Chapter Nine
We started in a relatively nice lounge sipping cocktails. When it became evident that the place was full of older couples out for a quiet evening, we began to reconsider. It was a nice place to enjoy a drink, but we needed a venue with a rocking dance floor and sexy man-flesh wandering around. I didn’t want to push Kylarai back into the dating scene, but she needed to see how much more was out there.
By the time we headed downtown to a trendy dance club, the place was packed with guys on the prowl. Pushing Kylarai into some silly human fling was not my intention. But if it happened, I sure wasn’t going to discourage it.
“Seriously, Alexa?” Ky glanced around the busy club. “Everyone here looks like they’re barely legal.”
“What’s wrong with that? We’re here to have some fun. Go grab a drink. I’ll stay sober and drive home.” I gave her a gentle push toward the bar.
She turned those gentle eyes on me, and I could see the masked pain within them. It hurt me to see that. Maybe this wasn’t the road to healing, but staying home buried in legal paperwork wouldn’t help either.
“Come on, honey.” Jez took Ky by the arm and pulled her along. “Let’s go get a drink and hit the dance floor.”
I followed Zoey when she pointed out an empty booth in the back. We were hit on twice by guys at the tables we passed. I knew a beauty like Ky would get the same attention. It was wasted on the rest of us; I wasn’t interested, and neither Jez nor Zoey were into men. They weren’t quite into each other either. I’d tried to play match maker, but ultimately, neither of them seemed interested.
“She’s been crying. A lot.” Zoey slid into the booth across from me and leaned close so I could hear her over the music. “It’s been so hard not to hunt that f**ker down and break his legs myself.”
“I know. Shaz wants to kill him. Ky made him promise to stay out of it. But, I know if he runs into Julian, nothing will stop him.”
“Good. Shaz should kill him. Julian is a waste of f**king space. He hasn’t come around since it all went down. If he does though, I’m not holding back.”
We fell silent when Jez and Kylarai approached with drinks in hand. Jez took the spot beside me. Damn. I’d still hoped she would have sat beside Zoey. I just wanted everyone to be happy. Was that so wrong?
Jez was quick to avoid an awkward moment by launching into one of her many stories of dating failure. She really did meet some of the weirdest chicks out there. When she got Kylarai laughing, I started to relax. I couldn’t help but feel like it would be my fault if Ky had a shitty time out with us.
When a waitress passed by, Jez was quick to grab her and order a tray of shots. That was one way to kick off the evening. Once my companions started on those shots, the mood lightened considerably. We talked up a storm. Girl talk was the perfect remedy for male-inflicted woes. I could see Ky start to shake off the tension that had held her captive. After a few shots, she was visibly relaxed. Ok, so it wasn’t the best medicine for a broken heart, but it was better than nothing.
Zoey wasn’t much of a drinker. However, Jez and Ky had drunk enough for all of us by the time an hour had passed. Weres could safely hold a lot more liquor than humans. Still, Ky and Jez were giggling like drunken lunatics.
I was happy to sit there and let the massive amounts of human energy wash over me. I was so used to shutting it out, but now that I had better control, I was able to filter out any negativity and just enjoy the lively sensation of so much human energy packed into one place. If I focused, I could hear the sound of hundreds of hearts beating. The noise quickly became overwhelming, exceeding the fine line between enough and too much.
“Let’s get this party started. It’s time to shake your sweet bits, ladies.” Jez tossed back another shot and got to her feet. “Come on. That means everyone.”
I exchanged a look with Zoey who rolled her crystalline blue eyes. I shrugged and let Jez drag me out of the booth. Once she got going, there was no stopping her. It was a challenge just to keep up.
We made our way to the dance floor and were quickly intercepted by a group of guys looking for some female company. Jez wasn’t so great at polite rejection, so I kept her moving, leaving Ky and Zoey to deal with the guys. I smiled to myself when Kylarai actually paused to talk to them. I knew it was too much to hope she’d take it further than that, but it was a nice start.
“So what do you think?” Jez leaned in close, casting a glance back at Ky. “Do you think she’s starting to have fun?”
“It looks like it. I wish there was more I could do for her.”