The Final Note (DJ Series Book 1) (12 page)

That night Gemma meets us in the bar and instantly hits it off with Corrine, they’re so alike in personality I should have foreseen there being a connection. I get to meet the infamous Greg who Corrine assured me was lovely. She wasn’t lying. Greg is a male version of Macy, with red hair, pale skin and big green eyes. He is very attentive to Corrine who is lapping up the attention. I see their traded glances, secret smiles and little touches at every available opportunity. It’s adorable. I learn Greg is a manager in a printing business in Birmingham and is over for a week with his family.

Gemma corners me in the ladies’ and seems a touch drunk already. “You could have put a good word in for me with Luke. He is so cute. Is he single?”

“Luke? Erm, yeah, as far as I know he is unattached. Seriously? Luke?” I would never have pinned him as Gemma’s kind of guy.

“Oh, yeah. Don’t you think he’s hot?” she practically gushes and I shrug. I’ve never really looked at Luke that way. Okay, so he’s not totally unfortunate looking but he’s such a... geezer. I can’t imagine him being the kind of guy who would be sure to put you in a taxi home at the end of the night or offer you his jacket in the rain.

“Luke is... alright. He’s just Luke to me, Gem. If you like him, then go for it. I’ll ask Dayton to put a word in for you, they’re pretty tight.”

“Thanks, babe. Are we leaving for Lexis yet?”

I check my watch and see it’s after 11 o’clock. “Yeah, let’s go round up the others.”

Shortly before midnight we are greeted with a familiar silent nod from Steve on the door before heading straight upstairs to catch the last of Dayton’s set. I stand at the bar and take in the scene before me. There is the regular sea of clubbers on the dance floor, dancing to the trance tunes, hands in the air and heads back. They’re totally swept up in the music and the uplifting atmosphere of the club.

High above them in the DJ box Dayton looks down to them, like a god on high, observing the activity of his people below. His headphones are hooked around the back of his neck and he holds one earpiece to his ear with his shoulder. The stern look of concentration is evident in the narrowing of his glacier blue eyes. His head nods slightly in time to the bass line of the track he is bringing in, blending it in perfect time with the tune he is dropping out. His mix is faultless and the clubbers whoop and whistle in appreciation and excitement. The track he is bringing in is obviously a favourite. My days, he looks so damn fine up there, music runs in his blood and there is no other job more suited to him. Up there is where he belongs. I get a huge rush of pride, never has there been a DJ as perfect and gorgeous as Dayton, and he is all fucking mine! How the hell did I get this lucky?

As if to remind me he doesn’t come without his price tag I am knocked almost clean on my ass and only a bar stool saves me from ending up flat on my face, arse over tit, on the floor. Gemma grabs the top of my arm and I thank her.

“Are you okay? You should watch where you’re walking.” Gemma aims the last part at someone behind me and I turn to come face to face with Miss Perfection. I should have known.

“You should stick to bottled water if you can’t stay on your feet.”

This is aimed at me rather than Gemma and I roll my eyes. Okay, so this is the first time she has ever got physical but it was a cheap shot.

“Maybe you should go poison the air behind the bar, where you belong!” I sneer before nodding to Gemma for the VIP lounge.

“Oh, my god, who is that bitch?” Gemma seethes as we walk away.

“The bar manager and the club owner’s daughter, no less. She is desperate to get under Dayton. I can’t stand the sight of the cow. You know, I’m sure it was her who slashed my tyre and complained about me at work.”

“Really? I’d have put her fronts down her throat if it was me. What a tramp.”

“I take it we are talking about Regina then?” Corrine chimes in as we take a seat in the booth.

“She just knocked Alannah flying over by the bar. Silly cow. Honestly, Alannah, I don’t know how you didn’t slap her right then and there.”

“Because she loves coming to see Dayton at work, obviously. Regina is on a power trip and retaliation in here isn’t a great idea. She’ll have you banned and blacklisted from entering if you tick her off,” Macy tells Gemma who looks about as frustrated as I feel.

I go to order a drink from the bar, Corrine in tow. The bar is exceptionally busy tonight and when Regina comes to us she gives me an incredibly bored look. “What?”

