Sweet Alibi (10 page)

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THE TAXI PULLED up outside the club and we piled out. We were all dressed for a night on the town. It was unacceptable to Drew to go for a night out without getting dolled up; heels and short dresses were a requirement. Thankfully, I knew this and brought some Drew-approved clothing. I wore a tight black dress and deep red heels. My hair was pulled halfway back in chocolate waves with a few wispy tendrils.

Gavin and Drew looked adorable together as they walked hand in hand into the club with Tristan trailing behind them. Tristan wore a black, button-down shirt that clung to his lean build, with the sleeves rolled to the elbows in a way that had my stomach listing. His jeans hugged his ass perfectly, so perfectly even Silas let out a low whistle behind me. Tristan was wreaking havoc on both of us before we’d even stepped into the bar.

We made our way to a table with a view of the dance floor where bodies were already grinding to the thumping music.

“We'll get drinks.” Tristan clapped Gavin on the shoulder as they headed to the bar. I, along with every girl he passed, watched his retreating figure.

“Let's dance,” Silas insisted as he grabbed me by the elbow. Drew followed us as we wiggled our way to the center and started dancing in our little threesome. It was packed and we were constantly jostled together but it only added to the atmosphere. 

After a few songs, Gavin angled up behind Drew and held her close to his body. She smiled and arched her neck to kiss his lips. His hands trailed up her torso as they moved together seductively. I turned to dance with Silas before I witnessed some form of indecent exposure on the crowded dance floor. After the song, the four of us headed to the table. I took a long sip from the drink the guys had gotten me
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a cherry vodka and coke. I made a mental note to keep track of how many I had before I got too drunk.

“Tristan abandon us already?” Drew looked around the bar.

“A blonde at the bar caught his attention.” Gavin nodded toward a crowded corner. Behind a shock of long platinum hair I saw Tristan's honey-blond locks, a dashing smile on his face. He had an arm wrapped around the girl’s waist, his fingers caressing the fabric intimately.

“Doesn't take him long, does it?” I mumbled.

“He's a whore.” Drew muttered.

“With no shortage of whores throwing themselves at him,” I said.

“Not with a face like that.” Drew cast a glance at Gavin. He grinned and gave her a peck on the lips.

“Or that smile.” I watched Tristan’s hand rest on her lower back, just above the curve of her ass.

“That hair,” Silas groaned and rolled his eyes in the back of his head suggestively. We all laughed again but I couldn’t manage to tear my eyes from Tristan and that girl.

“Let’s dance more,” I said to Silas. Drew and Gavin joined us and I lost myself in the music as we howled and danced together. Gavin had his hands wrapped firmly around Drew whether she was dancing with us or grinding with him. She looked happy, and I was happy for her. They had undeniable chemistry, I just hoped she’d finally found someone she could have something more with.

I mouthed to Gavin and Drew that I would get the second round of drinks as Silas followed me to the bar. The intimate corner where Tristan and his blonde had been tucked away was now occupied by another couple that were all hands, arms, and lips. I placed an order for drinks then scanned the bar, taking in the crowd.

My eyes landed on Tristan sandwiched between two girls on the dance floor. His arms were on the hips of the blonde with his knee nestled in between her legs from behind. A brunette with long, shiny hair and a tiny, red dress was cuddled up behind him with an arm wrapped around his waist and under his shirt, her lips skimming along his ear. He wore a cocky half grin on his face, enjoying the attention from both of them. For the first time, I was seeing Tristan in all his glory. He was certainly living up to his manwhore reputation. I sucked in a breath of air as I watched him nestle into the blonde’s hair.

“Something got your attention, love?” Silas asked from beside me.

I ripped my eyes from Tristan’s would-be threesome and forced a smile for my best friend. “Not a thing.” I grabbed my drink and downed it in one guzzle, tipping my head to the bartender for another. His eyebrows shot up in surprise before he winked and made me another. He handed it to me and we made our way back to the table.

“Letting your hair down tonight, huh?” Silas winked.

