Give Me Love

Chapter 1

I can't believe Sadie pulled me into this club. No, I can't believe I actually let her pull me into this club. I hate clubs of almost all things. They're loud, hot, and the only people in them are drunk ones. Well, mostly drunk ones.

Sadie went off somewhere and left me at the bar. I don't drink, so I order me a Coke. It's the best thing they're serving though I prefer Pepsi. I pop the lid and take a sip. Crap. It's hot. Don't they know anything about ice? I set the drink down and wheel around in the swivel chair to face the crowd of dancing bodies.

I pick at the black dress that Sadie made me wear. I hate this dress. I've always been self conscioust about myself and how I look. Personally, a pair of sweats and a hoodie would be perfect. But no, I was going to a top club so I had to wear something eye catching, Sadie had said.

This music is hurting my ears. And that Coke was nasty enough to give me a slight oncoming headache. There's some yelling from the back of the club. I turn my head to see two guys going at it. One upper cut to the left cheek. The other goes for the ribs.

That's a bad move. Block yourself. And then find his weakness. Amateur fighters. Or just drunk imbeciles. My dad used to teach me how to fight. It was for self defense. But that was all before he got sent to prison for a crime he never committed.

Feeling a need to move around from sitting down so long, I make my way to the dance floor. It'd be impossible to find Sadie in this crowd. But I don't really want to find her right now. Let Sadie do what Sadie does best: get lost. Never ask her for directions.

I dance my way as best as I can around people, moving to a beat that the DJ's playing. Out of nowhere, someone comes up to me and starts dancing. Crap, he's tall. His green eyes are dark and his curls bounce as he dances.

I only come up to about his shoulder. And I'm used to being the tall one. Well, normally the tall one. It looks like he's catching most of the girls' eyes around him as well. He is kind of an eye-catcher. He leans down to my ear and whispers, "You're a good dancer, love."

His voice is really deep. I can see his eyes sparkle mischievously when he pulls away from me. He winks at me and then takes my hand. I'm pulled from the crowd of people and back to the bar. I don't really know my way around here, but I know how to get back to where I was.

The tall guy sits down on one of the swivel chairs and motions for me to sit down beside him. A bartender comes by almost immediately when they see him sit down.

"I'll take a beer," the guy says. "And for the pretty one over here...she'll have a beer as well."

"I don't drink," I say.

"Oh lighten up! Have a little fun tonight!" the guy says.

"Getting drunk isn't fun," I say.

"It is if you're with the right person," the guy says, leaning in really close and making his voice low.

"And I'm obviously not with the right person," I say.

Annoyed, I stand up and turn around to walk away. But the guy grabs my arm. "I figured you'd be a struggle," he says. "Siddown."

I sit back down and accept a Pepsi from the bartender. Whoa, they have Pepsi's here? Crap. That would have been nice to know.

"What's your name, feisty?" the guy asks.

"Ray," I answer. "Short for Raylan."

"I like it," he says. "It...fits you."

I let out a snort of disgust. Talk about a major flirt. I don't do flirty jerks.

"I'm Harry," the guy says. "Styles."

"Styles what? Hair? Clothes?" I ask, trying to make a cheesy joke. Harry laughs slightly.

"Don't we have a sense of humor?" Harry says.

"You make it too easy," I say. I take a sip of my Pepsi.

Harry chuckles. "What do you do?" he asks.

"Huh?" I ask.

"Your job," Harry says.

"Oh, that. Yeah, I work down at...Starbucks. But I basically work down at the gym that my uncle owns," I say.

"The gym?" Harry asks. He slams a fist against the bar that makes me jump. "I knew I've seen you somewhere! I go down to the gym all the time. That's where I've seen you!"

I take another gulp of Pepsi. "You almost have me a heart attack there," I say. "So...where do you work?"

Harry scratches the back of his neck. He sets his beer down. "Oh," he says. "Yeah...um...I hate where I work. I work down at the bakery. But it pays well, so...."

Harry shrugs. I nod understandingly. I hate working at Starbucks. But, it pays enough for me to pay the bills for half of the apartment. Barely. But it's get Sadie and I by.

"So how often do you go to the gym?" I ask. On a normal basis, I go every day. It relieves stress.

"Eh...I'd say about three days out of the week. If I can even go that much," Harry says. "Why? How often do you go?"

"Every day if I can," I say.

Harry whistles. "So do you work out or help or something?" he asks.

"Well, I work out while helping the people there. Like, I'll kind of train them or whatever," I say. "But I'm only allowed to train my age group and two years older because I'm a girl."

Harry laughs. "Or maybe it's because older guys might take advantage of you," Harry says.

"What?" I say.

"You're a girl with an attitude. Snarky comments and probably a hard punch. Guys would definitely take advantage of that. Especially if they were older," Harry says, taking another sip of beer.

I wrench my jaw to the side. "You're about to find out exactly how hard my punch is," I say.

"And that's exactly what I mean by an attitude," Harry says.

I finish off the last swigs of my Pepsi. "I've always had an attitude," I snap.

"Most gyms classify by weight group," Harry says. "What age group are you in?"

"Seventeen," I say. "I'm allowed to teach eighteen and nineteen year-olds." I wrench my jaw to the side again. "And the trainers are classified by age, not weight. We teach. We don't fight, or run, or play whatever. Weight classes are classified by boxers and fighters. Not the other classes. There's more than just fighting."

Harry smiles. "I may just try out for a class...." he says.

I roll my eyes. I hope he doesn't. Because if this guy does, whatever he tries out for, I'll be able to hit him somehow. I'll find a way to. Maybe he'll try out for the fitness routine and I can hit him 'accidentally' over the side of the head with on of the huge aerobics balls. God, I would love to do that. Over and over again.

Harry stands up after taking one last, long swig of his beer. He smirks down at me. Crap. He really is tall. Before I have a chance to react, he roughly grips my chin and forcefully kisses me.

"What the-?!" I mumble against his lips. Harry smirks as he pulls away. I'm too shocked to move though I want to punch him so badly.

"You make it too easy," Harry says. I suck in a sharp breath and clench my jaw, my head swirling around. "See you around...Ray."

Harry winks and then strolls off. I mentally curse myself for not reacting. I should have punched him. I should have kneed him in the balls. I...I...I honestly don't know what I should have done. I don't even know what just happened here.