[ Wow look an update! I'm super sorry for being so inactive, I've just been super busy with school! I promise I'll try to be a little more active! ]
She had been thinking about her encounter with the stranger in the park for days, and now that they were on the bus on the way to their first game against Mexico, Alex finally confronted her about it.
"Casey, what's up with you? You've been quiet the past two days." Alex said to her, and Casey shrugged.
"It's nothing, just something that happened during my run." She responded, trying to brush her off, but Alex was not backing down.
"Did someone try to kidnap you?" She asked, and that got Casey's attention.
"No! No, of course not." She answered, rubbing her face with her hands.
"Then what happened?" She nudged, and since she did not want her thinking the worst thing possible, she told her.
"This guy bumped into me on my run, and he was a fan so he asked for a picture. Then he tells me to visit this club or bar? Walk to the Moon? I don't know, there was just something about this guy." She explained in short, and Alex was intrigued.
"Casey, it's Howl at the Moon, and that's pretty much underground party central. Did he say his name?" Julie asked, getting in on the conversation.
"I'm not sure. The only name he mentioned was that if I was ever to come by the bar to ask for Alessio." She answered, and Julie's eyes went wide. "What?"
"Alessio Miller, one of the youngest millionaires to walk the planet? He owns Howl at the Moon and all the money goes towards non profit organizations and charities that help try and save the planet. He's a playboy, but a thoughtful one, I guess. He's sort of a mystery." Julie explained to her. She had been playing in Chicago for a few seasons, so she would know the ins and outs.
"Exactly how old is this young millionaire?" She asked slowly.
"About twenty-four, twenty-five." Alex chimed in. "You should totally go."
"What for? I can't even drink or anything." Casey responded, and they laughed.
"He invited you, Casey, and he probably won't card you anyhow. Plus, you can still get into a club at eighteen anyhow." Julie said, and she sighed.
"I don't think it's a great idea." She responded as the bus stopped outside of the back of the stadium where the locker rooms were.
"Casey, go live a little. It's not like you have a boyfriend to go back to." Alex said, and they all hollered at the comment, making Casey laugh.
"If it makes you feel any better, we could go with you." Julie added, and she sighed. She thought about it for a few moments, Alex nudging her shoulder.
"Fine, I'll go." She groaned, and they cheered for her.
"Do we get to come then?" Alex asked.
"Sure, I guess." Casey responded. They all cheered again for the night out as they pulled up to the field.
"Okay so when are we going then?" Julie questioned as they got off the bus, walking to the locker room.
"We don't have to be on a plane tomorrow morning, we could go tonight after the game." Kelley suggested, and a small murmur within the group agreed.
"Casey, you better hope you brought something nicer than I think you did." Alex said with a laugh, getting them all to laugh as well.
"I told you I won't look homeless for once." Casey answered with a chuckle as they got ready for their game against Mexico. They went in the locker room rowdy as ever, and Jill got their attention.
"Alright ladies, settle down, settle down. Let's get this show on the road and kick some ass this afternoon." Jill told them as they sat and got ready for the game, spirits high as ever.
--
"Casey you ready to go?" Alex called from the bedroom as Casey finished up her makeup. Luckily she and Alex had the same skin tone, or fairly close, because Casey did not even think to bring any makeup with her. She had made sure to bring something nice to wear, which included a pair of open toed black heels and a silk navy spaghetti strap dress with accenting cutouts around her torso and back.
"Casey!" Alex called again, and she heard her footsteps coming toward the bathroom as she was putting her earrings in. "Are you-" She walked into the bathroom and froze as Casey put the clasp on the back of her earring.
"What?" She asked as she stood straight, standing just a little taller than Alex in her heels.
"I just don't think I've ever seen you look so damn good." She responded with a single chuckle of shock. Alex looked just as good in a pair of similar black heels and a form fitting black dress.
"It feels good to look good." She chuckled with a small shrug, and Alex had her phone out, the flash turning on as she started recording for her Snapchat. Casey just started laughing as Alex started gassing her up, and Casey did the same thing after she was done.
"Alright you ready to go? Em, Kelley, Megan, Ashlyn, and Ali are waiting for us in the lobby." Alex asked, and Casey nodded, grabbing her phone and making sure she had her room key, credit card, and ID.
"Well then let's go." Casey said. She was a little nervous, for she had never really went out like this because she was still only twenty. Sure, she still partied with the team, but they usually went to a restaurant then back to someone's house and did a little beer pong and drunk karaoke.
"No need to be scared, Cas." Alex read her mind, and she huffed.
"I've just never done this before." She sighed.
"Oh come on, you went to parties in high school and when you went and visited colleges when you were still friends with Riley and Jackson, didn't you?" She questioned, and Casey nodded.
"Yeah, but that's a ton of college students. With people I know." She explained as they stepped off the elevator.
"You know us, you'll be fine." Alex said, squeezing her arm.
"Casey and Alex lookin' fine as hell!" Kelley shouted as they reached the lobby, and Casey felt her nerves flood out of her body.
