Chapter Nine
‘Cause baby tonight!
The DJ got us falling in love again
Yeah baby tonight!
The DJ got us falling in love again
So dance dance
Like it’s the last, last
night of your life, life
Gonna get you right
‘Cause baby tonight!
The DJ got us falling in love again
We can only hope that Usher, I thought as Jace and I entered the club. Nickie had texted to say she was almost here, so we waited for her inside because I needed a drink. It had been a hell of a week with Billionaire Boy and I’d had enough of his constant flirting. Plus the man didn’t know his left foot from his right foot. He’d kept stepping on my foot when I tried to be his partner, since he was asked to be ready for dancing at his sister’s wedding. Turns out that’s going to take a while, and his sister’s wedding is at the end of this month. By the time I ducked out of there, rejecting his offer to drive me home at the same time, I wanted to get drunk fast and hard. I was ready for it. I was going to forget about how crazy Sebastian Bridges made me that day, and in general.
Now I wasn’t intentionally trying to play matchmaker at all, but wouldn’t it be great if Nickie and Jace liked each other? I mean, Jace is a Southern gentleman from New Orleans, and Nickie’s a down to earth Michigan farm girl. He was artistic and charming, she was confident and quirky. Yeah, they were pretty much destined for this.
When Jace and I approached the bar, he immediately flagged down the bartender, a fabulous man in his late thirties. “What’ll it be sweetcheeks?” he asked pointedly to Jace. I stifled a laugh. It was no secret that Jace was attractive to both sexes, so he got flirted with regularly.
I spoke up to relieve Jace of some embarrassment, “I’ll have a root beer floatini please.” The bartender replied, “Sure thing sugar.” and looked back at Jace, who cleared his throat, “Just a rum and coke.”
As the bartender floated away, I started laughing while Jace glared at me, “That was not funny. That was awkward.”
“Are you kidding? A gay bartender flirting with you is the best thing I’ve seen all week!” Besides Sebastian Bridges’ lovely muscles a voice in my head spoke, but I pushed it away. No time for that now!
“So,” Jace started, “You’re teaching a big time billionaire to dance?”
Really Jace? I nodded, a bit peeved that he’d brought it up, “You forgot stubborn, hard-headed, egotistical and many other names.”
“Is he a flirt too?” I nodded, “Quite frankly, he’s completely insufferable. He kept making eyes at me today, and has been all week.” I made gestures to put emphasis on my statement.
Jace seemed amused by my physical movements, “Really? What kind of eyes? Owl eyes?”
I rolled my eyes at him and rapped him on the arm. Jace was my best friend besides Nickie, but he was also irritating and a joker when he wanted to tease me. “No. He was making bedroom eyes at me.”
“Oh man you’re kidding!”
“Nope!” I said, popping the p, “He didn’t think I saw him, but the whole week when he thought my back was turned he was staring at me like he wanted to physically undress me. Like those pervs that used to come to the club almost.”
“As opposed to the mental undressing he and them were doing with their eyes,” Jace pointed out. He knew I had been a stripper for a time during college.
The bartender gave us our drinks then, and I took a sip of my martini as Jace downed half of his and stood up, “I’m gonna find the mens room real quick. You alright here?”
“Yeah, I’m just gonna see where Nickie’s at.”
“Kaye?”
I turned to him and saw a look of concern muddle his features. What was wrong with him? “Is Nickie’s first name Nicole?”
“Yeah, why?”
Jace didn’t say anything but grabbed his drink and downed the rest of it. “Jace, are you okay?”
“Super. What makes you ask?”
I raised my eyebrow at him, “If you’re nervous about meeting Nickie, I promise she’s a peach. You’ll love her, I promise.”
“Oh yeah, I know. Just nerves. Haven’t met another girl in a while. I’ll be right back.” and with that statement he was gone to the bathroom. This was weird. Jace never gets nervous about women, it was part of his Southern charm. Maybe Nickie would be able to snap him out of it.
Speaking of which, where the heck was that girl? I pulled my phone out of my purse and texted her: Hey chica, you here yet?!
Ten seconds later, my phone buzzed: I’m outside and coming in.
Alright, we’re up at the bar. I’m in a red dress with my moto jacket.
“Kaye!” I heard Nickie’s voice call my name from the right. I turned to see my best friend in a pretty floral cocktail dress with her hair up in a stylish ponytail. Instead of the usual stilettos she wore, she had on lace flats. That’s odd, she loved stilettos because she’s short like me (I can’t walk in them to save my life), and she rocked them. First Jace and now Nickie. I was going to have to get to the bottom of this.
“Hey chiquita!” I embraced her tightly, “How are you? How’d the dinner with the in-laws go?”
She sighed, “They were formal and polite and the other son--”
“Your future brother in law?”
“Yeah, him-- had this intense look in his eyes, like he was clearly pissed off about something. But to hell if I knew what his problem was. I just got out of there lickety-fricking-split.”
“I don’t think I blame you. I had to deal with my irritating student today.”
“Oh yeah! How’s that going? What was his name? Sebastian?” she asked.
I nodded as I took another swig of my martini, “Yeah, and he’s an irritating pain in my ass.”
