♪ I throw my hands up in the air sometimes

Saying aye oh gotta let go

I wanna celebrate and live my life

Saying aye, oh, baby let's go. ♪♪

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ [Dynamite] - [ Taio Cruz]

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  The slit of Esmé's luxurious silk gown opened wider and revealed a quarter of her alabaster light-skinned toned lap the moment she placed her right leg out of the car and the heels of her stilettos hit the vibrating ground.

Once she stepped out of the car completely, she could feel the energetic sound frequencies coming from the club resonating through her entire body. Her eyes scanned the exclusive club that stood before her. The yellow neon light that read 'ROCK CITY' reflected off her similarly coloured gown.

An excited squeal from Petra grabbed her attention to the other side of the car where both Kian and Petra stood. Petra had her hands in the air, already moving her body to the beat they could hear from outside.

Petra made her way to Esmé's side, her enormous grin already in place. "This is what I'm talking about!" she screamed so the beat didn't drown her voice. She swayed her hips moving along the beat, her straight caramel hair bounced along with her. The light caught and reflected on her purple sequenced knee-length gown. "And we haven't even gotten in!"

"Well, if it isn't my lovely pearl, looking extraordinaire!" A voice squealed and the girls turned in the voice's direction to see Ronnie hightailing from a cab.

Esmé smiled as she took him in. He wasn't wearing his regular well-tailored suit jacket, in its place was a white shirt with the top three buttons loosened to reveal his toned and muscular alabaster chest. Adding to the casual look were his rolled-up sleeves.

Almost like his best friend who still stood on the other side typing away on his phone. Although, unlike Ronnie, Kian had released no button on his shirt.

"You don't look too bad yourself," Esmé said as he got close to them.

"Well, as you know, I cannot keep my reputation as a dripping hot god if I don't dress like one. And you did a good job yourself, looking to gain a reputation?" Ronnie added the last part and swung his hand over Esmé's exposed shoulder, through her black wavy hair.

"Of course, she has to build a reputation, especially if she's walking in with me." Petra chirped in admiring the dress she had chosen for Esmé to wear. They had chosen the cream colour because Esmé preferred it.

"Are we going in or what?" Kian shouted, finally dropping his phone into his pocket.

"I thought you'd never ask!" Petra squealed and grabbed her purse from within the car, ready to go in.

They all moved in the club's direction, the reverberation of the music that ran up their body increased with each distance they covered.

Esmé chuckled at her excitement along with Ronnie. "She takes all the credit as if I do not understand she had help from Hermione."

"Oh, shut up," Petra retorted. "Speaking of Hermione..."

Ronnie's entire body went rigid by Esmé's side after Petra's statement. He detached himself from Esmé and stared at Petra wide-eyed. "You didn't possibly tell her to come, did you?" His voice lost the previous chirpy tone it had.

Esmé's brows creased at the sudden change just before Petra rolled her eyes at him. "Of course, I invited her."

A string of curses flew out of Ronnie's lips and Kian chuckled at his demise. Kian stretched forth his hand to give him a supporting pat on the back, but Ronnie scowled at him, freezing his hand in the air. He moved past all of them, increasing his speed to the entrance of the club, flashing a card to the bouncer before he stuttered in.

"Not a fan of Hermione, I take," Esmé whispered to Petra, who now stood by her side.

"They have this annoying push and pull hate relationship going on. But that's their problem. As long as they let it be hate and not the other thing, fine by me. As for us, let's go party!" She took hold of Esmé's hand and pulled her along with her straight into the club with Kian trailing behind them, shaking his head. There was no extra need to show any card since Ronnie had cleared them.

Once they stepped into the club, Esmé felt the blast of the music through the sound system resound through her chest cavity along with the sound of hundreds of people screaming at the top of their voices either to the song being played or to their selves. The fragrance of various perfumes and body spray and a little stale sweat slapped through her nose. She looked up and squinted her eyes once the different colours of light whirling in the club shone into them.

Petra released Esmé's hands and threw hers up into the air. Gone with the music. She moved along the crowd in front of Esmé, manoeuvring her way perfectly, leaving Esmé behind with the cramped bodies spilling in front of her.

Esmé shouted her name, trying to call out to her, but the music drowned out her voice. Her heart race picked up more speed that had nothing to do with the noise vibrating through her body. A hand settled on her back, stilling her entire body. She swirled around and her eyes bulged out in shock to check who the person was. "Kian?"

"Still think coming over here with those two is a good idea?" he shouted over the music. She met his question with a menacing look, not at all liking his mocking tone.

She might have already been having her doubts, but she definitely didn't want to hear that from him. Kian shook his head at her look and turned her around, placing his hand on her lower back, high enough not to be considered an intimate act and low enough to guide her through the crowd along with him. Esmé could feel the heat of his hand slip through the thin material of her gown that sent a certain shiver up her spine.

He moved them through the crowd flawlessly and reached the booth where Petra sat, already sipping a drink. Kian removed his hand from Esmé's back, as if it scorched him, once they were clear from the mob of bodies. Esmé released a breath she didn't realise she was holding at the loss of the heat.

