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“Whatever day this party falls on, it’s always a full house,” she replies.
I look to her questioningly, my brows drawing together in confusion. She didn’t fill in many details about what this club night was for when she invited me- just said that it was a party I wouldn’t want to miss. I’m beginning to wonder if she’s being deliberately vague or if she just keeps forgetting that I’m still the new girl in town.
Shay laughs lightly and tucks her fuchsia-streaked hair behind her ear. “So this club is astrology themed, right?” she asks rhetorically, gesturing to the Club Zodiac sign. “There’s a special party here the night before the full moon every month, with guest DJs, cage dancers, shot girls, the whole nine. It makes sense in context of the astrology theme, but it’s really forus.” She winks, leaning in and dropping her voice low. “As you can see, though, a bunch of humans turn up too, so don’t go howling to the moon or anything.”
I roll my eyes, giggling as I glance toward the long line again. “Does that mean a lot of the pack’s here tonight, then?” I ask, not recognizing any familiar faces in the queue.
Although I’ve been in Denver for a few weeks now, I wouldn’t be able to pick many members of Cole’s pack out of the crowd if I tried. I’ve spent most of my time at the packhouse, so I’ve only really met those who live there or frequent the place- and even if I’d ventured out, the pack is so large that it’d take a while for me to get to know them all. While I can identify other shifters by scent if I’m close enough to them, from afar, the Denver pack blends seamlessly with the human population in the city. Which I suppose is what they’re going for.
“Yeah, a lot of the twenty and thirty somethings come out for the party,” Shay answers nonchalantly as Tobias, Bryce, Eddie, and Kylie circle up around us. The six of us rode together tonight, while Mike and Ashlyn- who are still hooking up- said they’d meet us here. No word on Tayla, though I doubt I’ll get lucky enough for her to skip out on this party if it’s as popular with the pack as Shay says it is.
Shay bumps her hip into mine, grinning. “So just plan on coming with me every month from here on out, yeah?”
“We’ll see,” I say with a laugh. “Classes start Thursday, so I’m sure I’ll be holing up studying most weeknights from here on out.”
Bryce throws an arm over my shoulders. “Trust me, once you experience a pre-moon party here, you won’t want to miss one,” he says, steering me toward the entrance to the club while the others fall into step behind us.
“Oh yeah?” I challenge. Arching a brow, I look past Bryce, to Tobias on his other side. He’s pre-med at Denver U too, so he’ll either back me up here or tell me that I can totally swing partying on a weeknight with our courseload. Honesty, I’m good either way.
Tobias shrugs a shoulder. “I’m sure you can make it work. I usually do, unless it cuts too close to midterms or finals. And lucky you, you’ve got a study buddy who’s at the top of his class.” He tosses me a wink, a cocky-ass smirk on his lips.
I’m competitive in most things, academics being one of them.
“Hope you’re not too comfortable in that top spot since I’ll be knocking you out of it soon,” I tease as Bryce skirts past the line to get in the club, leading us right to the bouncer at the door.
Just like at Jokers, the door guy gives us a nod and lets us right in. Cutting the line must be a perk for members of the Denver pack- either that, or Tobias and his friends have clout as pack warriors. Or maybe it’s Shay since she’s mated to the pack’s beta. It’s definitely not me, despite my… whatever’s going on between Cole and I, because the bouncer eyes me skeptically just like the one at Jokers did on the first night. Shay vouches for me this time, and no questions are asked as all six of us are permitted entry.
The air inside of Club Zodiac is electric, practically vibrating with energy. Or maybe that’s just the floor vibrating from the heavy bass beat of the Nicki Minaj song blasting through the speakers. Either way, there’s a definite shift in the atmosphere, and I instantly feel more alert, more alive, just…more.
I take it all in with fascination as I follow closely behind Tobias, trying to stick with my group so I don’t get lost in the crowd. It seems that would happen easily, as there isn’t a designated dance floor here- the entire place is a damn dance floor. All around us, bodies are moving to the music, asses shaking, hips swaying, hands thrown in the air.
My eye is immediately drawn to the large bar at the center of the room, sunk into a pit a few stairs down and lit up with neon rope lights around the perimeter. The bar staff is dressed in white, their skin splattered with fluorescent paint and lit up by the blacklights dangling from above. The scantily clad dancers entertaining the crowd from cages situated around the bar are sporting the paint as well, glowing handprints strategically placed on their tits and ass cheeks. The whole scene has this sci-fi, otherworldly feel to it, like I just stepped into another dimension.
Bryce and Tobias lead the way as we snake our way through the thick crowd, making our way closer and closer to the bar. When we finally make it up front, Mike and Ashlyn are there waiting for us, tossing back shots in little plastic glasses that glow neon pink under the blacklight.
“About time you fuckers made it,” Mike chides, scooting aside to make room for the rest of us. “First round’s on me, what’ll it be?”
“Tequiiiiila!” Ashlyn shouts, her reddish-brown curls bouncing as she spins around and shakes out her hair. She teeters on her heels and starts to lose her balance, falling sideways into Kylie.
“Jeez, how long have you guys been here?” Kylie asks Mike with a grimace as she catches her friend.
It’s a little bit of pot calling the kettle black if you ask me- Kylie’s usually the one who can’t hold her liquor.
“Not long,” Mike replies, side-eyeing Ash with a wince as she struggles to regain her balance. “We, uh, pre-drank a little bit.”
“I couldn’t tell,” I giggle, slipping an arm around Ashlyn’s waist and helping to steady her. “Why don’t you skip the shots for a couple rounds, huh?” I suggest. “Dance it off.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Ashlyn slurs with an eyeroll. To her credit, though, she doesn’t protest when Mike orders seven shots and a bottle of water, and even takes the bottle from him without complaint, cheersing us with it as the rest of us toast and toss back the shots.
The liquor burns on the way down my throat, but I take it like a champ, then down two more shots in quick succession. The guys order beers and Kylie orders some yummy looking blue drinks for us girls before we all step away from the bar and scope out a place to hang for a while. Sticking close to one another, we weave our way through the crowd until we find a break in it, posting up by a rail that we can rest our drinks on while dancing- under guard of one of the guys, of course.
It isn’t long before Tayla turns up. She struts up to our group in a dress that has so many cutouts it could pass as lingerie, and while she’s probably the last person I wanted to see tonight, I’m having so much fun dancing with the other girls that I can’t even be bothered to get annoyed by her presence. The two of us basically ignore one another, which is fine by me- I’d rather skip faking niceties. We both know any attempt at polite conversation would be dripping with insincerity.
I’m completely in my element, dancing with my girls and rolling on a solid buzz, when I feel a large pair of hands slide around my waist. They splay across my stomach, tugging me back into a hard chest- and for a single, blissful moment, time stands still. My eyes fall closed. I inhale deeply, registering the familiar scent of clean soap, spice, and something woodsy and masculine.
Damn I love the way he smells.
Cole dips his head down beside mine, leaning in close. “You wore that skirt to drive me crazy, didn’t you?” he murmurs into my ear, and a shiver tracks all the way down my spine.
