Rescue My Heart

Chapter 17

REWRITTEN

*SLIGHT MATURE CONTENT*

CLOVER

To the club, I wore a black, strapless bandage dress. Zoe had gifted it about a year ago, and I hadn't touched it, until tonight. My eyes were coated with smoky eyeshadow, my legs smooth with some coconut lotion on them. No bra with the dress.

When I slid into the backseat, the girls whistled.

"Damn, girl, you look smoking!" Zoe whistled.

"You two look really hot too."

"Now let's hit the club!" Bella screamed raising her arms.

Trepidation trickled on my skin at the thought of the people waiting outside the club.

"Here, I got us fake IDs. Remember everything on that, okay?" Bella and I agreed. My name was Emily and I'd just turned twenty-one. The illegalness of the activity gave me such a thrill.

In the past year, I'd discovered a new side of myself: I enjoyed letting loose. I enjoyed going against the law. The law had gone against me, so I had every right to rebel a little.

The buff guy eyed our IDs, then unclipped the rope, leading us inside. Music blasted through the speakers, the sweaty bodies brushing past us. We were led to a bar where Zoe asked us what we wanted to drink. It was too hard to hear her; I had to read her lips. When we both shrugged, our friendship leader whispered something to the bartender.

While the guy mixed our drinks, I looked around. A man in his forties observed us. He mouthed something and raised his glass.

"Dude, go find someone who is closer to your age!"

He rolled his eyes, turning to the woman next to him.

A drink sat on the bar top that Zoe raised her thumbs to. On impulse, I took a quick swig. The alcohol dragged down my throat and I almost gagged. Vodka. Normally, I hated it but today varied. I wanted to get wasted. Zoe got me another and we all cheered. We took many shots and laughed. Then we danced, all together, and laughed. I shouted that I loved them, and they giggled. We went back to the bar to get more shots, chugged, and returned to the dance floor.

Soon, I excused myself to the bathroom, did my business, and returned. But Zoe and Bella weren't there. I frowned and went to the bar, asking about my friends. He said they'd gone off somewhere. I smiled lazily and asked for a margarita. No more vodka. I'd almost thrown up in the bathroom.

He shook his head at me. "Do you want me to call you a cab? You seem stressed."

"What I want is for you to get me another drink!" Good God, I'd snapped at the poor worker. "I'm sorry. I'm having a really bad day."

"Maybe I can help?"

"Listen –" I glanced at his name tag. "Jacob... ugh, I don't have anything to say."

"I like to listen, so shoot."

"I don't want to drink. No, I want to, but drinking doesn't get me anywhere good." Except for my first date with Logan. Before that, the party where things took an ugly turn. "I'm scared, okay? I'm scared of drinking even though I'm, like, super drunk right now."

He leaned forward on the bar, putting a glass aside. "Why are you scared?"

"Because people can get ugly when they see a drunk person." Understanding cleared his face. "Are you a nice guy, Jacob?"

"I like to think so. I've got a boyfriend at home."

I grinned, relaxed. His confession cleansed my concerns. "Will you watch my drinks for me? See that no one gets ugly and –"