Unexpected: Forever His (Book 1)

Chapter 17: Under the Sea's Current

*****Corrina pictured above*****

I didn't think the evening went according to plan, but I didn't think it was terrible either.

Once the room was considerably cleared out, only I, Nina, Margarita, who preferred to be called Margie, and Hayley remained. It was Margie who spoke up. "I'm not ready to say goodnight yet, girls." She looked back and forth at the three of us and then reached down beside her at the table and pulled out a bottle of vodka. "Let's have a little fun, huh?"

I glanced at Nina who had a grin on her face as she stared at the bottle of booze. "I'm not sure if..." But Nina stopped me. "Oh come on, sister. Werewolves are not as quick to get drunk as humans and you don't share a room with my brother yet. They will be in that parlor until the wee hours of the morning anyway. Always are. Live it up. You need it more than we do." I looked between the three of them again before I sighed and held my hand out for the bottle.

I pulled the seal off and twisted the cap until it fell free. I reached for my champagne glass and I heard them laugh. "Oh hell nah, girl. This is your first drink. Go for it. Turn it up." Hayley laughed as she talked.

I took a deep breath and did as they said. In seconds, the burn of the alcohol seared down my throat and I brought the bottle down and coughed as I got used to it. I looked up and Nina pushed it back against my mouth. "We're not drinking any of it until you drink at least half. We know where to get more anyway." I turned it back up and this time, the burn was not quite as intense and I gulped sip after sip until I felt a small buzz creeping its way into my brain. I tilted the bottle towards the other girls and Nina took it.

Once the bottle was empty, we stood and headed out towards the terrace in front of the building. The air outside was perfect and cool. The alcohol mixed with it was calming my nerves incredibly and I smiled and leaned against the short wall that separated Dante's estate from the rest of the town. Only a few lights remained on below and the water glistened in the distance. "How did I not know how calming the ocean was until now?"

Nina laughed, obviously relaxed too. "It's easy to not know about something when you don't live near it. Was it really as bad for you as they say it was in Redwood?"

Her question caught me off guard and I lifted the bottle up to my mouth again and took another long sip. "It was hell in the end, but it wasn't always like that. It all started when Aiden rejected me when we found out that we were mates. It's still hard for me to believe he really is. I despise him and I never thought I would be able to say that."

The water seemed to keep pulling my attention towards it and I longed to go down closer. "Will you walk with me down to the beach?" Nina glanced back at the building we had come from and back at the other two girls. They were engrossed in conversation and bubbling with laughter. "Hey, Kayla and I are going to take a walk down on the beach. Are you two coming with?"

Hayley and Margie smiled and shook their heads. "No. I'm going to go home and watch a movie or two until I fall asleep." Margie spoke first and then Hayley agreed. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Sleep over, Margie."

They turned and wrapped their arms around each other and started giggling as they appeared to be walking with a little bit of difficulty.

Nina turned and we stepped over to the gate and headed down the path that took us straight down a little incline to the beach. It was off to the side and away from the town a little.

Once we were on the beach, I walked out until the water was a foot in front of me and I looked down at my feet. I slipped my shoes off and took a step forward but Nina caught me by the arm. "Kayla, no! We can't go in the water! No matter what." She looked back up at the house and then back out at the ocean. I laughed at her obvious worry. "Don't worry. I won't fall. I just want to know what it feels like." I ignored her plea again and stepped forward until the water completely submerged my feet up to my ankles. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath but Nina called out to me again, more worried than before.