She laughed, leaning against the bar and tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder, “Well, that sucks.”
I finished my martini as the bartender passed by, “You want another one sister?”
I nodded, “And another rum and coke for my guy friend. What do you want Nick?”
“Shirley Temple my friend!” she told the bartender. No alcohol tonight? That was strange considering what she was about to endure with Daniella, what she was enduring with Daniella.
The bartender smiled, “Coming right up ladies,” he said as he walked away.
“Thank you!” we called after him, and he gave us a thumbs up while his back was turned.
“So,” Nickie tapped her hand on the counter, “Who’s this guy who’s with you tonight? Friend from college?”
“Yup, he’s a Broadway performer from Louisiana. I met him as a freshman at Juilliard. We were assigned as dance partners essentially, and he’s stuck by me ever since.”
“What’s his name?”
“Jason, but I call him Jace. He was in the Broadway musical of The Wizard of Oz as the Cowardly Lion. That is, until it got shut down by the druggie lead actress.”
Nickie laughed, but there was something off about what I said. Did she not like The Wizard of Oz now?
“Alright, spill it now,” I demanded, determined to solve this mystery of why my two best friends were acting so strange. I’d deal with Jace later. Speaking of which, what was taking him so long? He hates public bathrooms and spends as little time in them as possible.
Nickie pretended to look confused, but she’s a terrible actress, “Nothing, minus my sister’s seemingly shotgun wedding.”
“Liar.”
She pressed her lips together, seeing that she’d been caught in her act. I raised my eyebrow and squinted my eyes at her, “You’d better tell me. You’re a horrible actress, you’re wearing flats Nickie! You hate flats! And don’t tell me your stingy mother told you to wear them because we both know when the last time was that you actually wore clothes your mother wanted you to wear.”
“It’s tough to explain Kaye. I didn’t tell you because it would only make it complicated!” she insisted.
What in the absolute name of all things chocolatey and good was my best friend talking about?
“Hey!” Jace called from behind me, “Sorry I took so long, the wretched line was a mile long, can you actually believe that? I always thought it was the womens room that was always the longest!”
I turned to look at him but before I could say anything, his ice blue eyes shifted from me to Nickie on my left and widened, “Nicole?!”
“Jace?!” she squealed in disbelief, and not the good kind.
Me? I was shell-shocked to high heavens, “Wait a damn second, you two know each other?! How?!”
But neither heard me as they continued to stare at each other, “One of you had better explain how my two best friends who have never met each other before all of a sudden are surprised to see each other,” I growled in a low voice.
“Except that we do know each other Kaye,” Jace said, still staring at Nickie like she was a long lost treasure.
“How?”
“You remember that guy I told you about who pulled a Casanova on me two months ago?”
“Yes, you were a sick, screwed up wreck afterward. You wouldn’t eat, sleep, or even go out in---” realization suddenly dawned on me, “Wait a second, that was him?!” I yelled, cross with both of them and still stuck in the shock of the fact that they knew each other.
“I said I was sorry for that. And you know damn well I still love you Nicole. I told you that would never change,” Jace mumbled sternly.
“Well then you should have thought that through before you slept with your leading lady the night after you made love to me, you crazy, egocentric pighead!” Nickie retorted, crossing her arms.
“Wait, you slept with Druggie Dorothy?! After you screwed my best friend?!” I turned on Jace, livid with him. I twisted my head to Nickie, “Don’t think you’re off the hook yet.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” she snapped, but I think it was more for Jace than me.
“No! I didn’t I swear Kaye! She stole a bunch of my photos from when I was with Nickie and she photoshopped them! I swear thats the truth!”
I shuddered when he said he was with Nickie, knowing full well what he was implying and not wanting the thought of those two together in my already spinning head. Plus he'd taken photos?! Sometimes I swear men didn't have brains. And Nickie let him dear God....
“Yeah, I heard she got arrested. Sorry to hear about it,” Nickie commented sarcastically.
Jace laughed, “You didn’t seem to be too bothered by the lust I gave when you were screaming my name baby.”
Baby?! The bartender blatantly stared at the three of us, probably thinking we were crazier than hell; the drinks on the counter in front of him. I swiped mine and downed it quickly. “Vodka shots please, and keep ‘em coming,” I told the bartender. He nodded and got to it while I turned back to Jace and Nickie, “Alright you two, whatever your issues are, I’m not putting up with it as you are both my best friends and will someday attend my wedding and funeral…...whichever comes first. Nickie, you have a wedding to attend to and take care of and don’t need this. I’ve known Jace for a long time and though he’s had his fair share of one night stands and being a Casanova, he’s not the cheating kind.”
I shifted my gaze to Jace, “Jace, Nickie is my best friend and I believe you didn’t hurt her so if you ever do I’ll kill you friend or not. You both have some serious explaining to do to me but for now, you can both go do svidaniya outside and talk over your shit. Go on!”
Nickie and Jace both downed their drinks before Nickie tossed her purse over her shoulder and walked out, Jace following her close behind.
Once they were out of sight, I took the first shot in front of me and threw it back. The burn of the alcohol singed my throat, reminding why I never had vodka by itself. Good lord of all things to occur tonight, it had to be this didn’t it? God had a sick sense of humor.
