From Gods (6 page)

Chapter 8

“You’re not seriously going to wear that, are you?” Skylar asked, stunned to see her cousin dressed in a skintight black, short dress, with a cowl loop in front, showing her cleavage. She did look sexy and alluring, but it was not the type of dress Skylar would wear.

“Why not? All the girls will be dressed like this. I want him to see only me. Here….” She pulled a similar dress out of her closet and handed it to Skylar.

Skylar gasped, shaking her head. “I don’t think so. I won’t be able to breathe.”

“Just try it on. It’s not as low and short as mine, I promise.”

After Skylar slipped it on, she stood in front of the closet mirror. It didn’t look as bad as she thought it would be. She felt older, more attractive.

“See...it looks great on you.” Kayla tugged Skylar to the restroom and fussed with Skylar’s hair and face.

“Natural…I like it natural. Light on the makeup. Don’t make me look like a clown.”

Kayla giggled. “A clown? Are you serious? Please, don’t insult my expertise or I
will
make you look like a clown. Now, turn around, Miss America.”

“Miss America? Yeah, right.” Skylar turned to see herself. “Wow…I like it. I look…different.”

“See…beautiful clown. He better ask you on a real date, or else he is either blind or gay.”

Skylar laughed out loud. “Thanks.”

After slipping on black high heels, they grabbed their purses, got into Kayla’s car, and drove away.

The band music blasted when they entered. Skylar felt overwhelmed by the ambiance, but Kayla beamed with excitement. It was dark, but the lights above the bar and the candles in the middle of the tables gave enough light. Dashing to the other side, being tugged along, Skylar knew Kayla had spotted Nick.

Zipping through, Skylar observed the bar. All the stools were taken except for one. As they zigzagged through booths and tables, she saw the empty dance floor. Standing tall towards the back, waving, was Nick. With a hug, he gave both the girls kisses on their cheeks. Disappointingly, he was the only one at the table.

As the girls scooted into the booth, Skylar noted Nick was dressed in black slacks and a lavender dress shirt. Not only did he smell nice, he looked quite dashing, and part of her felt guilty for thinking he looked hot. Sitting there, she wondered if Mason was around, but she didn’t want to ask Nick. Her question was answered when she saw Mason across the dance floor looking straight at her…but he was with a girl.

Skylar’s heart sank, and her face stung as if she had been slapped across her face. She tried to justify his actions. He didn’t ask her out directly. It was her fault for not thinking straight…her fault for concluding he had asked her out…sort of.

Kayla followed Skylar’s gaze. “Oh no he didn’t,” she mouthed, turning to get her cousin’s attention. “Hey, Skylar. Want a drink?”

“Umm…what?” Skylar’s eyes were already on the bar, trying desperately not to look toward Mason and his date. It was difficult when they were right across from her. And it was totally not fair that he looked so debonair with dark slacks and a gray dress shirt.

“Nick will get us drinks,” Kayla suggested, looking at Nick.

“No.” Skylar snapped, taking her anger out on her cousin. She didn’t mean to. Upset with herself for allowing Mason to crawl under her skin the way he had, she was determined to prove to herself that she was strong. “I mean…I’ll get them.” Her tone was softer. “What can I get for the both of you?” She smiled. She wasn’t going to let him get the best of her.
Jerk
. He wasn’t worth her time. She was here to have fun with her cousin, and fun she would have, even if it meant faking it.

“Get me any beer. I drink all kinds,” Nick said.

“Get me the same.” Kayla looked at Skylar with concern.

Skylar ignored Kayla, grabbed her purse, walked over to the bar, and sat at the open seat. “I’ll take two beers…no, make that three,” she said to the bartender, who acknowledged her with a nod and a smile.

“What kind?” he asked. He was tall, slim, and attractive. He needed a shave, though.

“The best you have.”

“I’ll need to see your ID, miss.”

“Hmm….” Shoot! She forgot she couldn’t buy beer because she’d never bought one before. Skylar looked over her shoulder to get her cousin’s attention, but froze when a body brushed against hers and she heard his voice. It was that voice that called to her, the voice that made her go all crazy inside, the voice that could probably make her do just about anything if he asked nicely.

“It’s okay. She’s with me.”

The bartender nodded and walked away.

Skylar’s breath got caught in her throat and she couldn’t move. She didn’t know what to do. On one hand, she was furious with him, but on the other hand, she didn’t have the right to feel this way. He didn’t ask her out. She kept repeating those thoughts to make herself feel better. With no other option, she had to be polite.

“Umm…thanks.” She didn’t look at him; looking at him would be dangerous. In fact, she kept her eyes rooted on the bartender. But she could smell his musky scent, and wanted to look into his eyes and get lost in them.

“You know you can’t buy beer. You’re only eighteen,” he scolded lightly.

How did he know my age?
Then she recalled Kayla telling Nick they were eighteen. Either that, or he really was the cop he denied being and had seen her driver’s license. “I’m almost nineteen. I don’t even drink beer. I was getting it for your brother. It’s my first time buying it, and I forgot I couldn’t.”

“Well, that explains it.”

Frowning at his remark, she kept her vision straight ahead.

“But you bought three?”

