He climbs to his feet and my heart soars. “Sure, why not? It’ll be a warmup before Roxy gets on stage.”
We make our way to the now crowded dance floor, moving into the hot undulating bodies, the bass of the music bumping us as much as the people we’re weaving around. Freekaleek is still thumping, the extended club mix obviously a Trixie’s favorite.
I’m glad. With all this tension in me, I need to let it all out. I’ve been holding on too tightly, and Oliver notices it as we start dancing. “Relax,” he says, grinding against me. “Just have fun.”
He places his hands on the small of my back, gyrating against me like he’s Channing Tatum and we’re in Magic Mike. The heat inside my body only rises as he uses it like it’s his personal playground, his hands moving down to grip my ass, his intense gaze burning into me.
Watching him, feeling him, I’m fucking shocked. He can move. What can this man not do? He can turn me on with a wink of an eye, fucks like a bull, can tame wild dogs, and now I find out he can move that incredibly hot body of his like nobody's business. And work mine like it is his business.
I’m hot and wet between my legs, and it has nothing to do with the temperature in the club.
If I could get him to fetch me Funyuns and make a macchiato, he’d be perfect.
“Wow!” I say, wiping sweat off my brow once the song is over. The way he worked me was fucking hot, and I’m glad the song wasn’t longer or else I might not have my skirt on anymore. Seriously, I’m so fucking hot I almost feel like having him take me down the hallway and fuck me. “You can really move!”
He grins. “I’m glad you liked it.”
Another song comes on and we dance. Not as hot, but that’s mostly because of the song, and then we have to go sit down. The music ratchets down a notch too, and I can see the stage crew getting a mic in place for Roxy.
“Shoot, you wore me out,” I say. We sit down, and Oliver orders another round. “Next round is no alcohol for me, okay?”
Oliver nods and sips at his martini. “Just wait until after Roxy’s done and we get back to John’s.”
His words warm my cheeks, and I down about half of my Stoli and soda, needing to cool off.
Brad comes over to the table with his friend just as Roxy climbs up on stage, grabbing the mic out of the stand and waving to the applauding crowd. “What’s up, Trixie’s?”
“Go, Roxy!” I yell, supporting her. “Work it!”
Roxy laughs, and she begins singing several songs, all pop. Taylor Swift, some Selena Gomez, and a few other pop standards. I cheer through each one. Even Oliver gives her a shout out.
“She can really sing,” he says, impressed. “There’s no way she can give up on this.”
“Yeah, that’s my baby sister,” I say proudly. I haven’t heard her sing in a long time and it’s really great. I love hearing her. She was right. I needed this.”
After her third song, she takes a moment to pause to address the crowd.
“Hey, everybody. I’m glad y’all are enjoying my set, but I’d like to share something with you. Tonight, I have two very special guests . . . my sister, Mindy, and her fiancé, Oliver. Can y’all give them a round of applause?”
A spotlight opens on us, and everyone is suddenly looking at us and applauding us, and my cheeks burn. Roxy, I’m gonna fucking kill you! I say In my head while I bow my head stupidly. Meanwhile, Oliver looks less disturbed, and he just smiles and nods his head at people, giving a little wave.
Up on stage, Roxy laughs. “Ain’t her man the best? The past week, we’ve spent time together, and I’ve been so inspired by their love. I want something like that one day. So I’m gonna mix it up a bit and dedicate my next song, I Wanna Love You Forever by Jessica Simpson, to them both. Because they make me want to have my own forever love.”
She clears her throat and a serious expression goes over her face. No, Roxy. Not this. I can’t handle this. I glance over at Oliver, who also looks uncomfortable, but then he looks at me, and I can see pain in his eyes. A pain that mirrors mine.
You set my soul . . .
Each word is like a stab in my heart as I force myself to listen. The emotion in Roxy’s voice rings out. It’s so strong. So real. So raw. She really cares about me and my relationship. How in the hell am I supposed to tell her that it’s a lie?
I’m gonna love . . .
She hits the high note, and tears come to my eyes as Brad jumps out of his seat while the crowd goes wild. “YASSS, honey!” he yells, leading the cheers. “SING, BITCH, SAAAAAANG!”
I climb to my feet, clapping as Oliver rises as well, and we both exchange awkward glances.
Tears are streaming down my face and I’m unable to speak over the lump in my throat. I’m crying, but not for the reason I should be. Even Oliver’s looking choked up, and I wish I could feel worthy of what Roxy just gave me.
“How’d I do?” Roxy says to me after she gets off stage, dabbing at the tears in her eyes with a napkin. “I hope I didn’t fuck it up too much.”
The tender, vulnerable look in her eyes just adds to the tears streaming down my face. But it isn’t because of happiness or gratitude. It’s because I feel like an absolute fucking fraud.
As I take her in for a hug, I can only tell her the truth.
“Baby, you were absolutely amazing.”
Oliver
“Woo, that was so much fun!” Roxy says as we walk through the doors of the mansion at one in the morning. After her set, we stayed another couple of hours, and she’s feeling pretty tipsy. “I’m so glad you guys came.”
“We’re glad we did too,” Mindy says quietly, exchanging a glance with me. I know what she’s feeling and thinking. The raw emotion Roxy displayed for us set us both on edge. I feel worse for Mindy. She wanted to please her family too much and didn’t think of the consequences. Now we’re mired in a web of lies. Even if she did want this to last past this week, the amount of lies and bullshit is so deep that it could poison any chance of our having peace.
We can keep it up for a week, but for longer? Hell, I can barely keep the stories straight now, and I’ve been the ones telling them. No matter what, for Mindy, it has to end after we go home.
Nothing can be done about it now, I say to myself. Only two nights left.
I don’t know if I could go back to my life though. Knowing that Mindy’s literally around the corner? I’ll never be able to have a minute’s peace.
“You guys looked really good together,” Roxy continues. “I saw you dancing on the floor. Y’all were tearing it up.”
“Yeah,” Mindy says quietly without much enthusiasm. “Listen, Rox, I’m kinda tired, and with the ceremony tomorrow . . . well, I’m gonna head up to bed.”
“Sure,” Roxy says, giving me a big wink. “You too, Oli?”
“Yeah,” I agree. “Roxy . . . you’ve got real talent. Don’t stop singing, okay?”
My words pierce some of the fog of alcohol around her, and she nods. “Sure, Oli.” She gives me a big hug, squeezing my neck hard. “I’m gonna love having you as a brother-in-law. Thank you.”
We all three head upstairs, Roxy in front since she’s down the hall from us and her balance isn’t quite what it needs to be. As Mindy and I make sure she doesn’t fall and break her neck, she rambles on. “I can't wait for your wedding. It will be something truly special. Mindy, you gonna let me walk you down the aisle? “
Mindy hesitates, glancing at me. I place a hand on her arm, giving her a nod. Even if we’re a lie, Roxy can walk her down when Mindy does get married. “Of course,” she says weakly. “That would be great, Roxy.”
“What’s wrong?” Roxy asks, turning on the riser. I guess she could hear it in her sister’s voice. She weaves a bit, and I steady her shoulders as she peers at her closely. “This ain’t the time to be gettin’ sappy!”
“Just tired. The dancing, ya know,” Mindy says quietly. “Takes it out of you.”
“Girl, you act as if you’re as old as Grandma.” Roxy giggles. “Y’all go on. I’m good to get to my room. Good night, sis, I love you both.”