Chapter 13: Cocktails

Getting ready for a night out encompassed a unique limbo of time: imaginations could run wild with theories of how the night would pan out. Would you meet a hot guy? Kiss him? Go home with him? Would the DJ play the perfect playlist to keep you on the floor until your feet begged for mercy? Would you make a new friend in the toilets?

That span of hours between stepping out of the shower and into the club held so much promise. Regardless of how the night actually unravelled, the getting-ready phase brimmed with anticipation.

And maybe—just maybe—I had a few extra, more specific thoughts whirling through my head as I fastened the press studs of my favourite lacy, red bodysuit between my legs before slipping on my skimpiest pair of leather shorts. I had more skin on show than covered, and while that wasn't unusual for me when clubbing, I still found myself second-guessing whether to go all out with heels or rein it in slightly with flats.

If anywhere allowed you to go all out, it was Escala. The club oozed sex and glamour with the rich and famous who partied there. Knowing its clientele, everyone wanted to look their best in case they bumped into someone they wanted to impress, and that often translated into sexier outfits.

You could also get away with dressing down, too—nobody judged—but tonight wasn't a night for dressing down. And as I'd be standing next to Gabby and Charlotte—who consistently put in maximum effort no matter the venue—then I needed to gel with their vibe.

I settled on a pair of strappy sandals. Dressy enough for a club while avoiding towering over Gabby's tiny frame by adding extra inches onto my five-foot-nine height.

After catching an Uber—I didn't want to ruin my getting-ready positivity by introducing public transport stress—I met the girls outside the nearest tube station. Just as I'd expected, they turned heads as they navigated the steep steps in five-inch heels.

Gabby had refreshed her spray tan, making her platinum blonde hair shine extra bright as the loose curls bobbed against her shoulders. Beside her, Charlotte's immaculate, smoky make-up was accentuated by her hair being scraped back into a tight, high ponytail. The pair of them belonged on a catwalk, and I was here for it.

Charlotte pounced on me, her arms springing around my neck as she pulled me into a hug. A flash of floral perfume accompanied the coconut scent of her hair as she squeezed before stepping back to hold me at arm's length.

"You know, you were already on my shortlist of favourite people to party with, but you're now on my shortlist of favourite people in general."

I chuckled. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We don't know if she'll show."

"Your man has influence. I have faith."

"He's not my man." I raised a questioning eyebrow at Gabby who just smiled sheepishly in response. "Come on. Every person who passes is staring at both of you, and I can feel my self-esteem slipping."

Throwing back her head to laugh, Charlotte hooked her arm through mine, and I led them towards the club. They immediately launched into a debate about a guy they'd seen on the Tube, speculating whether he'd been in a recent Netflix series they'd watched. If that blew their mind, they were going to be in for a shock when they stepped inside Escala.

As we queued for the cloakroom, Charlotte released a low whistle when I slipped off my coat.

"So if he's not your man, who are you trying to impress?" she asked, her wide eyes travelling up and down my body.

"Myself." But I failed to keep a straight face.

"I think you look great, Soph." Gabby elbowed Charlotte in a not-so-subtle warning, which her girlfriend ignored.

"Fuck yeah, she looks great! If someone isn't banging your brains out in the bathroom later, they're either blind or boring."

My stomach clenched at that mental image, although this was hardly the most convenient outfit for a quickie in a bathroom. Probably a good thing, though. Escala wasn't the place, and I was not currently in a position where I could risk getting into even more trouble.

With our coats handed in, we sought out a table tucked away in the corner and Charlotte bounced over to the bar to order drinks.

"I know I say this every time, but I really do love her," I said to Gabby.

"She loves you, too. Not sure if I should be worried."

I laughed and leaned back in my seat, eyes drifting over the rest of the room. We had a good vantage point from here: a clear view of the bar but also of the dancefloor and stage, where hopefully Hattie Steele would be performing later on. Although Ed had assured me that she'd be here, I couldn't help but keep my optimism at bay. People like her and Ed got hundreds of offers every day, and if something more appealing came along, then she may be tempted to change her plans.