She paused, trying to think of something clever to say, but failed. “I thought…I would try it tonight.”

“So…no fake ID?”

“What? No…what kind of girl do you think I am?” She scoffed. From the corner of her eye, she could see Mason wearing an amused smile. Then she swiftly shifted her eyes to his left, thinking she saw the same dirty blond haired guy she’d seen at the mall. After doing a double take and with no sign of him, she gazed to Mason’s strong ripped chest, unwilling to look him in the eyes. Though he had a shirt on, she could clearly see the firmness of his muscles, making her blush.

“Looking for someone?”

“No…I thought I saw….” She paused, looking dismayed. “Never mind.”

“Do you have a habit of conversing with shirts?”

“What?” She knew why he made that comment. She hadn’t looked him in the eyes once since the conversation started, and now she was staring at his chest. For goodness sake, she didn’t mean to make it obvious.

“Unless you prefer that I take off my shirt and give it to you, since you seem to like it so much.”

That wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
No! What was she thinking. “I don’t think so.”

Thankfully, the bartender came back at that moment with the beers, breaking their conversation. “That will be eighteen.”

Eighteen for three beers? What do they put in it, gold?
Skylar reached into her purse to get her wallet out, but when she reached to give the bartender a twenty, her hand collided with Mason’s. Clearly he was trying to pay. Once again, some kind of exhilaration sparked down her spine.

“Ouch. You shocked me again. What are you, like the static king?” Her hand jolted back to her side with the bill.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, cursing underneath his breath.

“That’s okay,” she replied without making eye contact. Then she turned her attention to the bartender before he could walk away with Mason’s twenty and placed her bill in front of him. “Wait. I can pay for it. I’m treating them.”

Mason’s hand was slightly on top of hers as he carefully pulled it back. Even though his touch was gentle and light with hardly any pressure, her hand followed obediently. “You
can
pay for it, but you need to be twenty one. Are you?” His tone demanded attention.

He was right. Submissively, peering up to answer his question—which was a big mistake—she saw his supple, kissable lips. They spread across, giving her a smile she could die for. With her eyes fixated on his, she pulled her hand away slowly. At that moment every sound, every movement seemed to blur around her. Swallowed up by Mason’s world, she was breathless. His powerful body just inches away from hers caused a longing vibe to surge that she could not control. She hated how he could make her feel so weak all over. “Thanks. I’ll let them know you bought it.”

“There’s no need for that. Do you need help carrying it over?”

“Nope,” she snapped, then twisted her neck to where his date was sitting. With a compact mirror in front of her, she was checking herself out. The date reached into her purse, pulled out her lip-gloss, and glided it across her lips. Her beautiful blonde hair cascaded down, blocking one side of her face. “Shouldn’t you go back and entertain your date?”

“My date? You think I should?” He chuckled.

What kind of answer was that? She suddenly felt bad for his date. “You should do whatever you want.” She grabbed the bottles of beer and walked away as if she didn’t care, never looking back.

“I was beginning to worry,” Kayla whispered. “What was going on over there?”

“I’ll tell you later, but now we need to toast.” Skylar clinked Kayla’s and Nick’s bottles. “To you, and you, and me.” Then she took a sip and almost threw up. Squirting some out of her mouth, she quickly apologized and wiped it with a napkin. She didn’t know why people liked to drink something she imagined pee would taste like.

Nick laughed. “You’ll get used to the taste really fast.”

After several sips, Kayla wanted to dance. With Kayla’s persuading and the tugging of her hand, Skylar and Nick were pulled onto the dance floor. They were the first to break the ice, and more people joined in. Skylar was enjoying herself, but in a way it was forced. She wanted to prove to Mason, and herself, that she wasn’t at all affected by him.

Soon after, with more sips of beer, she found herself dancing alongside Kayla with a complete stranger. Once in a while, she would steal glances at Mason. Though he never fully looked at her, she could tell he was watching, and that made her happy, like she’d won a contest or something.

As the music continued to blast, the crowd got bigger, surrounding them, and she lost sight of Mason…not just him, she lost sight of Kayla too. Thoroughly enjoying dancing, the not so bad looking guy she was dancing with was all smiles. By now, thoughts of Mason vanished, and she disappeared into the crowd as she danced like she’d never danced before. The vibration from the bass pumped through her body, enticing and fueling her with energy that was buried within her. With both of her hands up in the air, she moved in ways she’d never dared to do—seductively. Certainly, she was having the time of her life.

Skylar felt carefree, and at the same time, she felt light headed from the alcohol. Now she knew what feeling buzzed felt like. Though she didn’t know if she liked the feeling, she knew it made her feel braver, more daring…like the way she was dancing with a total stranger. As they continued to sway to the beat, sweat trickled down her forehead. Blood rushed to her face, making her feel hot from all the movement. 

Unexpectedly, her dance partner placed his hands around her hips and pulled her in. Not only did he reek with alcohol, he was sweating like he had just gotten out of the shower. His hands were all over her, uncomfortably. Wanting him off her, she pushed him, but he didn’t budge and continued to hold onto her. Then he pulled her arms behind her back to lock them in place. It happened so fast she didn’t have time to react.