Lucky Coincidence // Stuart Twombly

XIII

Not even an hour later, the group was sitting in a Chinese restaurant. Billy was freely chatting with everyone around him in a language Lara could not understand. 

She had eaten a small amount of food but for the most part, she felt highly uncomfortable. It was rare for her to go out, and if she did, it was with people she actually knew and not some group of interns which coincidently included her boyfriend. That was the only reason she hadn't gone home yet, because she saw that Stuart was actually having a good time. 

The waiter said something to Billy and he replied before he swatted Nick's arm. "There's supposed to be this dance club down the street that's really great," he said. 

"Well, let's go then!" Nick exclaimed. The group had had a little too much beer so they all agreed to come along. They paid the bill for the food and exited the restaurant after Billy extensively said goodbye to the waiters and guests with whom he had been talking. 

The interns and their boss walked down the street. Stuart had his arm tightly wrapped around Lara's waist as she had hers around his middle. Billy came up to them and flung his arm around her shoulders. "So, are you having fun yet?" He questioned. 

"Absolutely," Lara quickly lied, faking a smile. The group was finally coming together, she wasn't going to ruin that by going home just because she wasn't enjoying it. 

"That's good," Billy nodded. "Because it's about to become a whole lot better." As they had reached this supposed dance club, he swung the doors open. Lara's eyes widened and her jaw dropped slightly at the view the club offered her. 

Half-naked women swirling around poles and dancing seductively. The place was packed with middle-aged men. 

"Billy?" She asked. The tall man turned to her. "Are you sure he said dance club?" Her accent heavily laced her words as the whole ambiance in the room got her on edge. 

"He was rocking Mandarin, I was rocking Cantonese, something must've gone wrong. But I'd just say happy accident, am I right?" He chuckled. 

Lara exhaled deeply and looked at Stuart, only to find out his attention was captivated by his phone and had not noticed where he had ended up.

A topless woman approached them. "Show you to your table?" She asked, her voice sultry and captivating. She walked down the line of men until she ended up in front of Stuart. Lara looked up to avoid having to stare at the woman's breasts. 

"There's a great big world out there, Stuart. Just three inches up, I'm begging ya'." Nick placed his fingers under Stuart's chin and lifted his head, giving him no choice but to eyeball the woman. His eyes widened slightly and his ears turned red. He tucked his phone in his pocket and took a step back. 

"No, thank you very much, I'm all set," He nervously grinned, draping his arm around Lara's shoulders and pulling her body close against his. 

"Very well, follow me," The woman said, taking the lead. Stuart dropped his arm and followed the woman, Lyle, and Yo-Yo, but Lara stayed behind with Neha. 

"Hey, are you two doing okay?" Billy asked. 

"What? Yeah, yeah of course," Lara quickly rambled.

And Neha said, "Absolutely. This-This is my jam." She made a vague motion with her hands. 

"Look, I get that this is your shit but if either one of you is uncomfortable in here, we'll grab those guys by their little boners and we'll go somewhere else," Billy said. 

"Thank you, but I'll be fine. I'm going to find the others," Lara smiled before she walked off. 

She found Lyle, Yo-Yo, and Stuart in one of the booths in the back of the club. She dropped her behind next to Stuart and right as she sat down, a tray filled with tequila shots was placed on the table. Lara raised a brow at her boyfriend, who only defensively held up his hands. "It wasn't me," He said. She let out a chuckle before taking one of the shot glasses he offered her.

"Wait, what happened to not having a beer with your boss?" Nick asked her after he, Neha, and Billy had joined them in the booth. 

She smirked. "This is not beer, is it?" Billy let out a cheer and handed out shots to the rest of the group.

Yo-Yo was also handed one, but he rambled, "I can't." 

"Wh-You're 21, right?" Nick asked. 

"Yeah, but my mom says alcohol numbs the brain," Yo-Yo explained. 

"Look, I'm not saying that a shot of tequila is the first step on the journey to self-respect, but maybe it's a Goddamn step in the right direction!" Nick exclaimed. "Your call." He held out the shot to Yo-Yo.

"One shot," Yo-Yo said. An eruption of cheers sounded before everyone downed their shots. With a lot of effort and a crooked expression on his face, Yo-Yo swallowed the tequila. He remained still for a few seconds before he let out a roar. 

Even though Yo-Yo had said he was only going to take one shot, fifteen minutes later, he had downed four. The rest of the group followed, but Lara stopped at two. She was not going to show up hungover for work the next day. 

Lyle had left a while ago to find someone, he said. Billy and Nick had taken Yo-Yo away to get his first lapdance, or so they said. Neha had disappeared after the group had taken the first shot, so Lara had no idea where the curly-haired firecracker had gone. 

Lara glanced at her boyfriend, who was looking into the crowd of people. Several women were giving men a lap dance and Lara was sure she saw some kind of longing in her boyfriend's eyes. Instead of being offended, Lara smirked to herself before she took his face and turned it in her direction. He looked at her with a slight hint of confusion but that quickly left when she pressed her lips to his. 

He let out a content hum and she placed her hands in his neck before swinging her leg over his legs, sitting down in his lap. His hands started roaming her sides as their lips continued the dance they were performing. 

They were so captivated by each other that they barely noticed the camera's flash. It wasn't until Billy shouted, "Exchangagram moment, baby!" that they snapped out of their trance. Lara shot up and breathed heavily as she found Billy standing next to them with his phone in his hand that showed a heated picture of her and Stuart. She giggled but her attention was quickly taken away by the lyrics of the song that started blasting. 

"I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me." Lara gasped loudly before she jumped up and pulled Stuart to his feet, dragging him to the dancefloor. Their bodies started moving to the upbeat music as the song continued.

"'Cause every time we touch I get this feeling." She placed her arms around his neck as she loudly sang along to the song. 

"And every time we kiss I swear I can fly." He pressed a loving kiss to her cheek as he sung to lyrics to her. She smiled broadly and sunk her teeth into her bottom lip. He tugged at the hem of her blouse that was tucked into the tight shirt she was wearing. She plucked it out and tied it up to right under her bra so that a part of her stomach was showing. He took off his navy blue jacket and tied it around his waist so he was solely in his grey shirt. 

"God, I love you so much," She breathed before once more connecting her lips to his.