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Hedonistic Heaven was dark inside, so dark it took a minute for my eyes to adjust. When they finally did, though, it wasn't what I'd expected. And it wasn't nearly as scary as I thought. I guess I'd been expecting some giant orgy or something, but that turned out to not be the case.
There was a dance floor filled with people, and a bar on one side of us that was filled with couples. The attire of most everybody there was a bit on the skimpy side, though, that was something I'd grown used to on the cruise. But overall it looked like your average club upon first entering it.
I had to admit, I was shocked and even more surprised to find that I was a tad bit disappointed.
Lila and I walked over to the bar, and she ordered us both shots of tequila. I shot her a look, and she smiled.
“Just to loosen you up a bit,” she said. “Take some of the edge off.”
Starting off with tequila seemed dangerous, but I downed the shot alongside my friend anyway. I grimaced as the liquid burned in my throat, moving down into my stomach, making me feel a bit queasy. As the warmth spread throughout my belly, I hurried and sucked on the lime, hoping to drown out, or at last dull the alcohol flavor lingering in my mouth.
“Another?” Lila asked.
“I'm good,” I said, shaking my head and laughing. “I don't want to get wasted.”
“Probably smart,” Lila said, sounding a tad disappointed. “You'd probably like to remember your first time.”
I cringed. As much as I'd love to find a man to hook up with, I knew it wasn't likely going to happen. This was me we were talking about after all, and I wasn't a random hook up kind of a girl. No matter how much Lila—and even part of myself—wanted me to be.
“Wonder where he might be?” Lila said.
She turned her head this way and that, squinting her eyes as she scoured the faces in the crowd. She stood on her tip toes and searched the dance floor for Gavin, but judging by the look on her face, it was obvious she wasn't having much luck.
“Maybe he's already found himself a woman,” I said, shrugging and looking around at the gorgeous, scantily clad women in the club. “I mean, there are a lot to choose from here and he's not a guy who'd have trouble finding one.”
“Probably didn't think we'd come,” she said under her breath. “I knew we should have gotten to the club earlier.”
Then Lila stopped, and I watched a slow, wide smile spread across her face. It was a smile I knew meant just one thing, and I felt my stomach drop into my shoes. She grabbed my hand and before I could stop her, she was dragging me to the other end of the club.
“I see him,” she whispered.
“I kind of assumed that already,” I said.
My heart raced with each step we took. I still didn't see him, but Lila apparently had and like a bloodhound on a scent, she was in pursuit. Her grip on my hand tightened.
My eyes finally landed on him and I felt my pulse race and my breath catch in my throat. He was sit
ting in a private booth in the far corner of the club, just looking out at the teeming mass of flesh on display.
“He's alone,” Lila said. “We should definitely go talk to him.”
“He might like being left alone,” I said. “Or maybe he's just waiting for his date to come back from the bathroom or something.”
Lila cocked an eyebrow at me as if to say, “Really?”
“Come on, I'll go with you,” she said. “Just to get the ball rolling and get you talking to him.”
Still gripping my hand, Lila started walking toward him, but my feet wouldn't move. I just stared at him, with my eyes wide and my jaw on the floor. I was a melted puddle of goo somehow rooted in a block of cement. No matter how badly I wanted to, I was unable to move. Lila gave me a mischievous little smile and a reassuring squeeze as she shook her head.
“Seriously, Josie, he's not going to bite,” she said. “I mean, unless you're into that, then he might if you ask real nice.”
Somehow managing to pull my feet free from the quicksand that had been holding them tight, I let Lila walk me over to the booth, where Gavin was sitting and staring out at the dance floor. He was back behind a roped off section, likely the reason he was alone, which made me think again, that maybe he wanted to be. When we started walking toward him, he turned his dark gaze to us and I almost tripped over my own feet. Thankfully, Lila caught me and kept me from making a bigger buffoon of myself.
His dark eyes penetrating me, he smiled and waved us over, beckoning for us to step behind the roped off section.
Standing up as we got to his table, he said, “I thought you two would never stop by.”
