Bad Habits

Chapter 3

It had been several months since Piper and I went clubbing, so I thoroughly enjoyed getting ready with her rather than a makeup crew that barely spoke to me. She hooked her phone up to the speakers in my oversized master bathroom and started blasting her "getting ready" playlist, which kicked off with Beyoncé singing Love on Top, one of my favorites. That girl has a perfect playlist prepared for literally any occasion.

"Pip, I swear you can read my mind sometimes," I said between singing along to lyrics, swaying my hips just enough to enjoy it without stabbing myself in the eye with eyeliner.

She responded by dramatically singing to me using the makeup brush in her hand as a mic.

Once we finished hair and makeup - which took much longer than it should have due to all the dance breaks - I waltzed into my closet to figure out an outfit for the night, Piper right on my heels. I combed through a couple racks before she pulled out a dress excitedly on the other side of the room.

"Ooh! What about this one?" She asked, holding it out towards my body. I quickly looked it over, deciding it was perfect.

After I slipped on the vibrant blue, backless bodycon dress, I grabbed my favorite pair of Jimmy Choo's and looked myself over in the mirror, sucking in my stomach and twisting to make my figure look better for a moment before turning away.

"Ari, you look stunning!" She said with a smile as she pulled on her silver heels. She had on a pink crop top and matching skirt.

"As do you, my dear. Rowan is a lucky guy." I smiled at her as I got a text.

Kiana: Your section is all set. See you tonight girl!

Kiana owned the nightclub we were headed to and just happened to be one of the best DJ's around.

As Piper and I slid in the SUV waiting in my driveway, my security guard, Paul, greeted us from the passenger seat. Whenever I went out, Paul was always along for the ride, so it was a good thing we got along so well.

"You ladies look lovely. Are we getting anyone else on the way or straight to the club?" He asked.

"The guys are meeting us there. We can go ahead." I said before applying a dark lip color and smoothing a flyaway hair that refused to go where I wanted it to.

As we pulled up to Vibe, Paul opened the door to a flood of camera flashes. I slipped out of the SUV and glided past the paparazzi confidently with Piper right behind me. The bouncer held off the line, waving us in with a smile which I gladly returned before making my way to our section.

As we approached it, I saw Rowan smiling with two drinks in hand, a glass of whiskey and a fruity cocktail for Piper. She shuffled over to him, giving him a quick kiss in greeting before gladly accepting the drink.

"Just in time!" He beamed, hugging me hello before settling into the booth with an arm around her shoulder.

I decided to start off with a cocktail as well. We were just starting to catch up when Bennett arrived.

"Party can start now!" He announced his presence with a beaming smile which we all mirrored. Bennett did a handshake with Rowan before hugging Piper and me and plopping down between us.

"I'm pretty sure the party started without you," I challenged, sipping on my drink.

"Nah, not possible," he shook his head before nodding towards the glass in my hands. "What are you starting said party with?"

"Sex on the beach."

"Ah sounds great, but what to drink?" He asked straight faced.

I held his gaze easily. "Vodka."

He laughed. "I missed you, Vega."

After the first round of drinks, one of Piper's favorite songs came on, which meant we were all expected on the dance floor. A couple misguided hands unsurprisingly grazed my body as we left the section and made our way into the masses.

For the next few songs we all danced together, enjoying each other's company and goofing off together. When a slower song came on, I decided to pay our host a visit and take a breather in the process.

"I'm going to see Kiana."

"I've actually never met her, I'll come with you if that's cool," Rowan said, looking at Piper who nodded contentedly, ready to go with us.

I glanced back at Bennett who had found a redhead to dance with.

"I'll catch you guys later," he said with a wink. I smiled knowingly and walked towards the DJ booth.

When she saw us approach, she set the next song and slid out to greet us.

"Ari! You made it!" She pulled me into a quick hug before moving to Piper. "And Miss Piper, of course, and I don't believe I've met you, handsome."

"Rowan," he chuckled, shaking her hand and leaving his other arm firmly around Piper's waist. Kiana leaned her jet black double buns towards Piper's ear.

"Nice catch," she whispered loud enough for all of us to hear and laugh. We caught up for a short while.

"So what name do you DJ under?" Rowan asked.

"DJ Ceo because I'm a boss ass bitch," she said with a smirk, raising her chin.

Queen.

As a song ended, she excused herself to get back to work and Rowan and Piper went back to the dance floor. I, however, needed a drink.

Before I made any moves I noticed a multitude of notifications from Instagram and decided to check them quickly. Most of them were standard fan comments, but one stood out from the rest.

niallhoran commented: 😍😍😍

When you're a celebrity yourself, you don't get star struck often, but anything related to the artists formerly known as One Direction made my heart flip. As the shock dissipated, I eagerly replied.

@niallhoran 😘😘

I put my phone away. Time would tell if anything would come of that.

As I left the booth and approached the bar, my eyes locked with a handsome dark skinned guy with bright green eyes and covered in tattoos that was standing not far away. My lips formed into a sly smile as I scanned his features.

Dibs.

I sidled up to the opposite side of the bar and the bartender hurried over to take my order. As soon as I finished speaking I felt a new presence next to me.

"Can I buy you a drink?" A husky voice asked. I looked up to see those same piercing green eyes.

"Mine's already handled." As the bartender placed two shots in front of me, I slid one over to him. "But I'll buy you one."

He chuckled and held the shot towards me. "I'll drink to that."

"Cheers." I smiled, clinked my glass with his and downed the shot, waiving to the bartender for two more.

Conversation came easy as I slowly shifted closer. He made no effort to move away.

"So what's this one for?" I trailed my finger down from the tattoo on his bicep that he just explained to one on his forearm, gently tracing it with my fingernail. He happily chattered on, but I was only half listening at this point.

"Do you have any tattoos?" He leaned in a bit more and I bit my lip as I smiled.

"Not that I can show you here," I said, causing his eyebrows to raise.

"Is that so?"

"We could get out of here and...compare," I suggested, looking up at him through my eyelashes with my fingernail still making figures on his arm.

"I mean, if that's what you want."

He was failing miserably at his attempt to not seem eager. I closed the almost nonexistent gap between us and kissed him way more quickly and gently than my raging hormones desired.

"Let's go."