Mackie spun around in circles on the table, laughing obnoxiously down at Skylar, her best friend who was sporting a frown with her arms crossed. At that moment, Mackie really couldn't care.
Her whole life, Mackie had done what she was supposed to without complaint and never said a word about such things. As a twenty three year old receptionist for a large business company, Mackie always wondered if her life would get any better. Starting today, on her birthday she knew things would change for her.
"Mackie, you'll get hurt, get down!" Skylar scolded, reaching for Mackie's hand and tugging on it slightly. On a normal day, such an action wouldn't cause Mackie to topple over messily, but being this special day, she decided to let loose and have a drink or two...or three...or ten. Really, she lost count after five.
"Why don't you just come up here and join me, Skylar? Let loose, you're so uptight." Mackie snorted and grasped her drink in her hand and swallowed a large gulp. She giggled uncontrollably and hiccuped, while Skylar's frown deepened.
Skylar tugged on Mackie's hand again and she toppled over sideways, landing harshly on top of the table of the club at the Cosmo. With an 'oof!' Mackie fell to her side and giggled hysterically, not feeling the sharp pain in her rib as she hit the black table.
"Mackie, come on. You've had enough." Skylar said. Mackie pulled her hand from Skylar's grip and rolled over onto her back, laughing loudly and feeling dizzy.
Skylar was at the end of her wits as she watched her best friend roll around the table like a delusional maniac. She rubbed her temples, the buzz from her single drink fading as she did so. Mackie needed to get back to the hotel room. And she needed mad water and ibuprofren.
"I'll never have enough! Do you know how long I've been a grown up, Skylar? All my life! I have never had any fun, and so far, this is the most fun I've had in ages!" Mackie shouted. A few boys nearby toasted their glasses to her and cheered, all the while dancing. Mackie laughed and shouted, "Yeah!" While doing a shimmy on the table top.
Skylar glanced around worriedly, hoping nobody could see Mackie's little miss in the tight dress she wore. Mackie had never been a partier, and Skylar knew that first hand when they had become friends in middle school. Mackie hated drinking, smoking, and parties.
But tonight, on her twenty third birthday, apparently every single one of her morals had flown out the window. Skylar rubbed her temples again and contemplated how to get her best friend back to the hotel.
"Mackie, it's late, we need to go back to the room." Skylar said. Mackie ignored her and reached for her glass and swallowed the rest of it's contents. As another wave of the booze hit her system, Mackie hopped down from the table and gyrated her body to the music playing throughout the club.
Skylar lost her temper and shouted, "Fine! Have fun, I'm going home!" She grabbed her things and turned, exiting the club quickly, so as to avoid her best friend's drunken state. As she walked out the exit, she fumed and cursed Mackie.
**
Austin was losing interest in the girl standing before him. She talked about nothing but herself and how she found the sexy red dress that was currently slipping downward as she moved her arms about. To be honest, Austin found the little peep show he was getting interesting, yet boring at the same time. He wanted someone with a little more class than this.
As he nodded in agreement with every word that spewed from the girl's red caked lips, his eyes fell on a girl in a deep purple one strap dress and four inch heels dancing on a black table, swaying her hips and downing the rest of her frilly drink.
She instantly captured Austin's attention. Everything about her was intriguing. The way her dark wavy hair swayed around her shoulders and touched her waist gently. He wanted to run his fingers through it. She had a small heart shaped face and full pink lips that moved sensually as she spoke, and large blue eyes that caught his soul from the opposite side of the room.
All interest he may have had in the blonde bimbo in front of him faded faster than a match and he pushed her aside, making his way towards the dark haired beauty.
He noticed that she was talking to a girl below him and watching intently as the girl standing on the floor quickly lost her patience and gathered up her things, leaving the dark haired girl alone, who now stood on the ground, swaying her body sensually.
Austin watched carefully as she joined the massive crowd and joined the festivities. He touched his drink to his lips and stared as her incredible butt moved in circles. She held so much more intrigue than the girl he had been previously trying to hit on.
Austin couldn't help but decide that she was perfect. Perfect to play the part, perfect enough to be exactly what he wanted her to be. All he had to do was woo her and hopefully things will go as planned.
Finishing his drink in one swallow, Austin set the glass on an empty table and casually walked through the mass of moving bodies to step up next to the dark haired girl. He began to dance around her, moving his own body to the music.
A few guys were up close to her, grinding against her, but Austin could tell that she was too intoxicated to notice what was going on. Austin stepped up, grabbed her arm and tugged her away from the vulture men, who were also too drunk to notice what was going on.
"Hey!" Her voice was slightly high pitched but had a beautiful lilt to it that had Austin running his toungue over his lips.
He spun her around and soon they found a rythym that worked for the both of them. Austin had never danced with a girl that was so sure of herself, so open and beautiful. She was captivating. As Austin leaned in, the girl's legs began to shake a little, most likely due to a large amount of alcohol consumption.
"What's your name?" Austin asked, getting closer into her personal space and dancing with her sensually, showing her how talented he was.
"Mackie." She said back. Austin smiled, his mind playing with the name easily. Mackie. It caressed his toungue lovingly, as if the name was meant to roll off of his toungue. He spun her around again and they continued their dance.
Mackie was beautiful, and Austin knew he'd found the perfect girl. She would go along with it. She was exactly what he was looking for.
"Mackie, do you want to get out of here?" He asked. Mackie nodded eagerly, although her dialated pupils showed that she was incredibly unaware of her surroundings. Perfect, Austin thought, tugging her through the crowd towards the exit.
Everything was being set into motion. Everything would be alright.
**
Skylar was walking down the strip of Las Vegas, rubbing her arms out of worry. It was warm outside, with a gentle cool breeze that gently wrapped around her body, cooling the warmth that was caused by the desert heat.
