Before The Stress (Book One Of The S&S Series)

Chapter Eight - Blair

"Betrayal can be extremely painful, but it's up to you how much that pain damages you permanently.." – Emily V.Gordon

"Oh no, you are not getting me dancing... I am way too drunk for any of that right now. Miss Jessa." I laughed effortless as Jessa continued to pull me along, she'd already made us consume at least 6 Tequila Rosé shots each and now was insisting that we dance the rest of this drunken mess of a night away. The memory of Hale's reply still hung angrily at the forefront of my mind, I knew he wouldn't react well but the pure disrespect of how blunt he'd been had caught me off guard.

I hadn't expected how angry it all would have made Jessa until I watched her exploding in front of my face, the rage fully engulfing her. That was when the decision of more drinks being dangerously consumed came to mind, along with a few too many shots to join them. That was exactly what we had done, once our meal had been paid for, we were very quickly making a move towards the closest club—desperately in need of a good dancing session.

"You have to dance, we can't have you hung up on some asshole! You have to dance the feelings away!" Jessa's strong grasp had me struggling to break free, so I did the only thing I could do. I gave in, I let her have her way. Her hands clung to me, as she began dragging me in the direction of the dance floor.

"This is my favourite song!" I was almost tempted to plug my ears at the sound of Jessa's screech, I loved her drunk as she was so much fun but the way her voice pitched up a few octaves was enough to have me in hysterics whilst searching for ear plugs. Strobe lights illuminated the room around us, along with dazzling laser lights. It was dark, damp-aired and exactly what I needed for this moment in my life.

The song began to pull itself into my foreground, consuming everything in my mind. I just allowed the music and Jessa to help me float away from any problems I thought I had. She grasped at my hips, pulling mine closer to hers causing us to naturally grind against one another, her hands wrapping around my neck as she pulled me in closer. More than a few men had begun to glance our way, clearly enjoying the show.

You're welcome.

As the song drifted away welcoming in a new one, Jessa's hand laced with mine. Before I knew it she was spinning me around, as my body shifted to the fluid movement my eyes did the one thing I hadn't expected and manifested Hale into view. At the very sight of his tall frame on the dance floor, I stopped. My heart pounding deep within my chest, as Jessa's nervous eyes glanced at me. She could read the instant change in my mood, and her hands were holding my face trying to get me to focus on her. But the panic was beginning to set in, I had to tell her but my mouth was instantly tongue-tied.

"Blair, what is it? Tell me." I lifted my eyes to lock with hers, taking the deepest breath I could manage as I prepared myself to say the words.

"Hale is behind me on the dance floor." At the very mention of his name Jessa's face scanned the crowd until she found his towering frame mere metres away from us, at the way her eyes darted away I knew something was wrong.

"Fuck, I think he saw me. I don't think he's alone either. Do you want to go...?" My mouth was hanging open attempting to steady my breathing, but I couldn't pull away from the rotten feeling that was forming in my stomach. I risked another glance his way, he thankfully wasn't facing in our direction, but he was surrounded by young women. Until I followed the length of his muscular arm, to see where his hand had landed. His large hand was encased around a small woman's hip, pulling her back into him. They were too busy lost in their grinding, and thankfully hadn't noticed me—yet.

I felt my mouth run dry at the sight of the small woman he was gripping, her familiarity was blatant. It was the petit blonde from the Gym, the same one who'd essentially started me and Hale on this path.