "So let's dance while I'm still sober."

The DJ was playing some electronic remix of a pop song I didn't know as I pulled Emilia onto the dance floor. In fact, all the DJ had played since we got there were electronic remixes of pop songs I didn't know.

Neither of us were particularly accomplished dancers, but neither of us had that much shame when it came to dancing in public in a giant crowd, so our lack of skills didn't ever stop us. We bounced in time to the music, trying to move our arms in synch with the rest of our bodies. For me, at least, my rhythm got smoother and sexier as I felt the alcohol settle in.

By the time I felt the full effects of the two shots I had just taken, Emilia and I had been on the dance floor for about 15 minutes. And it was at this point that I caught the eye of a guy a few feet away who was dancing with some of his own friends.

"You're doing it again," Emilia said, laughing.

I looked at her and then realized my hand was on my chest, much farther down than when I was talking to Alex. But now, I didn't care so much. "Well, I'm pretty sure he's noticed." I gave a small nod toward the guy who was now very blatantly watching me.

Emilia briefly turned her head and then smirked at me. "So, is this my time to leave?"

"You don't mind, do you?" Despite the obvious buzz I had, I wasn't a rude drunk.

Emilia kissed me on the cheek and squeezed my hand. "Have fun. Make good choices."
"I love you."

Emilia squeezed her way through the crowd toward the bar, and the guy who I was eyeing apparently took that as his cue to approach me.

I continued my dancing on my own as he came up, making eye contact as he got closer and make a point to emphasize my swaying hips.

"It should be illegal for you to look that fucking sexy."

Well, at least he was straight to the point. And I appreciated the compliment. I smirked and eyed him up and down as I continued to dance. He wasn't that bad himself. He had nothing on Alex, but...no. Now was not the time to think about Alex.

"Well, are you going to ask me to dance, then?" I prodded him. I wasn't one to beat around the bush. "I am very aware that I'm fucking sexy, so unless you're not into that sort of thing..."

He didn't waste any time in closing the gap between us and grabbing my waist, pulling me against him. He soon found the rhythm I was moving in and I wrapped my arms around his neck. Our bodies pressed together, sharing heat, and I closed my eyes. I didn't care about seeing his face. I just cared about having someone hold me like this.

His hands traveled from my waist down to my hips, and then around to my butt. My head tipped back slightly at the sensation and my chest heaved, giving him a nice view.

All around me, the air was sticky with heat. Other couples seemed glued together, just as I was with the random guy who I was dancing with but still didn't know his name. The loud music seemed to grow louder and louder until it almost sounded fuzzy. My mind was blank.

Just as I was getting too comfortable, the guy I was dancing with took it upon himself to spin me around so my back was to his front, and then pull me close again. I couldn't help but grin as we started grinding together. Was I an independent woman? Yes. Did I sometimes still like to have a guy come and physically take charge when it came to sexually charged things? Also yes.

His hands started roaming the front of my body, and while one stayed firmly on my hip pulling me toward him, his other moved up but stopped short of my chest. Well, we couldn't have that, but I appreciate that he didn't make any assumptions. I took his hand and moved it up so he could feel one of my tits. And he took full advantage, slowly kneading it in his hand, making me lean my head back on his shoulder.

I inhaled sharply as I felt his lips touch down on my neck. He left a trail of light kisses down to my shoulder, making that strip of skin tingle with electricity. I could feel him growing hard against my butt, and while I had no intention of going much farther with him, I appreciated in the sense that clearly, my sex appeal was still on point. I grinded harder into him, and while he still had his mouth on my skin, he let out a small moan.

Fuck if that didn't make me a little wet. Male moans were better than porn.

I lost track of how long I spent entwined with this guy. Time wasn't a part of my reality at the moment. The only thing that mattered was the sexy, tattooed guy grinding behind me.

My eyes shot open at that thought. No, this guy had no tattoos. Alex had tattoos. I wasn't thinking about Alex right now.

Eventually, he pulled away from me a little bit. "Can I buy you a drink?" he asked, his voice low and his breath warm against my ear.

I turned around so I could face him. His eyes were dark with lust. I nodded. "Let's go."

I took his hand and led him to the bar. I was still drunk, but I certainly was still smart enough not to let some random guy spend time alone with my drink. My inhibition lowered with alcohol, but not my common sense.

"Can I get a shot of tequila?" I asked the bartender.

"Make that two," my dance partner said.

We clinked our glasses together and downed our shots. "Have I mentioned that you're ridiculously sexy?" he asked.

I smirked. "Once or twice." My third shot would take a moment to sink in, but I was still fairly inebriated from my first drinks. I had grown weak since college. And old. "But I think you could do a better job at showing me how sexy you find me." I grabbed his hand and wound my way through the crowd, stumbling slightly as I felt the shot hit me.

I took him to the other side of the bar. I leaned against the wall and nibbled at my lip as I made eye contact with him. He seemed to get the message.

He closed the distance between us and pressed me up against the wall. He wasted no time by pressing his lips to mine. I opened my mouth against his, letting him slip his tongue into my mouth.

It wasn't the best kiss I had ever had, but it wasn't the worst. His lips weren't as soft as I would have wanted them to be, and it was a little sloppy. But he moved his mouth in synch against mine and ran his hands all across my body. So I still enjoyed it.

I broke the kiss and moved my mouth to his neck, but he quickly took control back and kissed down my neck, going down my chest and stopping just at the top of my breasts. I took the time to pull him closer to me, reveling in the weight of having him on top of me. I could feel he was still incredibly hard. I almost felt bad for him, knowing that this was as far as I was going to go tonight.

"I think this is the time when I ask you if you want to get out of here with me?" he breathed.

And there it was. I exhaled and then pulled him toward me for one last, final kiss. I made it slow and deep, running my tongue against his lips before pushing him back. "Sorry," I said. "But not tonight."

This moment was why I brought my pepper spray. Guys had varying responses to being turned down.

This guy seemed to think I was joking at first. He smiled and then leaned in for another kiss, but I put my hand on his chest as firmly as I could in my inebriated state. His smile dropped and he took a few steps back from me.

"Whatever," he muttered and he disappeared into the crowd.

I rolled my eyes, straightened my dress, and headed back to the bar. I had my fill of physical contact for the night, and it was probably time for me to go.

I found Emilia sitting on a barstool, sipping on a soda. She smirked when she saw me wobble up to her with my messed-up lipstick and dazed expression.

"Here," she said, and she handed me a bottle of water. "Ready to go?"

I nodded. I didn't even know what time it was. Emilia got up, paid for her drinks, and then took my hand. "You don't seem that bad," she said as we left the bar. "Sometimes I practically have to drag you out of here."

I took a swig of water. "Well, I guess I sweat most of the alcohol out." Now that I was out in the cool night air, I became fully aware of how damp I was.

"Oh, yes, I definitely saw the reason why you were sweating so much," Emilia teased.

I tried to shove her but did more to unbalance myself than her.

Emilia just chuckled and opened the door for me to get in the car. "You'll be fine," she said. "Just drink that. Drink that entire thing."

"Yes, ma'am," I told her, but I did as she said. Hopefully, I could avoid a hangover the next morning.

A/N: We do love a sexually confident woman. Let me know what you think of this different side of Ana. Thanks for reading!