"Where did you guys go? Partying without us?" Petra shouted to gain their attention.

Esmé sent the menacing look she had on her face previously for Kian to Petra at her question. She opened her mouth for a retort, but Kian beat her to it.

He narrowed his eyes at Petra. "You wanted to bring her to the club and you didn't think you had to take responsibility for her. She could have gotten lost in the crowd if I wasn't there."

Petra pouted at his statement. "You see that's why it was good you agreed to come along." She sent her pouted look to Esmé's direction and blinked her lashes at her in a pleading look. "Forgive me Esmé darling, please. Believe me, I knew Kian was there, that's why."

Kian groaned in annoyance ready to 'discipline' her again but stopped as a smooth sing-song voice screamed from behind Esmé, "You need to loosen up Kian!"

They all turned their attention to the back of Esmé where Hermione appeared from. She grinned at the trio and stepped forward to head closer to them when she stumbled, almost falling into Esmé.

Esmé was quick to pivot around to stabilize her and prevent her from falling or hitting her. Hermione's head cocked backwards in surprise, "Hey! It's the hospital girl!"

Esmé's lush lips lifted in amusement. Seeing this side of Hermione was refreshing to the eyes.

"Oh, perfect! She's already drunk!" Ronnie groaned from the other side while he made his way to the table, holding up their cups of drinks he had managed not to spill over.

Hermione's head snapped to his direction and her face scrunched up in disgust. She released herself from Esmé's protective grip and stomped over to Petra. "Why did you invite him?"

"Stating the obvious, he's my brother. But he's also Esmé's friend so..."

Hermione sent her daggered look Esmé's way before she settled on the booth chair next to Petra in a humph.

Esmé chuckled at this sight, all the while avoiding eye contact with Kian before they all settled down. Picking the choice of drink that suited them. Everybody downing their beers to get their blood bumping except Kian and Esmé.

Kian took his preferred bottle of water. He didn't need the alcohol since he was their designated driver, and Esmé opted for a soda instead of a beer to take things slowly. After she got her drink, Petra took control of being a host for their celebratory party. They cheered and drank from their various cups, each congratulating Esmé for her speedy recovery.

Ronnie slammed his empty glass onto the table and stood up, startling the others. "Now, it's time for me to go enjoy myself somewhere where she isn't." He sent the last remark with a scowl to Hermione's direction, who matched his look with daggers of her own.

Petra scrunched her nose up at him, but he sent a smile to Esmé, ignoring both their looks before excusing himself out of their mist.

The beat of the song playing changed to a faster beat. Petra's squeal matched the volume of the beat beside Esmé, who scrunched up her face at the intensity of Petra's voice.

"That's my favourite song! Let's go to the dance floor! Leave this grumpy dude alone!" she squealed and pulled the girls away from the booth to the middle of the dance floor, right under the disco light, leaving Kian behind in the booth. 

"Dance!" Petra shouted above the music as she and Hermione swayed their hips to the beat of the music.

"I'm not sure I know how to dance!" Esmé told them. She glanced around her to the mob of bodies moving their body awkwardly and sleekly to the music.

"That's why you should have taken the drink to unwind!" Hermione retorted and moved away from their small ring of three to continue dancing to the song. Her entire body swaying to the beat.

Petra laughed and took hold of Esmé's hand. She raised it up in the air. "Don't think about it! Listen to the music, feel the beat and move your body! That's all there is to it! Come on."

"Sing after me! Saying aye oh, gotta let go!"

Esmé chuckled and ambled to the beat, following Petra's lead. Her steps moved awkwardly at first, but after she let the vibes from the song flow through her body, she moved freely along with the others.

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Kian relaxed back into the booth once the girls left the table to relive his pastime. He might not have taken the much-needed alcohol to unwind as he wanted, but the best he could do was relax back into the chair and watch and the array of bodies swaying up and about to the music being played.

His eyes moved to the girls on the dance floor after a while. His lips twitched at the sight of Esmé dancing. He had to commend her, though, for someone who was just given the go to walk fully on her own. She was dancing well, especially on the heels she wore.

He turned his attention to the other two girls and noticed Hermione wasn't with them any longer. He groaned as he sat up suddenly. If he didn't take a note of where they were, all the time, it was going to cause him a lot of trouble later on. His eyes danced around the big club to locate her wavy auburn red hair with the gold freckles that matched her dress. She couldn't have been difficult to spot.

He noticed her by the pool table beside Ronnie, playing a game together and laughing.

He shook his head at the duo, settling back into his position, calming down. He didn't have the time to even think deeply about what he saw because Petra was advancing towards him from his peripheral view. His head shook before she even reached him. "Do not even speak."

"You need to let loose! You know you want to! Come on! I don't want to leave Esmé alone, but there's someone I'd like to go meet." She added the last part with a wink, "But you can decide to stay here if you want her dancing with the chuffer that's approaching her."