"If she starts to get annoying, you can just tell her to shut up," Gabby said. "She won't take offense."

Setting my focus back onto my blonde bombshell of a best friend, I shook my head.

"Don't stress, Gab. She's great. She doesn't say anything worse than you, only she's less apologetic about it."

Gabby smiled and rolled her eyes. "I'm just thinking about Teddy. Don't want her stirring anything there when it's already complicated. I did warn her not to pry, and she promised she wouldn't, but..."

She trailed off as Charlotte returned with a tray of drinks, dishing them out between us.

"I asked if he could mark the mocktail version with one of those little umbrellas, but apparently they don't have any. Can you believe it? Had to differentiate via quantity of straws instead."

"Or maybe he wants me to drink it twice as fast so I buy another," I said, rubbing the two straws between my thumb and index finger.

"Speaking of buying, I tried to set up a tab but apparently it's already covered?" Charlotte furrowed her brow at me. "Hope that's not your doing? You've done enough for me."

I shook my head. "Not guilty. What name is it under?"

"Didn't say. Just looked at my ID, then said someone had already set one up for me."

It was obviously Ed, but I didn't say that out-loud, merely shrugging to mirror her confusion over it. My heart warmed at the gesture, though—not so much the financial element of it, but just that he'd thought to cover Charlotte's bill on her birthday.

We spent the next half an hour people-watching, picking out faces that looked familiar and trying to decide where we knew them from. There would be plenty of people in the club who, like us, weren't actually famous, and it was during a heated discussion about a redhead that I felt a warm hand squeeze my shoulder, a thumb brushing over the flimsy strap of my top.

"Mind if I join you beautiful ladies?"

Charlotte's eyes widened, her usual confidence faltering as Ed slid into the seat beside me. She knew he'd be here, but his presence never failed to render even the chattiest person speechless.

Reaching across the table, Ed squeezed Gabby's tapping fingers in an affectionate greeting, then held out his hand to Charlotte.

"You must be Charlotte. Great to finally meet you."

Like a switch had been flicked in her brain, Charlotte's bravado returned as she met his firm grasp.

"Finally, huh?" Her eyes darted between Gabby and me with suspicion.

Ever the charmer, Ed chuckled. "Don't worry. Only good things have been said. I'm glad we were able to pull off something special for your birthday."

I twisted to face him, my knees knocking into his firm thighs as I swung an arm over the back of my seat. Fuck, he looked good. A white shirt clung to his lean torso, both sleeves rolled up to reveal the corded muscles of his forearms and the top few buttons open to expose the golden smoothness of his chest. Freshly shaven, the sharp angles of his jaw and cheekbones drew my eyes towards his mouth, and a warm ball of anticipation coiled deep in my stomach.

Just two days earlier, I'd watched him interact with those young children, the perfect image of a family-friendly guy who didn't have a bad bone in his body. But now, I struggled to reconcile that with the gorgeous guy who sat beside me, the one who I knew had at least one bone in his body that could do bad things. Very, very bad things. In a very, very good way.

When he quirked a knowing eyebrow at me, I realised I'd been staring without speaking and quickly backtracked my thoughts to what had caused me to face him in the first place.

"She's here, then?" I asked. "Hattie Steele?"

"Of course she's here. Said I'd sort it, didn't I?"

I watched his eyes drift over my body, starting at my chest and tracing a lazy path over my stomach and thighs. His throat rippled as he finally flicked his gaze back up at my face, tongue darting out to wet his lips. Yet, when he spoke again, he was as casual as ever, making me wonder if he'd deliberately checked me out in such an obvious way because he'd caught me doing the same.

"You should know by now that I always follow through."

Huffing at his overly confident attitude, I spun back to face the girls. Gabby made a point of studying the snacks menu, whereas Charlotte sat back in her chair with a glint in her eyes and a twitch in her lips.

"I'm going to grab a drink," Ed said. "Anyone need a top-up?"

While the girls shook their heads in synchronicity, I slid my empty glass across to him.

"What was it?" Ed peered at the orange liquid in the base of it. "Some kind of mocktail?"

"The Pornstar Martini equivalent," Charlotte said. "Very appropriate."