Skylar was beating herself up inside, wondering what the hell she was thinking when she left Mackie at the Cosmo. She was intoxicated and unaware of everything around her, and out of her anger, Skylar left her all by herself.
Vulnerable. Alone. No idea how to get back to the hotel. Some friend she was. Skylar face palmed herself as she turned down the car park. She entered the Cosmo and made her way towards the elevator pushing the button that would allow her to go back upstairs to the top floor where she assumed Mackie was.
When the elevator came to a stop, Skylar still hadn't forgiven herself for abandoning her incapacitated best friend to fend for herself against drunken men and the dangers of travelling while doing so. The music thumped the entire floor as she enterred.
Bodies crushed and pushed against others, the whole mass moving in sinc as the DJ played a techno song that blared through the speakers surrounding the room. Skylar winced as an elbow roughly slammed into her rib.
Ignoring the pain, she went over to the table she and Mackie had previously occupied, only to find that she wasn't there. Skylar turned in circles, looking around the club for her best friend's unaturally dark hair and slim waist. She moved her way through the crowd and searched everywhere.
Eventually, Skylar found herself at the bar, asking the bartender if he had seen her best friend.
The bartender shrugged, talking about Austin Dame, a rich guy that partied in these neck of the woods and often took girls home. He continued to talk about some arranged marriage but Skylar was finished listening. Obviously, the bartender had no clue as to where Mackie had disappeared to.
With a sigh, Skylar once again left the building, headed back to their hotel room at the opposite end of the street. She'd have to go looking for her best friend later.
She just hoped that she was alright.
**
Austin was nervous, his stomach flipping upside down as Mackie played with a bottle of champagne in the back of the limo. He wondered if she had ever driven in such a car, but in her toxic state, he thought better of it.
"You know, you're kind of cute." Mackie said thoughtfully, getting up close into Austin's face. She gently touched his jaw as her fingers ran across the light stuble that covered his jaw and parts of his cheeks. Austin smirked cockily.
"Just cute?" He asked. Mackie shrugged, the lower part of her dress hiking up just the slightest at her movement,
"Okay, maybe not cute, but hot. Really hot. Why am I here with you by the way?" She asked. Austin chuckled, glancing at her with a grin.
"I need your help. But don't worry about it. It's nothing bad." He said. Mackie nodded and pulled away from Austin, using a bottle opener to pop the cork off the top of the champagne bottle. Some foam spilled from the top and leaked onto the floor but Mackie didn't seem to care.
She took a large swig from the champagne bottle, nearly chugging it. Austin wondered if she might suffer from alcohol poisoning, but knew that was unlikely. After this bottle, he thought, I'll cut her off. Just to be sure.
The driver pulled up to the building and Austin climbed out of the back, tugging lightly on Mackie's hand while she chugged the alcoholic beverage from the bottle.
"Come on, I need you to do something for me." Austin said, as he walked into the white building. A man stood at the counter and smiled kindly at Austin and Mackie.
"And you are?" He asked, the lilt in his voice indicated his sexual preference, but Austin didn't care.
"Dame. Austin." He said. The man looked down at a sheet of paper before him and then nodded. He stepped away from the podium at which he was resigned at and lead Austin, with Mackie in tow, into a large room with four pews and a man dressed as cupid at the front. There was a short line of people and the man gestured to the room.
"Just wait in line. It will be shortly." He said before walking away. Mackie finished the bottle of champagne and burped, loudly. She began giggling and Austin chuckled along with her.
"Where are we?" She asked. Austin smiled and pulled her against his chest, making it as lovingly as he could.
"I need you to do a favor for me." Austin said. Mackie looked up with a confused face and Austin wanted to laugh. She was just so adorable. It made him feel queasy about what he was about to do. Did he dare ruin this girl's life like this?
"What is that?" She asked. Austin lost his grin and pointed to the man dressed as cupid. He had to do this, his own life practically depended on it. He only needed her for a few months. It wasn't like there was going to be anything romantic between them.
"When he asks if you take me, you say 'I do'. Okay? Then I just need you to write your name on a sheet of paper." Austin said. Mackie looked up at him, a large smile gracing her pretty face. It hurt Austin to think that she was just agreeing to this due to her lack of coherence.
God, he was messed up.
"Okay! But wait," She said, her face becoming serious. Austin smiled and looked down at her short frame. "What's your name?" She asked. Austin's heart jolted, filling with guilt at the thought of not even introducing himself.
"Austin." He replied. The line moved up and Austin stepped forward, bringing Mackie in tow. She began to giggle and Austin looked down at her, amusement coloring his face. Her slim hand covered her mouth and she shook gently with each wave of guffaws.
"What's so funny?" he asked. Mackie began to giggle hysterically, clutching her stomach and heaving with laughter. Austin released her sides as she sunk to her knees and began to laugh long and hard. Austin looked around, embarrassment tinging his cheeks in a light pink.
"Mackie?" He gently touched her shoulder but Mackie was too busy laughing loudly at whatever it was she was she found funny. Confused, Austin looked up to see everyone in the room staring at them curiously. He cleared his throat and pulled Mackie up onto her feet.
She was wiping under her eyes, where tears had been leaking heavily.
"Sorry. I broke down a little." She said with another little chuckle. Cupid called them up and Austin, shaking his head, pulled Mackie up to the podium where Cupid stood. This was it, the very day that would change his life forever.
Or at least for the next few months.
Yes, Austin was going to marry Mackie.
****
A/N Alrighty! This is the first chapter. Don't forget to tell me what you think. Hit that Vote button, I promise it won't take but a second ;)
Fan and Follow me on Twitter as well! @JoLeeXD1
Thanks for reading, Lovelies!
Lotsa Love,
C