“Absolutely. Let’s dance.” I set my drink down and tugged him back on the floor, the opposite end from where Tristan was grinding with his new friends. As we danced, the alcohol saturated my system and left my brain bursting with happy endorphins. Silas and I twisted, turned, and erupted in a fit of giggles, laughing at other people around us. I tried to scope out hot boys for him and would lean my head and quirk an eyebrow before he shook his head in mock horror.

A handsome, dark-haired guy invaded our space and tossed Silas a forward grin. A wide smile spread across my face and I mouthed to Silas that I was going to the bathroom. His eyes were so focused on tall, dark, and handsome, he hardly acknowledged my departure.

I threaded my way through the bodies and wound around tables to get to the ladies’ room. Turning down a dim hallway, I bumped headfirst into a couple making out against the wall. Hands traveling up torsos, fabric inching up to reveal damp flesh. The girl chuckled and I jerked my drunken eyes to their faces and saw Tristan's long, blond hair as he sucked on her ear. They hadn't even noticed me.

I swallowed a softball-sized lump in my throat and stood for a second too long. Before I moved around them, Tristan's eyes met mine and flickered in recognition.

“Sorry.” I averted my gaze as I walked around them to the bathroom. I opened the door and landed against the wall. There was a long line and I prayed that Tristan and his blonde would be gone by the time I was done. Instantly I missed Kyle.

Thoughts rattled through my head as the line shortened and I finally stepped into a stall. I had the urge to call Kyle and let him know I was thinking about him. I missed him desperately and wanted to curl up in bed with him tonight and feel his comforting arms around me. I closed my eyes and thought of the scent of his cologne and the smooth skin along his jaw. I fished my cell phone out of my clutch, noticing it was after one in the morning, definitely too late to call.

I decided I needed another drink to stave off my depressed mood, before remembering Tristan and the leggy blonde I'd bumped into earlier. I lifted my eyes and found the hallway absent. They were gone. I mouthed a silent thank you that I wouldn’t have to see them again.

Heading to the table, new drink in hand, I discovered where Tristan and his blonde had moved. She sat in my chair with her legs crossed, her dress creeping high up her thigh, and Tristan's palm placed firmly on it. I took a sip of my drink and angled my chair toward the dance floor.

“Having fun?” Tristan asked me.

“Yeah.” My eyes flicked to Tristan’s before landing back on Silas and his dark-haired dance companion. It seemed he’d found a new friend to keep his bed warm tonight, as had Tristan. Drew and Gavin were always a sure bet, so apparently I would be the only one crawling into a cold bed alone.

“Tristan told me you’re all staying at a beach house,” the blonde said above the music.

“Yep,” I responded with a tight smile before dragging my eyes back to the dance floor, not missing Tristan's eyes trained on me. What was he thinking? That I was upset that he was with someone? Because I wasn’t. I had Kyle, and I was missing him, the ache in my chest deep and profound. I had the ridiculous urge to inform Tristan of just that.

“Everything okay, Georgia?” Tristan asked as a small smile teased his lips.

“Yep, I'm good,” I said as the music and my own heartbeat pounded in my ears.

His eyebrow lifted in doubt as if he didn't believe me. I saw his hand was still resting on her leg, his thumb caressing her inner thigh, just like it had caressed the wood that morning before we'd kissed. I shut my eyes and willed the image from my brain.

I chugged the rest of my drink. “I'm going to dance.” I stood on swaying feet and made my way to Drew and Gavin. With the alcohol in my veins, I was suddenly overheating and pulling my hair off my neck. My hips swayed when a new song started and I felt hands slip around my waist. I settled into the embrace for a minute before I realized what I was doing. Turning my head to the side, I caught tousled golden hair nuzzling beneath my ear. My heart thudded as Tristan ran his nose up my neck, sending tingles exploding through my body. His breath tickled the shell of my ear and I sucked in a quick breath. Thoughts swirled in my brain as the throbbing music pumped through my veins.

