CHAPTER THREE
Juliette
I was being told I was heavy and to lay off my drink by a complete stranger, outside in the smoking area of a night club no less. The audacity wasn't lost on me, but somehow seemed to be lost on the tall, dark, and annoyingly handsome guy in front of me. He looked at me like he had a bad taste in his mouth, probably because I'd just called him a jackass. Well, the hot blonde next to him had said it, I had just agreed.
The handsome golden angel continued to do the talking.
"I applaud you- sorry, I didn't catch your name?"
"It's Juliette, but my friends call me Jewel."
Tall, dark and handsome didn't take his blue eyes off me for a second, the same strict line painted on his lips.
"I applaud you Jewel," His companions overfamiliarity didn't feel like an issue, he had the kind of face you couldn't help but trust. "Not many women manage to avoid succumbing to the words of Elliot." Golden angel gave his brother a playful punch on his muscular upper arm, the contact creasing his navy-blue suit. Tall, Dark and Brooding just stared at him with a look that could kill.
"We'd better get inside Frankie." He eventually said.
He turned from me quickly and marched on like he was the king of the universe, the angelic Frankie lingered for a few more seconds then dished me an ear-splitting grin. "Catch you inside, Jewel."
And in a moment they were both gone as quickly as they had arrived. The brothers seemed like polar opposites, like light and dark. Frankie all playful with light surfer blonde hair and sexy stubble.
Then there was that Elliot, rude and full of himself. All muscles and dark hair and clean shaven. I'd figured they must have been lying about being related, the only thing in common that they seemed to share was their navy suites and the colour of their eyes. Crystal clear blue.
I gave them a second to get ahead of me, and a second to collect myself after my almost tumble, before trailing in their wake back into the club.
A pulsing techno beat had the dance floor full again. I couldn't help myself from searching for the brothers as I pushed through the crowd towards the front.
They were ordering drinks at the bar, I ducked my head low and sank into the crowd as I got closer to them, my eyes fixed on Carol and Ashley who hadn't moved an inch from our table, still chatting away to Kevin who had bought another line of shots for us all.
Ashley spotted me first. "Jewel, what took you so long? We waited to do our shots until you got back." She handed me the shot and gave me a fake frown; I snatched the miniature from her hand and threw it back before any of the others had chance to pick up their own. My cheeks began to burn uncontrollably from the alcohol.
"Two hot guys." Was the only explanation I managed to give. My words failing me for the first time in a long time.
Carol's ears pricked up, her eyes darting to me so quick I was surprised it didn't give her whip lash. "Hot guys? What hot guys?"
Prudently turning my head so I could peer over my shoulder, I spied the brothers drinking bottles of beer at the bar and chatting animatedly with each other, "See those two in the blue suites, one with blond hair and the brown haired one next to him?"
Ashley and Carol nodded in unison. "I was just outside, and I lost my footing on the curb and the dark-haired guy caught me but was a dick about it. Then his brother, the blond haired one, was really nice and called him a Jackass." I continued to stare over my shoulder at Elliot and Frankie, and I could feel Carol and Ashley stare too, even Kevin had caught on and looked in their general direction, trying to figure out who we're talking about.
"My God," Carol's jaw swung open, she forgot herself and who she was with, gawking at them both, "If I was 10 years younger..."
Elliot was a few inches taller than Frankie, even when they were lulled against the bar, you could tell. They both stood taller than most of the other guys around them though. In fact, they both stuck out like sore thumbs. Both well-groomed and suited up to the nines, they looked like they belonged as guests at a wedding, not in a night club. Not even On The Rox. They were obviously the money types; no wonder Elliot was so rude. Rich boys loved to be rude. But that judgement was contradicted by Frankie, who had seemed like a decent enough guy.
As if he'd heard my thoughts, Frankie's eyes wondered as his brother talked at him. He fixed his gaze on me in the crowd and did a little wave, then waved at Carol and Ashley when he noticed them staring too.
We all whipped our heads back around and started to giggle, like teenage girls.
"He's soooo fit." Ashley was stating the obvious.
"Hey, you're engaged!" I teased, finally putting my heels back on before my feet started sticking to the floor with all the spilt alcohol.
"I know, but I can dream can't I!" Ashley let out a sigh, then gave herself a little shake to bring herself back to reality.
Carol remained quiet for the first time in her life, no doubt cautious on what she was able to say, still having Kevin clinging to her side.
For the next few moments we remained silent, enjoying the dance music, tapping our feet and drumming out fingers, yet I couldn't shake the feeling that Elliot and Frankie were watching me from across the bar, laughing at me no doubt.
When Ashley wondered off to get us more drinks, and Kevin offered Carol another dance, I was left alone with my own thoughts. I couldn't resist replaying the whole scene in my head, slipping on the pavement, his hands on me, 'Maybe you should lay off the drink, sweetheart'.
