Jace and Ariana left the company an hour earlier than usual and Ariana was surprised but went with it without asking questions.
Getting to the highway which led the house, Jace told her to keep driving straight ahead instead of taking the left turn that led to the house. Ariana glanced at him through the rear-view mirror and just did as he said.
A few minutes later, Ariana pulled up in front of a club, Flamez. There was no queue like some of the other clubs had and Ariana wondered if they just opened and haven't gotten the word out or something.
"What are we doing here?" Ariana turned off the ignition and turned around in her seat to look at him.
"We're here to party." Jace smiled,
"Speak for yourself." She turned back around in her seat before she got out of the car. Jace followed suit.
They both headed towards the entrance, they were met at the door by a WWE wrestler, he looked like one at least. He gave Ariana a once over before he looked at Jace next to her.
"Mr. Black." The bouncer said before stepping aside to let them in.
"That was easier than I thought it would have been." Ariana walked behind Jace through the dimly lit narrow hallway with mirrors from floor to ceiling on either side. They headed down the hallway towards the door on the other end. As they walked through the door, the music hit them, Ariana had to clench her teeth.
It was filled with people but not crowded and Ariana seemed to prefer it but it made her wonder why again.
"I figured the place would be packed."
Jace glanced at her and leaned in,
"What?"
He couldn't hear her above the music, so she leaned closer to him, her mouth to his ear,
"I figured it would be packed."
Jace felt something within him stir at how close she was to him, but he pulled back and smiled at her before he leaned towards her again, his mouth to her ear,
"Weekdays are for only people with invites," He said, "You should see it on Weekends, there's a queue that goes around the block."
Ariana pulled away smiling at how much he had to exaggerate it but she also liked to see that spark of pride in his eyes. Jace couldn't help but notice that the club had doubled in size since the last time he was there. He was so proud of Alex.
"C'mon," Jace said and headed around the bodies on the dancefloor and up the stairs towards the VIP section with Ariana on his heel.
Upstairs, he walked past the sectioned rooms of tinted glass and headed to the one at the end and pushed opened the door to let Ariana in before him. The dim red neon light gave the room a cooling atmosphere and with Jace in there with her, it almost felt like she was being choked.
Jace walked past her to the three men seated at the end of the room on big white sofas that lined up against the wall with a large table in the middle.
"Hey man." The three of them got up and greeted Jace one after the other, a shake and a slap on the back.
"Happy birthday, man." Another said.
Ariana just watched from the entrance and glanced behind her and saw the dancefloor through the glass from where she stood. The music still blared but not as loud as it was outside the room. The dancefloor and the bar area took most of the space and the open room on the other side of the dancefloor.
"I see you've expanded." Jace took a seat,
"Yea," Alex said, "The place was getting too packed and I had to do something about it."
"Well, it looks amazing."
"It does, doesn't it?" The one in the navy-blue suit said, "Now I understand why he spends all his time here."
"Shut up, Dan." Alex said,
Ariana smiled to herself at the brotherly bond she could see they had. She hadn't seen Jace so relaxed and in the company of people he cared about. It was refreshing and she was happy to see that what was going on wasn't robbing him of that. Ariana turned away from them, her hand clasped in front of her as she stood near the door, her ear still listening in on their conversation.
"So, Jace?" The third one called,
"Why's your lady friend standing over there?"
Jace turned to look at her and frowned, wondering what the heck she was doing there.
"Green."
Ariana hadn't heard him call her that in a while, she smiled and turned to look at him.
"What are you doing there?" Jace asked, "You're off the clock."
"I'm fine here, sir."
"Sir?" Dan smirked with a raised brow, "So, it's like that, Jacey boy?"
Jace glanced at him, narrowing his eyes at him before he looked back at her.
"You've been on your feet all day. Come sit." Jace placed his hand on the spot next to him.
Ariana figured 'what the heck' and headed towards them. She let out a slow breath as she sunk into the plush sofa, all of them looking at her. She looked at Alex.
"Nice sofa."
They all smiled,
"Thanks. Only the best for my baby."
"Your baby?"
"He's talking about the club," the third guy who still had no name said, "He's too attached."
"Like you wouldn't be." Dan said, "I'm Dante. This here is Rick," He gestured to the third guy "And this is..."
"Alex." Alex said, "And you are...?"
"Ariana."
"Jace has never brought anyone here before." Dante said,
"Well, he didn't need anyone before" Ariana said,
They laughed.
That wasn't meant to be funny.
She thought.
Ariana looked at Jace to catch him smiling at her. He looked pleased to have her there with his friends.
Rick glanced from Jace to Ariana and smiled,
"So how long have you guys been together?"
Ariana looked at him,
"Oh, we're not. I'm his bodyguard."
"Yea I recognize you from the media coverage." Rick said, "So, how long?"
Ariana stared at him.
"After the whole Heather thing." Jace placed his hand on her lap and she snapped her gaze to meet his,
"So glad you called that off." Dan said,
"We all are." Alex said,
"I am too."
"Drinks! We need drinks." Rick blurted out,
"Yes." Dan said,
Alex reached forward and pushed the red button at the centre of the table. Few seconds later someone walked in.
"What can I get you sir?" The petite female asked,
"Bring a bottle of everything I kept in the private fridge."
"Nothing strong, I hope," Jace said, "I have to go to work tomorrow."
"It's your birthday, dude," Rick said, "We're getting wasted."
"I'm not," Jace said, "You guys are."
"Fine," Rick said, "I'll have the sunset rum."
"Dude!" Dante looked at him "I know you can hold your liquor but on a weekday?"
"I'll be fine."
"We're not picking up when you call for help," Alex said to Rick, "That'd be all Melissa."
The petite women nodded and left. Ariana thought she was really pretty.
"Melissa?" Jace asked Alex
Alex just looked at him
"What?"
"The Melissa?" Jace asked him
Alex clenched his jaw before he sighed.
"She's definitely that Melissa," Dante said
"We could ask her when she comes back with the drinks," Rick suggested,
They all looked at him,
"Shut up." They all said to him,
Ariana smiled but it disappeared when the door was pushed open. She was on her feet before the others could snap their gazes at the door.
"Partying without me?" Mark smiled at them from where he stood at the door,
"What are you doing here Mark?!" Jace asked, his humour gone.