I could see the guy mixing as Jodie spoke over the music.
"And a Blow Job is Bailey's Irish Cream and Kahlua topped with whipped cream, it's served in a shot glass-be careful to pour slowly."
I cleared my throat as she described with accurate detail how to mix these drinks.
"What are you having, Miss Prissy?" Jodie asked as she nudged my arm.
"Prissy? Me?" I laughed. "I'll take a Screaming Orgasm but I'll give the Blow Job a miss, thanks!"
"Make that two Screaming Orgasms. Do you think you can handle that?" Now she was really heavy with the sultry tone and batting her false eyelashes.
"Oh, I'm sure, baby," he said, not missing the ‘subtle as a sledgehammer' hints she was dropping.
We paid for our drinks, and while Jodie didn't want to move away from the bar, I wanted to sit down somewhere. Now if only there were any available seats.
We walked about halfway round the club before spotting a couple vacating a table.
"So, you like the guy at the bar much?" I asked, hoping she would pick up on the sarcasm.
"Oh, hells yeah!" she said a little too loudly.
"Well, maybe you can give him your number next time you go to the bar," I said and took a sip of my drink.
The atmosphere in the club was heady and I was enjoying the music so far the DJ was selecting-none of the cheesy crap played on every radio station all day long.
It wasn't until we'd ordered our third drink of the night that I saw a familiar face in the crowd. He was dancing on the packed dance floor and Maggie was nowhere to be seen. As if my spotting him had prickled his senses, Grey turned his head and looked directly at me. That amazing smile lit up his face and he said something to a friend before walking in my direction.
"Would the lady care to dance?" His breath tickled my neck and ear as he leaned down to talk to me.
I knew I probably shouldn't and the Carly that hadn't had three Screaming Orgasms might remember that, but my drinks had emboldened me to say yes. I took his offered hand and saw the look on Jodie's face as I stood up and walked towards the dance floor, my hand held tightly in Grey's, almost protectively.
We didn't even try to talk, we just danced together-entwined with each other in a rather intimate way that I knew sober Carly would regret in the morning.
When Jodie came to bring me another drink on the dance floor, I didn't stop dancing, just took the bottle from her hands-I smiled gratefully at her before she walked back towards the bar. I assumed that either the bartender or some other guy was keeping her amused as she didn't seem pissed at me for leaving her to her own devices.
After another dance, I excused myself to go to the ladies' room. I walked towards the bar, and when Jodie saw me coming, she headed my way.
"So, little Carly decided to let her hair down tonight?" Jodie asked in a pleased tone as we made our way through the crowd to the ladies' room.
"Yes. Maybe a few cocktails was just what I needed. This club is great," I said as I pushed the door open. We both looked at each other and started to speak at the same time. We laughed and I quietly waited for her to go first.
"Matt is sooo cute," she said in her drunken sultry tone. "He's taking me out tomorrow night."
"So you're over Xander then? Who's Matt?"
"Yes, I'm over that fool. He never had time for me. Matt is the bartender, idiot." She shoved me playfully. Even in her tipsy state, I could see her eyes were alight with happiness. It was about time she got lucky after having dated many a loser in her past.
"Oh, so you got a date after embarrassing the poor guy with your obscene cocktail names?" I asked with a grin.
"There's nothing obscene about a Screaming Orgasm and I'm hoping that's what he gives me … after a few dates, that is."
I knew she wouldn't sleep with him straight off. She has a five date rule. No under the clothes action until on or after date number five. That wouldn't stop her letting him touch her in all the right places over her clothes, but that only came after date number three.
"Well, I'm ready to get back to Matt," she said as she applied a fresh coat of lip gloss.
"Okay, mind if I come with or will there be too much innuendo for me to be comfortable looking at you both?" I laughed as I retouched my own gloss.
"I thought you were busy dancing with Grey-that's if dancing is what it could really be called … " she trailed off.
"It was just a little harmless fun," I said in mock indignation.
We left the ladies' room and went to the bar. I ordered a bottle of water to rehydrate after all the alcohol I had consumed.
I could see Grey from where I was stood and he didn't seem to be having anywhere near as much fun as we had just shared. As luck would have it, he looked in my direction and offered a mega-watt smile that made my heart skip a beat.
After some more chatting with Matt, Jodie decided we had to dance. She walked up to the DJ and requested he play "I Kissed A Girl"-trust Jodie for her typical taste in music. She began to sashay over to me to dance and grind with me-she even pretended to kiss me more than once, much to the pleasure of the men in the room.
When the song ended, she sashayed back over to the stool Matt had reserved for her at the end of the bar. I was left standing like a fool when the DJ's normal music resumed. But when the familiar opening bars of an old favorite song interrupted what the DJ had started to play, I couldn't help the smile that lit my face.
I knew who had requested this song and why. There could only be one person, and as I spotted him walking from the DJ booth, I walked in his direction.
Grey took me by the hand, led me to the middle of the dance floor, and began to dance the way we always had to this song. My back was to his chest and he had his hands on my body, roaming their way from my shoulders, down my arms, then he took my hands and placed my arms around his neck-after which he resumed his hands following a path down my body.
My heart was pounding in my chest in time to the music. I was loving the feeling of his hands on my body, stirring up the feelings inside my heart at the same time. I turned to Grey and ran my fingertips down his broad chest. He'd had time to work out since we were last together-even through my tipsy haze I could feel the muscles expand and contract as we danced. I put my hands on his hips and let the music take me.
After our dance, normal music resumed for the second time and I excused myself from dancing to get a drink.
"Hey lady, what was all that about?" Jodie asked as I ordered a cosmopolitan from Matt. Thankfully, that was one cocktail he knew the ingredients for.
"What was what about?" I asked as I took a long slow sip from my glass, deliberately avoiding the question as long as I could.
"You know full well what I mean, Carly, so don't play dumb with me." She pointed a finger at me accusingly.
"Oh okay, if you must know, Grey asked the DJ to play that song and we danced. End of story."
"Not end of story." I could see in her eyes she had sobered up somewhat since I last spoke to her. "Tell me now, he's supposed to be engaged, so what was all that sexual tension about?"
"Well, obviously it was sexual tension," I pointed out.
"Well, duh! Look, far be it from me to tell you what to do, but are you sure you know what you're doing? He left you ten years ago, Carly." And just like that I knew the playfulness of earlier was gone.
"I know." I hiccupped. "I was just dancing with him, Jodie."
"Well, if that's all it was, what's with the eyes he's making at you now?"
"How would I know?" I asked as I turned to scan the dance floor. He was with his friends, but his eyes were still trained on me. The look in them made me feel naked, stripped bare in an instant. I turned back to Jodie and just shrugged.
"It's your funeral," she remarked and went back to talking to Matt.
I set my empty glass on the bar and went back to the dance floor. Grey and I made our way towards each other, and when we were a foot apart, he held out his hand, a silent question to dance with him some more. Of course I was more than happy to oblige.
We danced until the club closed at 2 a.m. After another cocktail and a couple of rounds of shots, I found myself outside with Grey. The air was cold on my skin and Grey offered me his jacket, as I had forgotten mine. Moments after sliding my arms into his coat, I was pulled roughly forward by him until I stood toe to toe with him. He leaned down, putting his arms around my waist and his lips over the top of mine.
I met his fervent kiss like it was the oxygen I needed to breathe. His lips were hot on mine and he tasted like a mixture of alcohol and peppermint. I kissed him until my lips felt numb. When I pulled away, I looked into his eyes, and what I saw there was a reflection of my own desire and need. Before I could overthink the situation, I took my iPhone out and called a cab home.