Sweetheart!
And he had the audacity to practically call me fat to my face!
What a prick.
As I began to seethe, I felt a hand poke my shoulder. Whipping round, I was greeted with the sight of a smiley Frankie, holding out a cocktail bubble-gum blue in colour with a huge lump of pink candy floss resting on the top of it.
"For you." He informed me, "To say sorry for my brother, don't take it personally though, he's always like that." He began to laugh to himself, like it was some sort of inside joke.
Taking the cocktail from him, I offered Frankie a weak smile. "Thanks."
Plucking the candyfloss from the top of the drink, I took a bite into the sugary cloud. It dissolved on my tongue as soon as it hit it, until eventually it was all gone. I moved on to the drink next, taking a sip of the sweet alcohol, it hit some spot inside me that I wasn't aware needed hitting. I'd always had a sweet tooth.
Frankie grinned down at me; his smile so infectious I found myself smiling back at him in no time. We were still grinning at each other in silence when Ashley returned to the table with two Raspberry Mojitos in hand, as she spoke she looked up and notices Frankie, then went all red faced and chirpy in a very un-Ashley way.
"Sorry Jewel, I got you a drink, I didn't know..." she gestured to the blue cocktail in my hand as she placed the two glasses of her own on the table. When her hands became free, she held one of them out for Frankie to shake, "Hi I'm Ashley, Jewel's boss."
As Frankie's body shifted to take the outstretched hand, I couldn't help but notice the way his muscles rippled under his clean white shirt. His suit jacket must have been discarded somewhere over near his brother still at the bar.
"I'm Frankie, Jewel's new friend." He shot me a wink before taking a long swig of his beer. Ashley smirked and tilted her head to the side like she was a confused puppy, I widened my eyes at her as a signal to chill out. The last thing I needed was for her to make a big thing out of this like she always did when any guy paid me the slightest bit of attention. It didn't happen often.
The music suddenly changed; Frankie seemed to light up as a familiar beat bleared out of the nearby speakers. "I love this song, you wanna dance?"
At first, I didn't realise that he was talking to me, but when he held out his hand in front of me and waved it a little to the music, it dawned on me that it was my answer he was waiting for.
"Oh...uh..." I turned to Ashley for guidance, she just slurped at her mojito through a straw and gave me an excited look.
"Go on, I'll watch your bag and guard the seats."
I'd never been asked to dance by a guy before, the feeling was surreal. As I took Frankie's outstretched hand and slid off my chair, I prayed to the heavens that some unknown force would suddenly make me a good dancer. As the music pulsed and the song sang about new rules regarding an unrequited love, Frankie swirled me into a dance.
"You know, my brothers not all bad." He informed me randomly, placing his hands on my hips as we swayed around. Nothing about it felt serious, so I let myself go and started to enjoy moving with him. Looking over Frankie's shoulder, I eyed Elliot watching on with a bottle of beer in his hand. His eyes burned into mine as he propped himself on the bar and took a swig of his drink.
"He seems like a really nice guy." I replied sarcastically, having to lean into Frankie's ear so he could hear me over the music. He laughed and spun me out then back into his arms.
"This will drive him crazy!"
"What do you mean?"
He spun me back out again, it took everything in me to steady myself and not fall in front of him for the second time that night.
"Because," Frankie's footwork was flawless as he moved me around the dancefloor, "I'm dancing with the prettiest girl on the dance floor."
What?
I instantly blushed crimson, although I wasn't sure anyone could tell under the violet pyrotechnics. I had to look around just to double check if somebody else heard what he said too just in case I needed a witness. Instead, I caught eyes with Carol, dancing provocatively with Kevin, who had his back to us. She popped her head over his shoulder and gave me a massive thumbs up, which made me blush even more.
"I'm sure this won't bother him. The thinks I'm a heavy drunken idiot." I managed to reply.
"You'd be surprised."
"You're definitely the better brother." The booze had started to work its magic, my inhibitions and social barriers slowly slipped away from me.
Frankie let out a hearty laugh, "I'll tell him you said that, he'll love it."
Daring to take another glance at Elliot at the bar, I was surprised to not find him there. Instead, he was weaving his way through the crowds towards us like he was on a mission. His eyes didn't leave us, not once. The guy seemed to wear a permanent scowl.
When he was finally stood next to us I didn't know what to do with myself, so I just stopped dancing and watched him carefully. Frankie found him hilarious, like he knew how to push all his brother's buttons all at once. He'd probably had years of experience doing it. The two brothers shared a fueled stare, filled with unspoken words that I could only imagine. Frankie eventually backed away from me and let's go of my hand, holding up his hands in defeat. "She's all yours brother."
Then he left us, and it felt like Elliot and I were the only two people on the dance floor.