Page 87 of Bad Influence
They are—hopefully—behind me now. As long as I have a good boss I’ll be fine. I know there will be a learning curve switching from corporate law to family law, though Aiden didn’t seem too concerned, and even seemed eager to help me learn.
“Is Aiden single?” I ask Lilith.
She looks at me assessingly. “I’m not sure. Why do you ask?”
“Just curious. He’s very pretty.”
“Are you interested?”
“Of course not!”
Lilith raises her hand in surrender. “Hey, I’d never tell you to put all your eggs in one basket. You’re newly single, maybe you should play the field a little.”
“There’s no field, and I suck at the game,” I say. I hesitate before admitting, “I’ve wanted Killian for a long time. If something is going to come of it, I don’t want to mess it up.”
Eve finally finds her way back to the table, carrying our drinks. It saves me the embarrassment which comes from oversharing. I’ve never admitted out loud that I want Killian. It’s a truth I learned to bury because everyone always wanted Beckett and me to be the perfect couple, and I foolishly accepted that.
“Good news,” Eve says, sitting down next to her wife. “WhileI was at the bar, I scoped out a bunch of men and women for Caroline.”
“To do what with?” I ask.
Eve shrugs. “Flirt, make out, whatever you want. You’re only going to be twenty-seven once. Get the full experience.”
I pick up my Cosmo and take a sip. “I’m getting the full experience by celebrating my new job with my friends.”
“Which is great, but you can’t be single forever.”
Lilith looks at me and rolls her eyes. I’m pretty sure Eve knows what’s going on between me and Killian, so I don’t know why she’s saying that I should flirt with other people.
“Baby, you know, she and Killian?—”
Eve waves off Lilith’s concern. “I’m not telling her to get in a relationship with these people. She can exercise her flirting muscles a little.”
“I’m going to need a lot more drinks before I get comfortable enough to flirt with someone,” I say. I mean for it to be dismissive as in I’m not going to be drinking enough to flirt with someone. But apparently Eve takes it as a challenge.
She waves to someone over my shoulder, and a bottle of tequila and three shot glasses appear in front of us.
“Never say I don’t come prepared,” Eve says, an almost evil grin on her face.
The first shot goes down rough. I’m coughing and reaching for my water bottle which Eve also had the forethought to get. The second shot is smoother, and by the third I feel like my body is turning to liquid.
Warmth floods through my blood stream, and I feel more relaxed than I have in years.
“Let’s dance!” Eve exclaims.
She doesn’t wait for either of us to reply before grabbing our hands and pulling us out of the booth. Suddenly we’re in the middle of the dance floor, our bodies grinding against each other as we dance to the music.
I lose myself to the feel of bodies around me, lights flashingbehind my closed eyelids, music thumping loud enough that I can’t even hear my heartbeat. It’s a feeling I’ve never had before. I’m letting the people, the music, and my senses sway me in whichever direction without worry and fear.
I never want to leave.
And I realize I have to when I feel a pressing need to go to the restroom. Eve and Lilith are lost in each other, arms snaking around their bodies. Not wanting to bother them I dance my way off the dance floor and get in line for the bathroom. My hair is sticking to my neck with sweat.
“Oh my gosh, I love your heels,” I say to the girl standing in front of me. She’s wearing peep toes studded with jeweled rhinestones and they’re absolutely gorgeous.
“Thank you! I got them 50% off!” She gushes. As we waited in line, she tells me all about the shopping spree she recently went on where she got the shoes.
It reminds me that I need to go and buy clothes for work. The clothes that I brought with me are more casual. My suits and professional dresses are still hanging in my closet back in California. I need a few staple pieces to add to my closet here.
