Instead I changed over to a Law and Order marathon and watched a few episodes of that. Repeats from a few years ago. It didn’t matter, I had never really watched the show anyway, so they were all new to me.
Finally, I couldn’t put it off any longer. It was ten o’clock, and I had to be ready to go clubbing in under an hour. I showered again, washed my hair, and agonized over what to wear. I wasn’t the typical super skinny bikini wearing model that frequented Miami nightclubs. My idea of risqué club wear was a shirt with the first three buttons undone. I had never really been into the party atmosphere, or anything like that. I was far too nerdy for that.
Still, I knew I had to fit in and I rummaged through my pile of clothes to find something appropriate. One good thing about saving so much money was that I was able to get myself basically a whole new wardrobe.
Finally, I settled on a somewhat short skirt and a flower print top with a pretty revealing neckline, showing off the cleavage that was hands down my best feature. At least there was one advantage to being on the chubby side.
I admired myself in the mirror before doing my makeup. Sure, I didn’t look like the supper sluttiest girl that had ever gone out, but I had to admit, I thought I looked pretty sexy in my own way with the clothes I’d chosen.
Obviously I wasn’t the only one. When I went down to the lobby and met Kiegan, along with an entourage of people he’d decided were coming with me, he definitely gave me the once over, and I saw his lips purse in a silent whistle.
A small blush crawled up my face at both his reaction, and at seeing him again. Operation Pretend Nothing Happened was not starting off great.
“Hey, you ready?” I asked, hoping my voice didn’t betray how nervous I was to even just be talking to him again.
“Yeah. Cars are outside.”
“Good, let’s get going then.”
Well, that could have been worse. It also could have been better.
I made sure Kiegan and I ended up in different cars as we were driven to the club in giant SUVs with enough space to comfortably hold ten people each. I leaned my head back and listened to the idle conversation of Kiegan’s new crew while they enjoyed the free champagne offered in bottles on the way over.
When we got to the club everything was bustling. A line a hundred people deep was growing on the sidewalk as guys and girls waiting to get in were stopped by a Maori bouncer so huge he probably weighed four times what I did.
As soon as I mentioned Kiegan Hunt’s name we were zipped past the velvet red rope blocking the entrance, much to the chagrin of the people waiting outside.
For a nerd like me, as soon as we got inside, I immediately thought about the fact that there was no way this club was actually obeying fire regulations. Everything was completely and totally packed. People were pressed against one another, and the music pounding through the speakers was so loud they probably still wouldn’t have been able to hear each other without yelling.
Against the far wall the bar was packed at least three people deep, I figured to get a drink it would be at least a ten minute wait. Coloured lights bounced around the room from some mysterious source, shining on the dance floor as people grinded to a remix of Uptown Funk.
I looked around like a deer in headlights. I was so far out of my element here, I wondered if I should have even come. I probably could have just let Kiegan go by himself, he was a big boy, he could handle it. Hell, he was a lot better at this stuff than I was.
Instead, I tried to make my way to the back of the room. Before I got a chance, however, someone noticed Kiegan and squealed out his name. I found myself suddenly squished in with what felt like a thousand gorgeous girls, all of whom were desperate to get at Kiegan. Before I knew it he’d been dragged over to the dance floor, and I got the slightest glimpse of him dancing away as I made my way to the edge of the room, hoping to find Karen, the manager I’d spoken to on the phone.
After asking a couple employees I was led into a hallway at the back, where I found Karen in a cramped office on the phone, looking both like she could go out there and party at any time, and frazzled enough that she would never step foot on the floor if she had her way.
Holding up one finger, I waited while she ended her phone call, then she looked at me with a gaze displaying both idle curiosity and complete indifference.
“Yes?” she asked.
“I’m Tina Hunt, Kiegan Hunt’s manager,” I told her. Suddenly her demeanour changed completely, and she was as charming and polite as could be.
“Of course, welcome Tina. I hope Kiegan is enjoying himself so far at our venue.”
“He looked like it the last time I saw him,” I replied with a wry smile. I couldn’t help the pang of jealousy that had run through me when I saw a group of skinny blonde girls grinding up next to him.
“Good. I’ll make sure that we have a VIP room at the back set up for him as well. Free champagne, of course. Is there anything else you’ll need?”