"Uber's waiting outside, I made sure we got one that can fit all of us." Ashlyn informed as they went outside. They decided any pictures they wanted to take they would do there, so they just went and got in the van. Their driver was cool, letting them listen to whatever Ashlyn played from her phone through the car, and twenty minutes later they were being dropped off in front of Howl at the Moon. They took the pictures they wanted and waited to get inside, Casey barely able to get in. She was able to tell the bouncer that she was invited by Alessio, and then she was able to go in with the rest of her teammates.
It was dark inside with a lot of people crowding the central area. There were two floors; the main floor with the DJ and bar, then a balcony level with some VIP rooms and another smaller bar area. People had glow sticks on their wrists and music was already blaring for eight in the evening.
"Are you gonna go find him?" Julie asked over the noise.
"Yeah, I think so." She responded, trying to build up the courage. She knew her teammates would not be far, but it was a whole new environment. She took a few deep breaths as she walked toward the bar, trying to squeeze past other club goers to get to the bar. Once she got close enough, she saw the man she had ran into at the park a few days prior as a new person. His hair was still back in a bun, but his beard was groomed and he was wearing dress pants and a dress shirt with the top button undone and his sleeves rolled up. He poured someone a drink and his eye caught hers, and she smiled.
"Hey, I was hoping you'd show up one of these days." He greeted with an award winning smile.
"Yeah, I figured since we don't have to be on an early flight in the morning I'd come by." She explained with a laugh.
"Well I can be off in five minutes, I'd love to buy you a drink." He said, and she looked away.
"They only let me in because I said you invited me. I'm still only twenty, Alessio." She responded with a chuckle, and he laughed as well.
"You know, I knew that too. Congrats on the win today, you played great." He told her, and she smiled.
"Thanks. The team, well some of them, they actually came with me." She informed, and he started looking around to find them. "They probably didn't get too far."
"I hope I can meet them." He said with a smile. "Well I can be off for the night, mind if I join you?"
"You can just take off like this?" She asked with a laugh as he came on the other side of the bar to stand beside her.
"When you own the entire place, I can take off whenever I want as long as we're not short staffed." Alessio explained, and she shrugged.
"I guess whatever works." She said, and they were both laughing. He stood against the bar with his arm propping him up beside her. This was when she noticed the quarter sleeve of tattoos around his forearm.
"Do you want a drink anyhow?" He asked lowly, and she looked at him with shock.
"Wouldn't you lose your liquor license?" She questioned. He just shrugged.
"Come on Casey, live a little." He urged, and she looked around shyly before nodding in agreement. He smiled and looked at the other bartender.
"Hey Jack, lemme get two palomas on the rocks." He said, and he nodded, mixing the tequila based drink for him.
"How'd you know I was a tequila girl?" Casey asked when the drink was put in her hands.
"Lucky guess." He smirked, and she took a sip, furrowing her eyebrows at the sharp taste. He took a drink of his as well, his brows mimicking hers. They both laughed.
"Well you wanna meet the team? I hope they're not getting into too much trouble." She asked him, and he nodded.
"If they cause any trouble, it's on me. Let's go find your friends." Alessio chuckled as she lead the way through the crowd of people. He kept his hand feathering around her waist, and although the closeness of his hands was shocking, he never touched her, and it somewhat reassured her. Eventually she saw Megan's pink hair sticking out of the crowd in the middle.
"Casey!" Alex yelled when she saw her, and Casey grinned.
"Hey guys! Meet Alessio, he's a big fan." She introduced over the noise, and he had the biggest grin on his face as he shook their hands.
"Hello Mr. Hot-shot Millionaire!" Julie said, and they laughed, and he looked away.
"Trust me, you all do the hard work." He responded humbly. It was too loud to really have a conversation, so he suggested that if they wanted to talk, they head upstairs and take over a private room. Although they appreciated the offer, they wanted to celebrate their win with a night of dancing and alcohol. Casey somewhat agreed, for this was the first time she had really ever gone out, and she wanted to have a good experience.
"We're gonna go get some drinks." Ali said, urging the others to come with them.
"Hey, if you open a tab, I'll cover you guys tonight." Alessio told them, and a wave of cheers came over them. Casey was still nursing hers, so she hung behind with him as they all went to the bar. She turned around to face him, and this time she really noticed how gorgeous his eyes were. They were a pierce green like hers, but deeper. Hers were much brighter.
"See something you like, Casey?" He asked her, snapping her from her thoughts. She did not answer, but rather looked away as she felt her cheeks redden. Her drink was taken out of her hand and placed on the table beside them. She felt her chin being lifted by his fingers, their eyes meeting again. This time was different, for now his eyes screamed danger.
A good danger.
"This probably isn't a good idea." She said as his face got closer to hers.
"When is anything a good idea? Like I said, live a little." He smirked, and she smiled. His fingers tilted her chin upward, and their lips connected. There was a spark of chemistry between them as their lips danced against each other, eventually their tongues doing some sort of tango. The same hand started to wrap around the back of her neck and into her hair, the other hand reaching behind her and pulling her closer to him. It was irrational thinking, but this was a different type of Casey Radcliffe that she nor anyone had ever seen. Things seem to be going in slow motion, different colored lights luminating their faces and the bass from the music making their hearts pound. It was not like her, but it felt right.
She wanted this moment to last a lifetime.