“A VK Blue and a vodka and coke for Corrine,” I reply, sounding equally as fed up as her.

“We are all out of VK Blue.”

I can clearly see the bottles in the counter fridge behind her. I know pointing that out will only give the satisfaction of refusing to serve it to me. She would love the opportunity just to remind me that she has the upper hand in this club. I simply flick a ten pound note towards Cor.

“Any vodka alcopop you have in stock then?” I sneer at Regina. “Nipping to the ladies’,” I tell Corrine before walking off, needing the quiet and cool of the restroom for a minute to myself. After a couple of minutes and a quick freshen up in the ladies’ I go back to the others.

I’m greeted by an adorable smile from Dayton who has finished his set and stands to greet me. “Hey, sugar. You look stunning, but then you always do.”

I step into his outstretched arms and accept his kiss. “You looked amazing out there tonight.”

“Thank you. I’d love you to come up there and experience the rush, it’s an amazing experience.”

I shake my head. “I’ll leave it to the professionals, thanks for the offer though.” I laugh before sliding into my seat and he slides in next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. I feel Regina approach before I see her, the bitch vibes are really blazing tonight but she greets Dayton with a megawatt smile, as always.

“Hey, babe. Great set. My dad just called down, he wants a word in his office.”

I instantly get a sinking feeling as I sip from the rancid bottle of strawberry flavour drink Regina served up. What does the boss want? I hope Dayton isn’t in any trouble.

“Okay, thanks. I’ll go up in a minute. Any idea what he wants me for?” Dayton doesn’t seem at all concerned as he takes a swig from his bottle of Budweiser.

“I’m not telling, just go see him.” Regina winks and Dayton grins. My lip curls involuntarily and I trade an unimpressed glance with Corrine. She leans in and whispers to me.

“I’d love to scratch those pretty blue eyes out of her skull.” I make an agreeable sound before Dayton grabs my attention with a warm palm on my bare thigh.

“I won’t be long, baby.”

He chastely kisses me on the forehead before leaving the lounge and almost instantly getting mobbed by a group of young girls who have no doubt been hanging around the VIP entrance, waiting for him to exit. I look away, not in the mood for his cling-on ladies tonight.

I force the rancid drink down my throat, not willing to give Regina the satisfaction of collecting a full drink I paid for but couldn’t finish. Gemma nudges me with her elbow, probably picking up on my mood. “Let’s go dance, babe. You look bored rigid.”

I let her guide me to the dance floor, the laser lights and the smoke making my eyes go funny. Disorientated I turn, looking for Dina and spot Brent, he zooms past so quickly and my eyes widen as I wobble on my heels. What the hell? “Lana, we’re here.” Macy grabs my arm and pulls me to the group, all of them have hit the dance floor and suddenly the bass is so loud I can hear nothing except the bass line in my ears. The rhythm of it gets under my skin and I let it sweep me up. Every worry and tension I had is suddenly lifted and I close my eyes, moving in time to the music. I can literally feel it, it’s in my chest, in my head and the vocals of an angelic voice start to boom out over the big rig. It’s like she is singing
to
me.

I love it, I feel amazing. The beautiful singing filters off as a drum roll starts to build to peak and I feel it lifting me. When the bass comes back in it explodes and I feel my whole body tingle, like I’m full of static electricity. It’s amazing! When I open my eyes again I feel like everything has been put on fast forward, bodies are all around me, bouncing and getting the same rush. I throw my arms skywards. “Yeah!”

I burst into a fit of giggles, finally feeling like I ‘get it’. This is the rush they experience, this is why they dance until they sweat and love Dayton so much, for bringing them this huge high. It almost takes my breath away.

The lights shoot around the room, hypnotizing me and I bite my lip. Why did I never notice how great they looked before? There is fresh plume of strawberry smoke blasted out over all of us and I welcome it, watching it roll towards me, over the heads of my friends before swallowing me. I dance through it, loving the smell and the way the strobe light flashes through it.

