I loop my arm around her elbow then dart for the club’s exit, dumping evidence of my crime into the trash on the way by. Just as we’re about to exit the main club area, our path is blocked by a t-shirt-covered chest. My pulse quickens when my eyes drink in the enormous-looking man whose shoulders are as wide as my height.
I cringe when I notice he has “Bouncer” written in white across his black shirt.
“I’ll clean it up,” I inform him, confident his angry sneer is because he witnessed my incident with the unnamed blond.
When the bouncer’s head—which is roughly the size of a watermelon—drops down to me, Nicole nearly faints. Her skin pales even more than usual, causing me to giggle. I didn’t think she could get any whiter.
The more Nicole pleads with me to stop laughing, the harder I giggle. I’m not meaning to be a pain, but the fact she can go any paler than she is has laughter erupting from my throat without warning.
Nicole squeezes my hand. “Jenni.”
“I’m sorry.” I battle to simmer down my giggles, but when she stomps down her foot like she’s about to have a tantrum, my giggles start up all over again. Tears stream down my face, and my stomach cramps. I’m laughing like an absolute lunatic.
My giggles cease when a snort escapes my nostril cavity. Mortified I snorted in public—again—I clamp my hand over my mouth and nose.
Now I’m not the only one struggling to hold back my giggles. Nicole’s O-formed mouth lifts into an uneasy smile. Her eyes stray to anyone but me as her body fights to keep her laughter on the down low. The only person not amused is the bouncer. His stern face remains firm, never once losing its hostile expression.
After bumping Nicole with my hip, I clear my face of any amusement, then raise my eyes to the bouncer. “I’m sorry.” I award him the best puppy dog eyes I can conjure while praying he didn’t think we were giggling about his massively large head.
“Apology accepted.”
Acceptance of my apology didn’t come from the bouncer. He’s standing in front of me; the voice came from my side.
When I turn my teary face toward the voice, I spot the guy I was dancing with earlier. He’s drying his beer-stained clothes with a small white tea towel, and he has a smug grin on his face, like he has the entire world at his feet.
If the bouncer’s whitening gills are anything to go by, he does.
Chapter Five
Nick
“Oh no. Now she’s in trouble.”
Catching my confused gaze, Tina tosses me a tea towel before nudging her head to the nearest exit, pointing out the girl I was just dancing with. She and her redhead friend are being blocked from leaving by Travis.
Oh shit.
Travis is the number one bouncer at the Dungeon. He’s a huge son of a bitch who doesn’t have a funny bone in his entire body. His thick arms are crossed in front of his chest, revealing he is unimpressed by the mess the blonde left on the dance floor.
“Go and save her, Nick.”
My gaze flicks back to Tina, who grins at me before adding a nod to her suggestion. I don’t usually jump to anyone’s defense, but I am partly responsible for the mess, so I shouldn’t let the blonde endure all of Travis’s wrath.
I want to say tonight is the first time I’ve been reprimanded for having multiple partners in one night. Regrettably, it isn’t. But it's the first time I’ve had a bottle of beer poured over my head. I knew the blonde wouldn’t be a shy wallflower, but I had no idea when she got angry she turned into a firecracker. Even though the beer was fucking freezing, I couldn’t stop the smirk that morphed onto my face from her audacity. Imagine taking her feistiness and unleashing it in the bedroom. Just the thought makes my dick twitch, and it has me thinking recklessly.
Tina cackles when I reluctantly stroll toward Travis. Travis and I don’t get along. It might have something to do with me sleeping with his baby sister thenaccidentallylosing her number. Then, when he gave it to me, it somehow got deleted from my phone—numerous times.
It's lucky my brother owns this club, or Travis would have wrung my scrawny neck by now.
As I approach their gathering, mopping up some of the beer my shaggy hair is drenched in with a scratchy tea towel, I realize I have it all wrong. The blonde doesn’t need me to jump in and save her. She’s laughing, not the least bit concerned about Travis’s angry glare.Her beautiful giggles only stop when a loud snort bellows out of her. When she slaps her hand over her mouth, mortified, it's the fight of my life not to break into boisterous laughter. I never knew such a vicious roar could come out of such a teeny mouse.
Hearing my quiet snickers, Travis’s dark eyes snap to mine. His stern gaze stuffs my laughter into the back of my throat. I thought Noah’s friend Jacob was huge, but he’s a midget compared to Travis.
While running her hands down the front of her red dress, the blonde settles her composure. When she’s satisfied she has everything under control, she lifts and locks her eyes with Travis’s. “I’m sorry.” She amazes me that she can go from a giggling maniac to prim and proper in a matter of seconds.
Seeing this as my way in, I say, “Apology accepted.”
I use the tea towel to dry my polo shirt that’s clinging to my chest while stepping closer to her. When she cranks her neck my way, her eyes thin even more. It’s all a ploy. She’s discreet, but even if a bus was lodged between us, there’s no way in hell I could miss her scan of my now skin-tight shirt and ripped designer jeans.
