She’s TheCozyDeer.
I’m freaking obsessed with her videos. She is the cozy game and life-sim content creator right now. I play her streams and videos in the background while I paint. I live and die by her recommendations; she’s never wrong.
And she just took a slap for me.
What in the multiverse is going on?
Concern pools in her eyes. “Wait, seriously, are you alright?” She leans forward, loosely holding my wrist.
“Yeah. Sorry, no, I’m fine. I just…” Crap. I don’t want to seem like a total fangirl and scare her off, but I don’t know how else to explain my dumbstruck state. “I just didn’t realize you were, well, you.”
Her eyes soften, the worry disappearing, and a small laugh lilts out of her.
“Oh! You’re completely fine.” She leans backward into the green mask’s protective hold—Shield, I think.
“Thank you, though. He is my ex’s friend, and…well that pretty much sums it up, honestly.”
She shakes her head, “No, trust me. I understand.” There is a sadness that swirls through her gaze, but in a flash, it’s gone.
“Deer!” A petite girl with silky black hair pushes through the crowd and tumbles into our group. She tugs Deer out of the guy’s grip, porcelain hands running over her to check for any injuries. “Why would you do that? Are you okay?”
Deer squeezes her friend’s hand reassuringly. “I’m fine, Al. It was just Decker.”
“And you!” The girl pokes Shield in the chest. “You should’ve stopped her. What’s the point in having these big muscles if you don’t use them.”
“Chill, Lee. I might be muscley, but Deer is quick as a fox. Slipped right under the crowd.”
They continue to bicker back and forth, but I feel the heat of Blade’s gaze burning into my skin. I peek to my right, and sure enough, he is leaning against the pillar, arms folded, watching silently.
“Not to be the responsible one, but we should probably take this back over to our table. We’re gathering quite the crowd here.” His deep voice carries over the group, commanding their attention without needing to raise it any louder.
“Nope. I want to dance. Rid my body of the bad energy Decker brought.” Lee grabs Deer’s hands. “Come on, dance with me. Pleeeease.”
Lee proceeds to twirl her around, and she laughs. “Fine, but only if they join us.”
Deer nods her head toward me. I look back at Deanna, who hasn’t said a word this entire time. Her steely black eyes flick over the group, assessing, before a wolfish grin spills out.
“We’d love to.”
Lee squeals before taking off through the crowd, and the guys yell after her to be careful. Deer tugs me forward, and I grip Deanna’s hand to pull her through the crowd with me. A glance back gives me one last look at Blade before I lose track of him in the throng of bodies as we exit VIP to the general dance floor. My body is tossed between jostling bodies while we try to follow Lee’s snaking path. Her sparkly mini dress is the only way we are able to track her.
Sweat beads on my skin as the sticky heat from the dance floor surrounds me. I’m elbowed a few times, and someone steps on my foot at least twice before Deer pulls us to an abrupt stop. I look up, coming face-to-face with a giant neon tiger, and grin. Lee led us all the way to the front of the DJ booth.
Despite the muggy air clinging to my body, a shiver racks down my spine. My gaze lifts from the crowd, searching the balcony.
There.
Blade’s telltale red mask glows like a beacon guiding me to danger. It’s hypnotizing. There’s a part of me that is drawn to him, no matter how I try to deny it. My body aches at the distance. He looks even hotter than when I saw him at the VSAs. The way his muscles flexed and glistened in the lights as he cornered Decker should be considered a sin. Even now, I want to trail my fingers down his abs.
What were the freaking odds that he would be at the same club? I really thought the chances of us crossing paths again were slim to none. And yet, here we are, just a few weeks later.
I’m jostled out of my trance when some random bumps against me. I force myself to rip my gaze away from Blade to the women in front of me.
Lee shoves her fist into the air. “Alright, ladies. Fuck Decker. Let’s have some fun!”
“Fuck Decker!” Deer chants back.
“Fuck Decker!” Deanna and I join in after.
We all raise our fists in the air as the beat drops. The four of us move seamlessly to the music, our bodies twisting and turning in time with the beat. I let the bass reverberate through my body, my skin jumping at the force. My head and body move as one, blending into the sounds beating through the speakers. All the want and temptation that has been building inside me fuels my movements. I let the music fill me, power me. Euphoria creeps into my soul, and I know I’m grinning hard as hell right now.
An EDM remix of a popular song comes on, and the four of us squeal before singing along with the lyrics. Well, shouting might be a little more accurate than singing.
The margaritas Deanna made at her place and the shots we took here are finally making their way through my body. My muscles loosen as the liquor warms my blood. I let myself slip into the feeling. Everything around me becomes a blur of orange and white as I lose myself to the music, lights, bodies, heat. My ass drops to the floor, bouncing on my heels, as I shout along to the song. Deer follows my movement down and bops her pink hair wildly to the beat. Deanna grabs my hand and pulls me up into a spin, and I laugh against her. All my worries feel like they were blown into a balloon and thrown into the sky. My eyes shut as I allow all my inhibitions to be free.
I feel a trail of hands on my hips, ghosting the line between my skirt and my skin. A warm body presses up against mine. My eyes pop open in shock, and I make eye contact with Deanna. She just smiles and winks before turning her back to me, dancing with Deer and Lee. Confusion bubbles over the shock, but as I twist my head around, both disappear as lust takes over.
Shining red X’s tower above me, and the club’s neon lights bounce off the black mask. It all mixes into one addictive, hazy glow. Unable to stop myself, my hand reaches up, caressing the bottom of the mask. The hard plastic is slippery under my sweaty touch. This close, I can see the faint trace of his eyes behind the mask, staring right at me.
“Blade,” I breathe.
The music is so loud, and my voice is so soft, but still, I can see his eyes crinkle in response.
“Hello, little dove.”
Even with the base pumping through my veins, I feel his chest rumble against my shoulders as he speaks to me. I smile up at him. Genuine happiness floods my system, desire simmering beneath it. The deep growl of his voice is comforting in a way I can’t quite pinpoint.