41

                                    

                                          
"Okay, if I get too drunk, you're to stay by my side and keep telling me why climbing on top of the table is a bad idea."
I gave Dawn a confused smile, "Okay?"
"And you're also going to tell me I shouldn't be removing my tops in the middle of the club. That it's a bad idea, okay?"
I chuckled, ignoring the way she glared at me, "That's happened before?"
"More than once," she declared as we walked behind Auden inside the club that his father owned. "So don't leave my side, alright? I don't want to flash anyone in here."
"Great!" I beamed, looping my arm through hers, "I'm not leaving you out of my sight."
It was Braxton's birthday today and as we had previously planned we were now at the club that Auden's dad owned. The very elite-looking club was way out of our league, one look at it and it was already very clear to us that if we hadn't been friends with Auden we wouldn't have been able to afford the entry price.
I stood next to Dawn, nodding my head as she rambled on and on about something. I had initially paid interest to what she had been saying, making sure to even give in my input wherever needed, but the moment she started talking about her cousin, I had lost her. Something about her engaged cousin turning into a Bridezilla. It made sense for all engaged cousins to become a little bit of a bridezilla – I'm sure Jo was going to be one when her time came around – but what I didn't understand is the amount of impact it had on Dawn. Everything her cousin said or did had seemed to affect Dawn in some way and it made no sense to me.
From where I was standing with Dawn, I could still feel Roman's gaze on me, the same I've been feeling since the moment I got out of Athena Hall. Initially, I think that his staring could have been caused by the surprise he had felt upon seeing me in a dress, so comfortable to be flaunting so much of my body, the makeup, and such. But now, his gaze felt too intense, like he couldn't get enough of me even with all the staring. It did make me feel good about myself, I'll be very honest.
I was wearing a very short, sexy dress. It was one of the first dresses that I had purchased over the summer on one of my shopping trips with Jo in the city.
Turning my head a little to the left, I smiled when our eyes connected. I didn't have to even search for it, it was on me the entire time so I knew where to look. He had been standing with the guys, probably listening as Dallas explained how he wanted the others to play wingman for him. He had gone long without any kind of intimacy and he deserved to find himself a girl, his words.
"Two more cosmopolitans, please," Dawn ordered us some more drinks and I turned back briefly to look at her. Her alcohol tolerance is high, I'll give her that, but she needs to remember that mine may not be – I've only drunk a couple of times before and I didn't know how many drinks I can tolerate before being classified as drunk. "What?"
"You know I'm new to this whole scene," I told her, "Stop ordering me more drinks, at this rate I'm going to get drunk sooner than I would like."
Her mouth pulled into a frown and she gave me a confused, "Who ordered you a drink?"
"You did," I said, "You ordered two cosmopolitans."
"Yeah, no," she scoffed, "None of it is for you, bitch. Both are mine, stay away from my drinks."
I rolled my eyes at her. It's only been an hour since we got here and she was already starting to slur. I knew letting her drink more was going to be a bad idea and that was what I was going to say to her when I felt a presence next to us. I looked up and immediately my defenses went up. A man stood in front of me, pressed suit, neatly maintained, gelled back hair, groomed and rich. The watch he was wearing in his left hand probably cost more than my one-year school tuition and that was saying something since I was studying in Newman Academy, one of the costliest schools in our state – if it hadn't been for the scholarship, my family probably wouldn't have been able to afford to send me to school here.