Ben

I can't see anything as we enter the dark club at the hotel; the air around us is thick with sweat and alcohol. The music is blaring and the thump of the bass is already giving me a headache. I glance down at my Rolex to start the clock on how long I have to stay before I can get back to more important things than getting drunk at my best friend's bachelor party. It's 9:30. I think midnight is about right, so I roll my shoulders and take a deep breath. I can tolerate this for a few hours.

It's times like these that I'm grateful for the height that I've inherited. At 6'4" I stand a few inches taller than most of the people in here. As my vision begins to adjust to the lighting, I try my best to resist reaching out to ineffectively bat away the fog being misted from the DJ booth. The lights are flashing and bouncing around the packed dance floor as we make our way over to the table reserved for us. It perches a few inches above dancers below giving us an excellent view of all the action.

We're rolling pretty deep tonight. The twelve of us have all been friends since high school and while our career paths have taken us to different places, we have still managed to keep in touch. Our small private school was once our playground, but now we've spread our wings a little farther, making quite a reputation for ourselves in this city. All of us are single except for Keith; he has fallen victim to the American Dream. His loss.

I watch as two blonde, barely dressed waitresses engage in a verbal altercation. While it's too fucking loud in here to hear my own thoughts, let alone their conversation a few feet away, I can tell by their constant glances in our direction that they are arguing over who will serve our table. As always, our group emits money without even trying. We come from money, and we have all been successful at making our own, on top of what our families have provided.

Figure your shit out ladies, I need to get a buzz if I'm not going to bolt early or spend the next few hours doing business on my phone. They must have come to some agreement because the bustier of the two women is making her way over to us. The boys begin to yell their orders to her over the music, and then not-so-covertly talk amongst themselves about which of us will take her home. We might be in our mid-twenties, but when we're all together we tend to act about fifteen.

"What about you, handsome?" she asks, looking up from under her long lashes in a move I know she's perfected while working here. She twists a little, back and forth at her hips, drawing my attention to her small waist. She's shoved her breasts up around her neck, putting them on display. No class, but I'm sure she brings home a lot in tips.

"Jack and Coke." I think for a minute about whether or not I will throw my hat into the ring and try to take her back to my room just to add some entertainment to this night. When she turns to leave, I watch her go, but find myself losing interest when she peeks back over her shoulder to see if I'm watching. She adds a little extra sway to her step when she catches me. I'll never understand why a woman would put herself on display.

Another quick glance at the time ramps up my frustration. It's only been twenty minutes since I checked the first time. Our waitress is back and I decide to send a clear signal that I'm not interested. I take my drink and then turn my back on her slowly to watch the dancers. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice her shoulders slump. I would feel bad if I thought it would ruin her evening, but women like that know the score. She'll move her focus to one of my friends before she even heads back to the bar.

Across the dance floor I spot a group of women, all wearing ridiculous bachelorette party items. The bride-to-be looks completely trashed, singing along to the music in her sparkly tiara and white sash. A few of her friends are dancing around her, but one of them is on her phone, fidgeting with her "Bridesmaid" sash where it touches her bare neck. She's unbelievably beautiful and I feel a rush of adrenaline as I watch her.

Her hair is long and I'm captivated as she twists it over one shoulder to get it off her neck. I notice how hot it is in here when she uses a bar menu to fan herself with her free hand, her other hand never leaving her phone. I can't take my eyes off of her. As I tip my drink up, I fold the straw over the side so I can sip directly from the glass. I realize I must've been doing this without paying attention, because it's empty. I shake the ice in my glass and decide to make my way up to the bar to avoid any further encounters with our waitress.

The bar is packed and the female bartender is rushing to take orders and make drinks as quickly as possible. When she makes eye contact with me, I raise my eyebrows and grin. Works every time; she's soon handing me my drink. I turn back to our table, but stop after just a few steps when I see my beautiful stranger standing on the outskirts of the crowd at the bar. She's trying so hard to make eye contact with the bartender.

Dressed to kill in a short black strapless dress, she brushes her bangs from her forehead and rolls her eyes when the bartender passes her up again to help a rowdy group of college guys. She's fucking adorable, blowing out a breath of air and putting her hands on her hips in frustration. As I watch her, I imagine running my tongue along her exposed shoulder and slim neck. The alcohol has made my libido come out to play and I decide this night might be a little fun after all.

When I take a few steps to close the distance between us, her eyes lock with mine and I watch as emotions begin to cross her face. At first, I see awareness, perhaps because I'm stalking towards her, then I see desire as she takes her bottom lip between her teeth. Just as quickly, she releases her lip to look around, as if checking to see if it's her that I'm after. My mouth curves into a smile and I lean down when I reach her so I can speak without yelling in her face.

"What are you drinking?" It takes all the restraint I have to not run my lips across her smooth cheek, but I don't fight the need to pull her closer by wrapping my hand around her waist.

"Nothing." She giggles a little and then gestures with her palm towards the bar. "Apparently I don't have the right parts to get her attention." I know I should look towards the bar, but I can't stop looking at her lush lips and thinking about what she would taste like.

"I can't imagine anyone not paying attention to the parts that you do have," I say with a wink, "but since I seem to have what it takes, let me buy you a drink."

She hesitates for a minute as if she's not sure if she should be offended by what I just said or simply accept my offer. "Ok, Mr. Appendage, I'll take whatever you're drinking." I can't help the laugh that rolls out of me, and I love the way she lifts her eyebrows in challenge.

"You sure you want a Jack and Coke? Aren't you supposed to drink some fruity drink with a silly name?" I'm still holding onto her waist and I'm now acutely aware of the heat under my palm. I want to run my hand up her side and pull her into me.

"Jack and Coke will be fine, and just to prove I don't need any fluffy girl drinks, why don't we start this round with a shot of tequila?" The feisty way she challenges me kicks my hormones into overdrive and I shift my weight a little to make sure she can't feel the way she's affecting me. I nod and force myself to look away to get the bartender's attention.

I order another round for us and request the tequila with two slices of lime and a shaker of salt. As the shots are poured, a small space opens up at our end of the bar. I pull her up beside me, loving the light from the bar glows on her features, allowing me to see the way the deep green color of her eyes contrasts with the dark black of her dilated pupils. I hope she's as turned on as I am and that it isn't just an effect of the darkness we've been in.

I watch as she licks her wrist and shakes a little salt on it, then offers the shaker to me. I do the same and she lifts her shot up in a toast. I tilt my head out of curiosity and watch as the most breathtaking smile breaks out across her face. Her voice is a little husky as she says, "Here's to your appendage," with a wink.

Before tapping her shot glass with mine, I lean a little closer and lower my voice to answer, "It hasn't failed me yet." Her laugh is almost as beautiful as she is, and I know immediately this girl is going to be trouble. I watch as she parts her lips and runs her tongue along them before licking up the salt from her wrist. I lick my salt as well and then we both shoot the tequila and suck on our limes. The heat of the alcohol rushes through my blood, As she closes her eyes against the burn of her shot, I can't help thinking of how she must taste like lime and tequila.

When she finally opens her eyes, I feel our connection as if it's a burn. The intensity of need I have for her at this moment makes my head swim with a million ideas of what I want to do to her. I think she's going to run from this little game. I would, if I wasn't so greedy with my need to get anything she's willing to give to me right now.

I'm completely floored when she reaches for the salt and says in the sexiest whisper, "Again."