Kian turned to the where Esmé was dancing freely and his eyes locked in on the naff lad who was approaching her with his eyes wide open and a full black hair that seemed to be spraying water over everyone as he moved. His face scrunched up in disgust before he turned back to Petra. "You..." he started saying, but Petra cut him short and pulled on his arm to the dance floor.

Esmé froze once she saw them. Her mode shifted from free to instantly awkward. Kian's presence on the dance floor was something she hadn't anticipated. 

Oblivious to this, Petra stuttered away to her new company, not after glaring at Kian and telling him to dance.

He filled his mind with all the different ways he could slaughter her without losing his best friend. The gnawing presence of the woman by his side, who now stood with her hands hanging awkwardly by her side left him fidgety.

They hadn't been alone together since the incident the previous morning, and he wasn't sure what was going through her mind about the way he walked away.

A groan from her made him turn to her. Esmé pointed to the bar and mumbled a few things the music engulfed and turned to leave brutely without waiting for any reply. She definitely needed something that was going to help her deal with the brooding man she had as a host.

Kian grunted at the act. He hadn't expected her to just stand there and wait for him to pick up his courage, but he also hadn't expected her to just leave. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration before he moved to follow Esmé to the bar. Once he got there, he saw her downing a drink and hitting the half-full cup onto the bar table.

His brows rose in shock. "I thought you said you were going to take it slow." He moved in to sit close to her so she could hear him.

Esmé spun around in her chair to squint her eyes at him as if just realising he followed her there. She nudged her nose at him and turned to back to her drink. "Yeah, well, I just realized I need a drink right about now!"

She took another gulp from the drink and squinted at the hotness of the drink's taste.

Kian didn't need to be told twice that she was referring to his company and took a deep breath. It seemed like this was something he had to be doing every time with her. With knowing the proper protocol, he said the next thing he knew he had to say. "I'm sorry."

Esmé sprayed her drink out of her mouth, shocked. She sprayed a bit on the bartender who swore at her but Kian was quick to apologize and along with the puppy look Esmé sent him; he let it go.

Kian grabbed a hold of a paper towel and gave it to Esmé to wipe her mouth. "Are you alright?"

Esmé collected the towel from Kian, her cheeks tainted a bit of pink in embarrassment. "You really need to be careful and stop spraying your sorry all over the place. It's really disorienting and shocking because it's coming from you."

"You should stop spattering your drinks all over the place too." Esmé sent him a menacing look that he replied with a brief smile. "But I get it. I'll try not to do things that make me sorry from now henceforth."

"That sounds like a good plan," Esmé replied with a bright smile. The weight of her entire body felt lighter with the alcohol flowing through her body system. Her lips lifted with the new relaxed way she felt and she turned to face Kian fully. She plumped her head on her elbow she placed onto the table. "So tell me, what exactly are you apologizing for?"

Kian squinted his eyes at her attitude and realized she was laid back. He turned his attention to her drink to figure out just how much she had taken and saw she hadn't even finished her first cup. "For yesterday morning. Storming out and all. I shouldn't have since you did not know it was a delicate topic," He said the last part through a bit of gritted teeth.

"Ooooh, that mooorning!" She slurred and sat up. She wove her hand in dismissal, forgetting how she felt before. "No need to worry about it at all. I should be sorry, I was busy poking about your past." She added the last part and sent her index finger to poke Kian's chest.

"Woah!" Kian said, shocked at the jab from her finger. He grabbed her finger and removed it from his chest. "You are already drunk? You're a lightweight, I see."

"Pfft. Druuunk? Me? Not arall. I can walk on my two feet! Have you seen a drunk person walk on their two feet!" she squealed and stood up to prove her point, but she staggered.

Kian stretched forth his hand to catch her just before she could fall to the floor in a disgraceful mess.

"Yeah, I'm sure you're not drunk," Kian mumbled.

Esmé snapped her hands onto Kian's face with a bright smile to hold his face in place. The impact stung him and he shuddered. "'m not! And to prove it to you, I want you to... em, what do I want you to do?"

"I don't know, you tell me?" Kian groaned and forcefully released her hands from his face. It seemed drunk Esmé was all touching Esmé.

Her smile lit up even further once he could pluck her hands from his face. "Oh yes, I want you to take me to your mum's restaurant."

Kian's head jerked back, stunned by the request. "My mum's restaurant, why?"

"B... because..." She squinted her eyes as her left hand went up to her head.

Kian's brow wrinkled at the sight. "Hey, Esmé, are you okay? "

She shook her head slightly. "I... I don't feel good."

"Alright let's get you..." Kian stood up and put her hands over his shoulder to help her up but he wasn't fast enough because the next minute she was spilling her guts all over him. With the shock of that, he sprang back leaving her alone letting her head fall onto the table passed out.

Kian looked at himself and at her, and a series of curses sprang from his lips.

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🙊🙊😂

Toodle doo, toodle dum!

Well, this was quite a long chapter but I hope you enjoyed it. Seems like we're progressing with our relationships. Who likes drunk Esmé? 😁 What type of drunk are you? As for me, I'm a no type of drunk. 😊

Tell me all about what you enjoyed in this chapter right here ☞. 💭🤗

Till next time!💕