Another bartender noticed my disgusted expression, “You alright?”
I nodded, “Yeah, you got any tequila instead?”
********************
Jace & Nickie
Jace ran after Nickie as fast as he could. God, she was still as beautiful as the last time he’d seen her. Probably even more. She’d lost some weight since then, and her hair had grown out. Right now she was walking at an incredible pace in her flats, which he thought was strange that she wore them.
“Nickie, wait! Please!” he called after her. We made it out to the street before she whipped around to drill into him, her gorgeous brown eyes like bronze daggers, “Why should I?! Just because Kaye believes you doesn’t mean that I do just yet!” But in her heart, she knew that Kaye wouldn’t believe him if it wasn’t the truth. But that was hard for her to get. She wasn’t up to trusting him again after he’d hurt her so bad. Nickie had often reminisced about how if things hadn’t gotten so hairy, she would have definitely spent the rest of her life with this man.
Jace laid his hands out in front of him, palms face up, “Nickie baby, my love, my sweetheart. Please tell me what you want. I told you the truth, and still you don’t believe me!”
Nickie stared him right in the eye as she uttered, “I want you to leave me alone. I don’t want anything to do with you. It’s been two months, I was finally beginning to be okay again, and then this!” she pointed at him, then to herself, “Just leave me alone please.”
And with that, she was long gone. Jace had half a mind to run after her, but ran a hand through his hair before turning to punch the outside wall of the club. Frustrated with himself, he leaned against it, trying to think of what to do. Get her back you idiot! a voice in his head yelled. She’s the one, now get her back for God’s sake!
The question was, how?
********************
If someone had told me this morning that I was going to get put in the middle of Jace and Nickie’s rocky romance issues, I would have told them they were goddamn crazy. Now, well, I’m wondering how I didn’t notice before as I toss back my tequila shots and suck on the limes in the bowl in front of me. My phone buzzed in front of me and I checked the message. It was from Nickie: I went back to my hotel. I’m sorry, but I can’t talk to him right now. I promise I’ll explain tomorrow at your house.
I set my phone down. Knowing Jace he probably went and got laid or drunk somewhere else. Or he went to sulk. So I was left on my own. Great.
“Had enough alcohol there Katerina?” a sultry, deep voice beside me asked. I turned and stared into the face of Sebastian Bridges. My student. What the absolute hell was he doing here?
“What do you want Sebastian?” I asked dryly, not wanting to deal with him tonight. I’d already had a mind to beat him silly earlier, I wasn’t in the mood to resurrect the feeling.
“I was in a business meeting,” he gestured to the booth in the corner of the club, “With some potential property sellers. We’ve concluded our meeting and I saw you over here looking rather distressed.”
I snorted, “Excellent deduction Sherlock Holmes. Want an award?”
“So what’s going on then? I saw your friends walk out earlier. It looked like some kind of showdown.”
“As if I would ever tell you,” I retorted to him.
He chuckled, the bastard. I think he knew that pissed me off, “I get the feeling that you actually don’t like me very much Katerina,” he said, eyeing my outfit, “Beautiful dress by the way.”
I leaned in closer to him, resting my chin on the palm of my hand, “Don’t tell me you’ve a fetish for womens dresses Mr. Bridges.”
“No, but I do appreciate a woman who dresses to her style. I don’t think anyone else could outdo you in that dress.”
“Now you’re trying to flatter me, but that’ll get you nowhere, sir,” I said firmly, but I think it came out weird. My head was becoming fuzzy from the alcohol. I realized that I should just stop there and go home to drink more till I puked. Not that I was counting on the puking part, I’ve never actually thrown up due to alcohol. I’ve always played it safe. My plan tonight had been to damn it to hell and get as drunk as possible as fast as possible. Guess I’d have to save it for another night. I laid a twenty dollar bill down on the bar and stood up, only to be blocked by Sebastian, “Where are you going?”
“Home. I’m not about to end up in some strangers bed from being too intoxicated tonight. I make it a habit not to sleep around. Hence my “inexperience” as you so justly put it the first day we met,” I snapped at him, remembering the feeling of anger that set in at his words.
He sighed, “I wanted to apologize for that. It was uncalled for.”
I blinked. Did this cocky, arrogant as hell billionaire just apologize to me? Color me surprised like a wife finding her husband in bed with a billy goat. “Well, thanks. Apology accepted.”
Wait, what’s his motive? was my first immediate thought. I pushed it away as he went on, “I was hoping maybe you’d stay and have a few more drinks with me. I’ll take you home afterward.”
I raised an eyebrow, “Why?”
“I’d just like to, no strings attached, I promise Kaye,” he said, his sincere eyes boring into mine.
I sighed, “Alright, but no pulling any tricks out of your hat or I swear you’re done for.”
Sebastian smiled at my threat, “Very well then. I’ll remind you to hold me to it.”
Gasp! Jace and Nickie know each other?! What will happen with them? What will Kaye do? Only time will tell........
Sebastian has apologized........why? Is it really a coincidence he's at that club? Hmmm......
DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love by Usher on the side :)
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