ADNIOS

                                    

                                          
My eyes closed as my body swayed along to the music sensually, losing myself in the beats. Caleb grabbed my waist and he moved along with my body— we were in complete sync. It was like magic— or maybe it was the alcohol. Regardless, I had never felt so good. The music vibrated though every pore in the organ that was my skin and shook all my senses until all I felt was joy.
                          
How long had it been since I felt joy?
                          
Caleb laughed as he watched my hands make the motions of expression to the lyrics. Together we danced until the DJ switched the song. To my side I could see Sophia having just as much fun dancing with the same cute guy that had taken her away from us earlier.  The alcohol had probably taken effect on her too because she didn’t shove him away when he stole a feel on her ass.
                          
In the drunken haze my throat became dry. “I need some water,” I shouted over the music to Caleb. He nodded and retreated towards the bar. My legs were wobbly and highly unstable. I looked in the direction where Caleb had gone and decided to follow because somehow it didn’t seem right to do anything else.
                          
 It was better to stay close to him.
                          
The bar was crowded and in the mixture of people it was impossible to see where Caleb had gone. Shoving myself through what seemed to be masses of people, a creeping panic sensation started to settle in the pit of my stomach. Or perhaps it was the soup I’d had for lunch that wanted to come back up? It was hard to think on one thing for too long though. Everything was fuzzy and everyone was so close in my personal space that it was hard to focus.
                          
I turned on my heel with the attempt to look for Caleb on the other side of the bar. He wasn’t anywhere to be seen and now that my eyes drifted to the dancefloor, Sophia couldn’t be spotted either. And where the hell was Joss?
                          
Shit. Shit. Shit. Why was I in panic mode?
                          
A random girl bumped into me roughly, which wasn’t really helping my case at all. Since I was under the influence, my balance was completely lost. I tripped over my own feet with the sudden impact and landed into a hard broad chest. “Shit,” I muttered under my breath as my cheeks flushed with heat.
                          
Perhaps that last shot hadn’t been such a good idea.
                          
Two hands reached out to stabilize me but when I looked up my breath totally stopped.  Familiar eyes in the shade of a light blue were looking at me with disdain and annoyance. Though in mere seconds, that look turned into confusion and then full on hatred. He recognized me almost instantly.
                          
“Adonis,” I whispered into the air, sure that no one heard it because of the blaring music.
                          
The hold on my arms tightened.  “Isabella…” He said my name like it tasted of tar. His eyes roamed my body as though checking to make sure everything was still in place. My first instinct was to run, but he had an unbreakable grip on me and my attempt didn’t even budge him.
                          
My eyes blinked a few times, trying to stay focused on the man who had a grip on me. “I’m sorry,” the apology came out slowly, but loud enough for him to hear. “I should go.” Still, his grip was unbreakable.
                          
“You’re drunk,” Adonis deduced disagreeably. He even shook his head to show just how much he didn’t agree with my current state.
                          
I laughed nervously. “It’s okay… I have a designated driver.” But the look he was giving me spoke volumes about how it wasn’t okay at all. He wasn’t amused even one bit. In fact, he glared at me like I was a bad problem and he wanted to make me disappear.
                          
“You’re coming with me.”
                          
“What?” I shook my head with earnest. “No, I came with Sophia.” That stopped him in his tracks. He frowned at me and cursed under his breath.
                          
“Why are the women in your family so stupid?” He asked, but didn’t wait for my answer. His words hadn’t even fully settled when he made a motion with a hand, never letting me go. In less than 5 seconds, a tall bald man wearing all black was at his elbow. This man eluded a sense of deadliness and brute force.
                          
His mere presence sobered me up just a tad bit.
                          
“What’s up, boss?” Mr. Bald stood tall and straight.  He was way bigger than my future brother in-law. In fact, Adonis looked like a boy standing next to Mr. Bald. Golden chains hung from the man’s neck and he wore a sleeve of tatted ink on his right arm.
                          
“Take her to Anthony,” Adonis instructed as he let me go and maneuvered me into the hold of Mr. Bald.
                          
What the hell had I just gotten myself into?
                          
My head vigorously shook this time. “No!” Even in my drunken state I knew that was a bad idea. My fiancée would kill me. Anthony wasn’t supposed to know I was even in this city, let alone a night-club.
                          
Adonis shot me a menacing smirk, “You don’t really have a choice.”
                          
Wasn’t that the truth of my fucking life? This was such a clusterfuck.
                          
“Please, I’ll leave the club now.” I pleaded. But I lost my balance again and if it wasn’t for the fact that Mr. Bald was still holding me I’d have fallen flat on my face.
                          
“Yeah, right,” he scoffed indignantly. “Take her,” he barked, turning around almost instantly and heading into the dancefloor.
                          
Mr. Bald dragged me past a crowd of people and through the entrance of the V.I.P. section of the club. This room was smaller but the dancefloor was also crowded. All kinds of panicky crazy thoughts were flooding through my mind. I wasn’t even ready to face Anthony after what had happened between us. Now, I’d be force to deal with his wrath once more.
                          
Why did shit always come back to bite me? Was even one night too much to ask?
                          
We stopped abruptly in front of a table that was all the way to the back of the room. My eyes blinked rapidly as I searched the different faces that were lounging around it, landing finally, on a familiar set of dark blue perilous eyes.
                          
Anthony Romero. The cause of all my troubles. The source of all my grief. The yin to my yang. The peanut to my butter. The jolly to my rancher.
                          
The ass to my wipe— I was totally drunk right now.