I dance like no one is watching, my teeth gritted and I really let myself go. The music and lights possess me and I thrash my head from side to side, fist pumping the air and whistling to the DJ who is playing one amazing track after the other. Corrine takes my hand and I throw my arms around her.

“Corrine! I thought we lost you in all that smoke.” I laugh, kissing her on the cheek before grabbing her hands and dancing with her.

“Lana.” I hear her shout my name but I can’t stop dancing to look at her. “Alannah, look at me.”

I whip my head to her, grinning. Sure she must be loving tonight as much as I am. “What?” I laugh before the music builds to another orchestral high, a huge wave of euphoria hits again and I have
got
to dance. Dayton whips past me and I make a grab for him.

“Dance with me,” I demand and I try to pull him to me but Macy and Ross pull him towards Corrine who is frowning at me. What’s her problem? Oh, sod her. I’m enjoying tonight no matter what. I deserve to. Dayton has his back to me, talking to the others, so I turn and find Dina who is enjoying the music and dancing. I wrap my arms around her and kiss her cheek. “You’re fucking ace, you know that, Dina?”

I see Brent grinning and I ruffle his hair. “You too, Brent. You should be mixing up here you know? Downstairs sucks ass.” I laugh and take Dina’s hands, making her dance with me. I close my eyes and let the music guide me, loving that I am right here, in the moment, getting the full experience of Lexis. I feel someone take my hand and I lower my head to see Dayton, he grabs my face gently and pulls me close to him, looking deep into my eyes. I grab his face back and kiss him, laughing against his mouth. He doesn’t return my kiss but he does pull me to him and speaks into my ear.

“Alannah, what have you had?”

Had? What’s he on about? What have I had?

“I’ve, had, the time of liiiife.” I start to sing him the Dirty Dancing song but break off because I find it hysterical. I burst into uncontrollable giggles, leaning against him as tears of mirth fill my eyes. He looks behind him to where Gemma and Corrine look at us.

“You’re making your lip bleed, baby. Stop chewing it. Luke, I need some chewing gum.”

“Your breath smells great to me, gorgeous.” This makes him smirk momentarily and as much as I’m trying to pay attention to him the music is relentless and I have to move, if I don’t dance I feel like I want to spin on the spot, jump around. Anything to move and release this fuel of blazing energy that is running through me. Luke appears from nowhere and I playfully punch him on the shoulder and wink at him. “Great night, hey, Lukey boy? You know, my friend, Gemma, thinks you’re hot. You should talk to her.”

At least he finds me amusing and I start dancing again, fist pumping and moving to the melody of another amazing tune.

“Oh, yeah, she’s fucked, mate. You want me to get you some bud for her to come down? At least then it’s fun for the both of you.” Luke laughs but Dayton looks pissed off. Then he seems to realise something and he looks torn.

“How the fuck did I let this happen?” He looks thoroughly disappointed and he looks forlornly at Luke. “Okay, man, get me a smoke.”

“If you stand here, babe, you get loads of smoke when they blast it out of that machine,” I point out but again he doesn’t smile. I pout and he presses a cube of chewing gum into my mouth.

“Chew that, not your lip. Do you need a drink, sweetheart?”

I realise my mouth is drier than Gandy’s flip flop and I chew the gum hard, nodding my head. Without a word he guides me towards the VIP lounge and he sits me in the booth where Macy, Ross, Corrine and Greg are all sat looking very serious and subdued. “S’up with your lots faces? You look like a bunch of kids that Santa forgot at Christmas.” I laugh, flicking a rolled up piece of tissue that’s on the table towards Corrine, it goes straight down her bra. “What a shot! Did you see that? How ace am I?” I laugh and Dayton puts a bottle of water in front of me. I snatch it up, desperate for a drink to rinse out my mouth.

“You were right, Corrine. It was definitely spiked,” I vaguely hear Dayton say but it’s kind of drowned out by the sound of the water sloshing down my throat. “Not too much, baby. That’s enough, you can have some more in a little bit. How do you feel?”

I look around the table and all eyes are on me, what is this, an interrogation? I shrug. “I feel amazing; the tunes tonight are off the hook.” Luke approaches the table with Regina who gives me a welcome smile. Finally! Someone who is happy.