I felt out of control and I loved it. I surrendered to the freedom and settled back into his chest. His hands locked around my hips, pulling me tighter into his body before I turned and threw my arms around his neck.

Inhaling his clean scent, I closed my eyes, pressing into him. His knee positioned between my thighs caused my dress to ride up. We danced through multiple songs as the world fell away. I inhaled the delicious scent that was all Tristan while my brain buzzed from my proximity to the gorgeous Greek god wrapped around me. Thumping beats of Rihanna pounded through my body, nerves tingling and my breathing shallow. My brain focused solely on the rhythm of my form against Tristan’s. I shouldn’t have been dancing so close, but the vodka that pulsed through me was doing the thinking for me and for once, I let go of inhibition.

Tristan pressed my body up against a wall at the edge of the dance floor and moved his hips against mine. My hands smoothed across his wide shoulders and tangled in his soft hair. He ran his teeth up my neck and scraped my earlobe as his palms roamed my body
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down my back, up my ribcage, over the underside of my arms. He dipped his head and trailed his tongue along my collarbone, sending a shiver of pleasure rocketing through me.

My fingers tightened in his hair as a small whine escaped my throat.

“Do you like that?” his words escaped in a throaty whisper.

“Yes,” I hissed, my eyes closed as my hips moved against his. Thoughts dashed in and out of my head. I felt like I was supposed to grasp their meaning, but too much vodka in too little time had left me with the inability to think straight.

“I want my tongue all over your body.”

My breath caught as he continued to lick and scrape with his teeth.

“I want that, too.” Arousal flooded my system and landed between my thighs.

“You shudder when I touch you.” He ghosted one fingertip up the underside of my arm. My head swam in a cocktail of alcohol and lust. I exposed my neck as Tristan's tongue laved up my throat.

“Oh, God.”

“I’ve been called that once or twice.” He slid a hand down my leg and gripped my thigh possessively.

“Oh, God,” I said again as the fog slowly dissipated from my brain. Tristan kneaded the flesh of my thigh as his other hand held my neck. “Tristan.”

“I love when you say my name.” The words escaped his lips on a husky exhale.

“Tristan, stop,” I breathed, my eyes still closed. His hands stilled on me instantly and he rested his forehead on mine. “I'm with someone,” I whispered halfheartedly.

“He's not here tonight.” His palm tightened on my thigh.

“Tristan, stop.” My chest was heaving with each labored breath. His hands slid up my arms and caught both of my wrists, locking them above my head. My eyes finally flickered open and Tristan's heavy-lidded gaze bore into mine. All trace of a smile left his face as his jaw tightened.

“You say stop, but your body says go,” he whispered in my ear. “I can tell that you want this, Georgia.” My name falling off his lips made my heart skip. His thigh was still wedged in between mine as his body angled over me possessively
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a predator unwilling to relinquish his prey.

“No. I want Kyle.”

“Maybe, but you want me too.” He ran his nose up my neck as he pinned me against the wall. My hands locked above my head, my body bowed into his
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trapped between him and a wall
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I’d never felt more vulnerable. Or more turned on.

“What about you?” I murmured.

“What about me?”

“Where's your friend? You seemed into her five minutes ago.”

“I'm not into her. Not like I'm into you,” he breathed. His words sent delicious chills running down my body.

“So you won't be bringing her home tonight?” I glared at him.

“Not if you ask me not to.” He pressed his hips into me more firmly, causing a new wave of delicious arousal to course through my body.

I gritted my teeth and maintained my glare. “I don't care. I'm with someone, so I don't care what you do,” I spat, tugging my arms from his grasp. His gaze shot up to meet mine, a look of hurt flashing across his beautiful, green eyes. I stared at him for a few breathless moments. Guilt pressed upon me for all the mixed signals I was sending him. I had the urge to apologize, explain how twisted and jumbled my mind was when it came to him. 

Instead I turned, shame bowing my head, and walked back to our small table. My head swam as I sat down. I'd chugged each of those drinks much too fast for my own good. And I’d lost count. I put my head in my hands and took deep breaths.