Saving Supernovas

Chapter 2

There's something so freeing about being in the center of a packed dance floor. With drugs and alcohol pouring through your veins, actions that normally would be mortifying, like writhing against the erection of a complete stranger, just doesn't affect you the way it normally would. In some ways, you can be your most authentic self. Sometimes you can be someone else entirely. The people jumping and spinning around you don't know your past or what you're escaping from. They only know the beat of the music thumping in their chests. You all become blissfully ignorant. You're all just searching for a good time. 

The song I was loving finally came to an end, and I needed to ditch the guy I'd been dancing with before he got the wrong idea. I elbowed my way out of the packed dance floor in search of another drink. My body was sticky with spilled drinks and sweat, and I was in desperate need of a cold water and probably a shower. As I finally pushed through the last wall of partygoers, I was met with a wave of cool air just waiting to greet me by the bar. Pausing to close my eyes, I pulled my hair up off of my neck and tilted my head back to savor in the euphoric feeling. After a few seconds, I rolled out my shoulders and hurled myself into a barstool. 

The bartender was down on the other end flirting with a gaggle of girls who had on ten pounds of makeup and next to no clothing. I silently rolled my eyes as one of them reached out to squeeze his bicep and squealed at whatever results she found. I opted to dress up a lot more than I normally would have for a girls night. Honestly just to post a picture and make Tanner eat crow. I wore my black leather pants, a strappy pair of pink heels , and a white corseted crop top. With my hair pulled back half up- half down, I thought I looked pretty damn hot, but definitely no Barbie doll. 

The bartender down at the other end was still invested in the shrieking girls, so I impatiently started tapping my credit card on the counter. Stevie and Lauren had found some guys who definitely wanted to take them home, which meant it was time for me to get royally fucked up. Not only did I need to escape reality, but I absolutely was not in the mood to soberly deal with my two best friends as they made these boys beg at their feet. 

In college, the three of us had been unstoppable. My friends were whitty, always down for dancing and too good at taking tequila shots. Stevie and Lauren were undefeated beer pong champions for three years running. Stevie was the loud one, outspoken and definitely the leader of our trio. While she had a knockout set of boobs I would murder for, Stevie was loved for her confidence. She was the type of friend that would bust up into a frat house immediately acting like she owned the place. Her opinion always was stated as fact, and she had an iron will. She was stubborn, but loyal to a fault.  Lauren was chill, and smart as a whip. Her claim to fame was explaining the ins and outs of biochemical engineering  to unknowing freshman in-between keg stands. Lauren was devastatingly beautiful, with long wavy blonde hair and emerald green eyes. She was sweet and endearing and literally everyone was in love with her. It was fundamentally impossible not to love her. And then there was me. Sometimes I didn't really know where I fit in with my friends, with the spitfire and the angel. I fell somewhere in middle, I guess. I was the peacekeeper. With two such opposite best friends, I constantly played devils advocate and explained things in different ways. I wondered what I looked like from my friend's eyes.

Pulling myself from my thoughts, I noticed that the bartender had finally made his way over to my end of the counter. He was probably one of the most muscular men I'd ever seen, and his shirt was tight enough that he knew it too. Makes sense now why that girl was feeling his arms. It was an effort not to gawk at them protruding from that tee shirt. His shaggy dirty blonde hair hung over thick eyebrows that framed stunningly ice blue eyes. A pouty smile revealed itself on his lips as he noticed me checking him out. I could feel my cheeks burning, but I forced a sultry look into my eyes. Shifting my weight, I squeezed my arms to my sides to perk up my breasts. His eyes tracked the movement.  I was no better than those Barbie girls. Flipping my credit card between my hands, I purred, "Can I get a vodka water with a splash of lime juice?" His eyes were slow to remove themselves from my cleavage, but those piercing eyes met mine with a venomous stare that made me shiver. Just by the look in his eyes, I knew this man could make me scream like Tanner never could, and I didn't even know if that was a good thing. "Coming right up, love." he wiped a towel across the counter in front of me and placed a cocktail napkin down in its wake, those eyes now not tearing from my own. He finally looked away as he began mixing what looked to be mostly vodka with a drop of water.