It's over an hour later when we finally pour out of the uber we ordered and make our way into the brand-new club that opened just a week ago. Even Shaughna hasn't been here yet, but of course Dshawn already knows the owner, the DJ and two of the bartenders. That guy lives for nights like this. It's weird that he and Danny have basically the same kind of IT job, since Dshawn is the least nerdy person I know. Danny however is class A nerd with his black trimmed reading classes and love for science fiction novels. Not that Danny doesn't know how to party – we had a lot of fun back in college – but never like Dshawn.
I shake memories of my ex from my mind and let Shaughna pull me straight to the dance floor. She's already buzzed from all the beers she consumed back at her place. Tiffany has rosy cheeks as well, but I am still stone cold sober. I only had half a beer and I actually prefer it that way. The flashing lights and booming music are enough to set me into a dance frenzy. Anyone who sees me jump around with my friends will presume I am drunk since my moves are just as erratic as theirs.
Dshawn spots a few buddies of his and they join us, taking us three girls with hungry eyes. Immediately, Dshawn pulls Shaughna close, marking his territory. She catches my eyes and winks at me. She's always liked her guys territorial and a little jealous. Dshawn is an easygoing guy and he was never possessive with me, but he certainly is with her. It's cute as hell and I'm happy for her.
Dshawn's friends are obviously not impressed with me – might be because my dress falls over my knees and doesn't have a plunging neckline – but Tiffany certainly turns some heads tonight. She's not even in a dress, but her skintight silver skinny jeans and neon pink crop top that shows off her perfectly toned belly sure do the trick. She got some extensions a week earlier and touched up her dark roots, so her blonde hair is longer and flowing down her back in perfect waves. If I was a guy, my head would turn for her too.
Tiffany isn't convinced about them yet, though, so she spends at least half an hour dancing with me while eying the guys as they dance, deciding if one of them tickles her fancy. Dshawn easily has the best dance moves of all of us, but his friends aren't too shabby either. If I was still single, I'd be grinding against one of them by now. But I'm not and honestly, I'm not as into dancing and drinking as I thought I'd be. I still miss Nathan.
"Be right back!" I yell in Tiff's air, pushing her to the tall black guy next to us. I met him a few times before and he's the nicest of the bunch if you ask me. "You go dance with Aston!"
She hesitates a moment, but Aston sure doesn't. His hands are on her hips in and instant and pulls her back to his chest, grinding against her from behind as his fingers dig into her bare skin. I throw her a wink before taking off to get some fresh air.
Okay, I'm not just getting fresh air. I'm obviously sneaking a cigarette that I bummed from Dshawn earlier tonight and there might be something else I want to do now that I'm outside, leaning against the wall near the bouncer and a few other smokers. I want to call Nathan.
"Hey!" he sounds sleepy, but there's a smile in his voice as well. "Don't tell me you're already in bed. I thought you were going out like there's no tomorrow."
I grin and take a drag of my cigarette before answering. "Actually, I snuck out for a moment. I miss you."
"You're out with your friends and you're out in the cold night to call your boyfriend?" Nathan laughs. "That's so cute. I thought you were the young fun one in this relationship."
"I am," I tease right back. "Don't think you're fooling me, Nathanial. You sound like I woke you up from a good night's sleep that probably started around 9 pm. Grandpa."
"Grandpa? Really? That's a kinky nickname, Caroline, even for you."
"Ewwww." I crunch up my nose and can't help but wish that I was with him to not just hear him laugh but to see it as well. "I miss you."
"Miss you too, honey. I'll be right over after work on Monday. How about I cook this time?"
"You mean you're ordering take-out?"
"Exactly."
We both laugh before saying our goodbyes. He still sounds tired and Rose will be up bright and early tomorrow. Besides, I should get back to being a fun 25-year-old and do some shots in the club, even though I'd honestly rather be in bed with him right now. I'm turning into a boring old person real fast and I don't even care.
"Caroline?" I turn to the side when I hear my name and see a tall guy my age looking at me in surprise. He's got dark brown eyes and sandy blonde hair. He pulls a hand through it and smiles at me, drawing attention to his pearly whites. "It is you! I thought I recognized your voice!"
"Do I know you?" I ask. He looks vaguely familiar, but I can't place him.
He looks a bit embarrassed and his smile wavers. "Erm... I'm Yord."
"Oh!" I realize. He's the guy who pulled Danny off of me that horrible night a while ago and who was kind enough to make sure I was okay. "Yord! Of course. I remember you."
His grin returns and he pulls a pack of cigarettes from his coat. "I was just about to head in, but I guess I can slum it here with you for a minute. Do you want one?"
I'm done with my first one anyway, so I throw it down and put it out with my heel before accepting another one from his outstretched hand. He comes a little closer to light it for me and together, we lean against the wall, enjoying a smoke.
"How are you?" he asks, glancing at me with narrowed eyes, his attention on my neck. "You look better than you did the last time I saw you, although you still seem a bit bruised."
