Fireworks 1 and 2

Chapter Eleven

    The club was live. Energy levels were up, way up. It warmed Mia's heart to see her friends having such a good time. They'd met in college, and they'd helped her through some pretty tough times - especially those first few years when she felt alone and helpless. Most college students could call their parents if they were feeling nervous or scared, but Mia didn't have that luxury. She did have her aunt, but it wasn't the same. Her friends were there, day in and day out, through the good times and bad. There had been times when Mia had collapsed in their arms, in tears over missing her parents. Looking back, she didn't know how they'd handled it so effortlessly.

    Bri was wild and crazy, and threw around the word "bitch" a lot, but when it came down to it, she was a ride or die friend. Mia could count on her to be honest, caring, and loyal. Desirae had the libido of a prison inmate fresh out of prison and on the surface could seem very self-involved, but she had a very nurturing side. If she caught wind of one of her friends being sick, she was right there with a bowl of soup and cold medicine. They were both great friends to have. Mia appreciated them dearly, which is why this vacation had been so important for them to take. Seeing them dance on the floor without a care in the world meant the world to Mia.

    Mia watched her friends as they, along with the rest of the dance floor, jumped up and down. Drake performed several songs, including "Successful" with Trey Songz. It was fascinating to watch him on stage. He'd just performed a full set at OVOFest, and even though he was probably exhausted, here he was, performing again for fans who hadn't been able to make it to the OVO festival.

    When he was done performing, he hopped down from the stage. Several scantily-clad women were clustered near the front of the stage and the second his feet touched the floor, they surrounded him. They wanted his autograph, wanted to talk selfies with him, wanted to know if he would dance with them, and where he was going after this. Just as with every other fan she'd seen him interact with, he was polite and courteous. He kept interaction with them brief, and Mia couldn't help but wonder whether or not he would have handled the women the same way if she hadn't been there.

    Drake approached her slowly with a victorious glint twinkling in his eyes.

    "Did you get any digits, Aubrey?" she questioned when he finally reached her.

    He grinned and hooked an arm around her shoulder. "Now, why would you ask me that? You know I'm taken for the night."

    "Taken? By who?" she asked innocently.

    He chuckled and led her back to the VIP section. He made a beeline for the small bar area located in the VIP section, but the attendant was not behind the bar counter. He stood on his tiptoe and scanned the VIP area, but didn't see any club employees in the area other than the bouncers standing at the red rope posts. "Is this how we do business here?" he asked, stepping behind the bar counter and inspecting the variety of liquor bottles arranged in the shelves beneath the counter.

    Mia approached the bar slowly. "Maybe the bartender is on his break or something," she said.

    "They should have sent someone to fill in for him," he pointed out, lifting a bottle of Malibu rum. "They don't have any champagne here. They must keep it somewhere else. This is the VIP area. I shouldn't have to jump through hoops just to get a drink." He set the bottle of rum on top of the bar counter and continued to search through the inventory of liquor bottles located beneath the bar counter.

    "What, you're going to fill in for the absentee bartender?" she asked, amused at the sight of him lining up the bottles on top of the counter and hunting down the cups.

    "Got a problem with that?" he asked, arching an eyebrow at her.

    She shook her head and walked over to the chest-high railing to the left of the bar counter. From this spot, she had a view of the dancers below. She searched the crowd of dancers until she found Bri and Desirae. When they finally got around to looking up in her direction, she waved at them.