An Escape

chapter eight

chapter eight

Maisie was well on her way to a migraine within ten minutes of stepping foot into the club. The flashing lights and pounding bass were enough to make anyone feel a bit sick. Well, anyone besides Bianca and Sean.

Despite never having met before, the two strangers had instantly formed a connection over a few different common interests: 1) Get drunk of their asses, 2) Make sure someone in their party gets laid, and 3) get Maisie and Cian together.

Maisie had overheard their not-so-quiet scheming during the Uber ride to the club. She had been crushed in the back seat with them while Cian and Alex sat in the middle row. She really didn't want to sit up front with the driver, so she was stuck crammed against the window with drunk and drunker to her right.

They had kept their heads together, but they were well past tipsy so they were oblivious to how far their voices actually carried. Maisie kept her eyes trained on Cian the whole time as she listened to them devise their plan, but only to make sure he wasn't hearing any of it. She regretted ever talking to Bianca and Sean about Cian.

So far, Maisie observed, the dynamic duo had achieved two out of three of their goals. They had basically consumed their weight in jello shots and had ordered shots at the club as well. Well, Sean had ordered shots. Bianca was the type of person that never had to pay for her own drinks at bars or clubs. There was never a shortage of men willing to buy her drinks in the hopes that she would give them some attention. Tonight was no different, but unfortunately for her suitors, only one man had her attention.

Their second goal of making sure at least one member of their party got laid was met fairly quickly. Bianca had run into one of her friends from grad school and made quick work of introducing her to Alex. Maisie had not seen the ginger since.

Maisie spent most of the night chasing Bianca and Sean down and making sure they were drinking water. She was not having much fun but she knew what Bianca was like hungover and wanted to minimize the damage as much as possible. They were slippery, though. Neither Bianca nor Sean liked to stay still for very long and tracking them down did not leave Maisie time for much else.

Eventually, Cian stepped in. He had been watching Maisie play the mom friend and he was annoyed at Bianca and Sean. They were being selfish, Maisie deserved to have just as good of a time as them.

"Maisie, it's not your job to take care of them," he said into her ear.

He had stopped her as she made her way across the dance floor, on her way to get more water from the bartender. His large hand rested gently on her arm where he had grabbed her to get her attention.

She looked up into his eyes, they were a dark brown instead of golden in the dim club lighting, "But they're being reckless! I'll feel so bad if something bad happens".

Dancing bodies were bumping into them as they stood still on the dance floor. Irritated by the heat, Cian grabbed her hand and dragged her off to the side where the tables and booths were.

"I've seen Sean like this before, he's a lot more coherent than he looks, I promise. He can take care of Bianca since they seem to be glued at the hip. You should be having fun too."

Maisie glanced around, "This isn't really my scene. I'm not sure how to have fun here".

Cian stared at her, "Do you like dancing?"

She bit her lip, "Only when I'm plastered".

"Okay," he laughed. "First step, let's get you drunk"

Her hand still in his, Cian began to lead her over to the bar. He spotted an open area and they squeezed in together as he called the bartender over.