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Bash: Yes, baby?
Chloe: You’re impossible.
Bash: Nah. Just persistent. You’ll be living with me soon enough, anyway. Might as well start making yourself at home.
Iroll my eyes, but my grin is so wide my cheeks hurt.
Chloe: We’ll see.
Bash: We’ll see is right, Little one. I’m heading into a meeting. Be good and have fun.
It’s too soon to think about moving in with Bash. I think. I have a feeling if I talked to my brother about it, he’d encourage it and probably help order a moving truck. Those men are so freaking stubborn.
Despite thinking it might be too soon, the idea of living with Bash, waking up to him every morning, and letting him take care of me in the tender way he does makes my heart beat faster. I almost took him up on his invitation to have our girls’ night at his house just so I could be close to him. Sleeping in my bed without him is not appealing in the least. The man was like my own personal heating blanket last night, and without him, I’m going to be cold. I don’t know how long it takes to fall in love with someone, but it feels like that’s what this is. Maybe it would be different if I had just met him for the first time a few days ago, but I’ve known him for years.
In all that time, I’ve learned several things. He’s loyal to a fault. He’s protective of those he cares about. He’s generous. Too much so if you ask me. Five hundred thousand dollars? The guy must have bumped his head if he thinks I’m accepting that from him. Even if I could open the entire makeup line I’ve thought about and planned since I was a teenager, I don’t want him to give me the money. I grew up in a home where my father controlled everything because he was the one who made the money. He used it to his advantage. Hence, me going on a date with Bradley Du Pont. I want to make my own money, so that way I still have control of my life if something were to happen.
I’m going to need to talk to Paisley about the possibility of moving out. I won’t leave her high and dry. She’s still an entry-level accountant at her firm, so she’s not making big bucks yet, plus she’s still paying off a mountain of student loans. If I move out, she’ll have to get another roommate. The thought of that makes my heart hurt. She’s my best friend.
I spend the next while rummaging through the cupboards and freezer, looking for the junkiest of all junk food I can find for the evening ahead. Fruit snacks. Ice cream. Chicken nuggets. Cheetos. Wine. Yes! We are set.
Just as I close the fridge, Paisley comes fluttering into the house, her black cotton dress flowing around her thighs. I have the same one. In yellow, of course.
“Get your dancing shoes on. We’re going out tonight.”
My eyebrows furrow as I jerk my head back. “What are you talking about? We’re doing a girls’ night in.”
She shakes her head. “Nope. Change of plans. A guy in my office got us on the VIP list at that new club downtown. His brother is a bouncer there or something.”
Going out doesn’t sound appealing. I was actually looking forward to a night in, wearing comfortable pajamas and watching movies. She looks so excited, though, and it has been a long time since we went out together.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay in? We have a plethora of junk food and wine.”
Paisley sticks her hands on her hips and blinks several times. “Go get changed. Let’s do girls’ night right. Come on. We don’t have to stay late.”
I let out a deep sigh. “Promise?”
She holds up her pinky. “I promise. We can Uber there and have a couple of drinks, then Uber home and still watch a movie. I’ve been dying to see the inside of this club. I heard there are cages suspended from the ceilings that women dance in. Plus, there are a lot of sports stars that go there, and you know I’m in my sports romance book era.”
Lord, is she ever. All she talks about is hockey romance this and hockey romance that. I keep telling her mafia books are where it’s at. Although, there are some sports romance books I’ve definitely read one-handed.
“Fine. I don’t know how you always talk me into this stuff. You should have been the lawyer.”
She laughs and shakes her head. “Nah. I prefer to argue for fun. Call Bash and invite him along.”
I shake my head as we make our way to the stairs. “He’s working. I don’t want to bother him.”
The club is packed wall-to-wall with people. Paisley was right, there are huge cages suspended in the air with sexy women dancing in them. By the time we make it up to the bar, I already have a fine sheen of sweat coating my skin. It was a workout trying to muscle past people. Surely, it’s a fire hazard to have this many people in here.
With the dim lighting and multi-colored spotlights moving around every which way, it’s hard to see more than a few feet in front of me. The bass of the music is beating so loud, it’s vibrating inside my chest.
We get our drinks and slowly make our way through the crowd. With as much as I keep getting bumped, I won’t have anything left in my glass soon.
Paisley points and yells over the music, “There’s the dance floor! Let’s go!”
I nod because there’s no use in trying to talk. It’s so loud, I can’t hear myself think.
When I get jostled between two large men and nearly spill my entire glass, I shake my head and throw the liquid back in one swallow. I’m not going to waste a twenty-dollar Cosmopolitan. Sheesh.