I grin, raising my hand to run my fingers over the spot where Nathan's teeth sunk into me a few nights ago. "Don't worry about that. Very different kind of bruise."
His eyes widen a bit and I can't help but laugh at how surprised he looks.
"Oh," he breathes, looking away and fidgeting with his cigarette. "That's good, I guess. No more exes harassing you? Because I'm more than ready to kick that guy's ass again."
"Haven't seen him since, actually." I'm grateful for that too. I'd be perfectly happy to never see Danny again. "I don't know if I thanked you properly that night, but you really saved me. So... thank you."
"No biggie."
We chat for a while and it's actually nice to be out of the packed club for a little while longer. Yord is easy enough to talk to and he's not trying to hit on me or anything, which I appreciate. He's cute, but he's not Nathan. No one is. Still, he's nice company and I enjoy talking to him. He's two years younger than I am and he's in his senior year of college. His stories about his classes and his friends are amusing enough to stay for a third cigarette.
After that, we both decide it's time to go in. I'm getting cold anyway. I walk with him to the wardrobe so he can get rid of his coat and he buys us both a shot which we down easily. He offers me another, but I decline. I'm not planning on getting drunk and the night is still relatively young. Yord follows me to my friends, who are near the bar, chugging down beers.
Dshawn recognizes him immediately and he claps him on the back with a grin. Shaughna soon realizes who he is as well, and we introduce him to Tiffany, whose eyes are glued to him like he's the best thing she's seen all night. Aston is still right next to her and he doesn't look all that happy that she's so enthralled by another guy.
I move over to Tiffany so I can talk in her ear without the others hearing. "He's single," I tell her, jerking my head towards Yord. "Nice, too. Three years younger than you, though."
She shrugs, taking him in from head to toe. "He's gorgeous."
"Go for it," I tell her with a smirk. "This is your night, remember? Go get some." Honestly, I feel like I'm Shaughna. She's usually the one to tell everyone to get laid.
"I'm gonna dance," I announce, pulling Tiffany with me. As we head toward the dance floor, I look over to Yord and motion for him to follow us. He seems confused, but Shaughna is even a great wing woman when she's drunk, so she nudges him and even manages to keep Aston from joining us.
"Oh God, I need to pee!" I yell when we've only been dancing for a minute. "Be right back!" As I walk away, I accidentally stumble into Tiffany and push her against Yord as I pretend to get my balance back. By now, Yord has caught onto what I'm doing and he winks at me, his arms going around Tiff's waist. Smart guy.
I make my way back to Shaughna and Dshawn, not even bothering to pretend that I need to go to the restroom. Shaughna throws an arm around my shoulders and grins widely.
"That was pretty smooth," she says proudly. "So you have been paying attention all these years."
"Learned from the best," I agree, nudging her.
"Poor Aston," she says, motioning over to the broad guy who is now looking rather sullen, forced to watch Tiffany locking lips with Yord. To be honest, I'd rather have Aston in my bed than Yord if I had to choose. Although I'd kick both of them out for Nathan in a heartbeat.
I pull Shaughna with me to the dancefloor. I came here to forget Nate for a night, to stop missing him. So far, I'm even farther from my goal than I was back home. That guy has my heart in his back pocket for sure. And while I love being with him, I also want to be able to go dancing for a night without wishing I was far away from here, snuggled up against him. I'm young. I'm fun. I'm independent. I don't need him to have fun, right?
The next hour is pretty great, since Shaughna refrains from grinding against Dshawn and just acts silly with me. The more she drinks, however, the hornier she gets. When I realize I'm dancing on my own while Tiffany and Shaughna are basically dry humping their men, I decide I've had enough. I'm ready to head home – or well, to Shaughna's apartment. I feel kinda bad leaving Tiffany, so I pull her aside for a moment to make sure she doesn't mind, but she just seems annoyed that I'm keeping her from Yord for even the shortest moment. I doubt she's gonna show up at the apartment at all tonight. I say goodbye to everyone and Yord shouts 'thank you' into my ear, which makes me smile. Then, I'm off. I order an uber and have another smoke as I wait for it to arrive. A drunk guy tries to talk to me, but I'm not in the mood. I'm probably the only fully sober person in the vicinity, since I never had another drink after that half a beer and the one shot. College Caroline would be so disappointed in this mature version of me, but I don't care. I just wanna go to sleep.
My uber pulls up and I slide into the back seat, closing my eyes for as the driver takes off. When I open my eyes again after a moment, I notice that the driver is looking at me in the rearview mirror. His blue eyes look vaguely familiar.
"I was wondering when you would recognize me," he says, looking over his shoulder at me for a second before turning his attention back on the road. "It's been a long time, Caroline."
His voice is one I know well and I groan. When will I ever stop running into my exes when I go out for the night?
"Jordan," I say, cursing my luck. "Why the fuck are you my driver?"