I narrowed my eyes at her in warning, but Ed didn't seem to notice the joke. As soon as he left for the bar, Charlotte puffed out a sigh and fanned her face.

"Fuck me... Just watching you two interact was turning me on. Gab didn't tell me you were that kind of friends."

"We're not that kind of friends," I said, a wave of affection for Gabby washing over me.

"Sure you're not..." Charlotte fixed her lips around her straw as she arched an eyebrow at me.

Deciding not to get sucked into a debate I couldn't win, I let my gaze follow Ed to the bar. He'd stopped en route to chat to one of the guys who'd featured in our game earlier, likely confirming he was a celebrity.

I had to be sensible tonight. No matter how hot he looked, I couldn't put my arse on the line with any other poor decisions—especially if he'd flirted with Hattie to get her here. We'd already pissed off Lacey; we couldn't upset someone else, too.

He returned to the table a few minutes later with identical drinks, placing one down in front of me and distributing the others, before sinking back into his seat. The aphrodisiacal spice of his cologne wafted over me like a taunt. Safely hidden beneath the table, I uncrossed my legs and pressed the bare flesh of my thigh against the soft fabric of his chinos.

Trying to remain nonchalant, I lifted my drink to my lips and took a few sips to quench my dry mouth, only just managing not to choke when Ed's warm hand settled on my knee. He splayed his fingers, sliding his palm along my inner thigh and stopping just below the hem of my shorts. Soft fingertips bit into goosebump-riddled skin, purposeful and suggestive.

"I'd be careful drinking that so quickly," Gabby said, nodding at my drink. "Not the easiest outfit for the bathroom."

Thanks, Gab. She was totally right, but I didn't need Ed picturing me on the toilet when I was trying to be sexy. Unfortunately, Charlotte flipped the image on its head—which saved my modesty but not my pride.

"You're a seasoned pro, aren't you, Soph? Besides, adds to the foreplay if you actually need to take your clothes off."

Ed cleared his throat, thumb sweeping back and forth over my leg. "I feel like I've missed a conversation here."

"You haven't," I said, shooting Charlotte a pointed look. "And I'm not a seasoned pro, thank you very much."

"Hey, don't be embarrassed. Own that crown. Wish I had the balls to fuck someone in a public bathroom."

Gabby rolled her eyes. "Or a willing partner. Unfortunately, you have neither. Shall we change the subject?"

Despite her best efforts to rescue me, she couldn't distract Ed from the apparent revelation that my judgement of his past behaviour in public bathrooms had been entirely hypocritical.

"Not yet," he said, fingers digging into sensitive flesh as he squeezed my thigh. "I'm about to learn something new and very surprising."

He cast his twinkling eyes over me, the corner of his mouth curling upwards. Seconds of silence passed, and I took another long sip when I realised that Charlotte didn't actually know the full details of this story and Gabby was too sweet to fill in the blanks on her girlfriend's behalf. That gave me the opportunity to twist it back in my favour.

"It only happened twice," I said, pausing as Ed's thumb pressed lightly against the centre seam of my shorts, just millimetres from my throbbing core. A haze of lust temporarily clouded my brain as wetness soaked my underwear.

"Twice?" Ed's voice was infuriatingly relaxed, and that spurred me on to push through the distracting pleasure.

"With the same person," I said. "An ex-boyfriend. Also one of those times wasn't technically a public bathroom. It was in the bathroom of someone's uni house so... doesn't count."

Charlotte cocked her head to the side, looking thoughtful, and as much as I loved her, I didn't know her well enough to tell if she was acting or if she was genuinely confused.

"So, have I remembered the story incorrectly?" she asked. "Because I had it in my head that there was a cocktail bar theme accompanying it."

I shifted in my seat, my head a conflicting mess of arousal and mortification. It didn't matter if we were now friends with less of the antagonistic banter. If Ed found out the true extent of my hypocrisy, he'd never let me live it down.   

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Thank you for reading :) xx

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The events at the club span across a few chapters -- hope you enjoyed the first part! In the next one, we meet Hattie. What do you think she's going to be like?