Page 30 of Not In The Contract

I stumbled a little while slipping my heels on but we finally left my apartment and stepped foot into our favorite bar a block away.

Deezy’s was by no means a high end establishment; the pool tables and raucous laughter that echoed above the music were testament to that. But the lively bar had been our stomping grounds for years, and we knew just about everyone who went there.

Tamera flagged down a bartender, Bibi, whose bright blue eyes seemed to glow under the UV lights above her.

“I’ll grab our table,” I told Tamera, and waved at Bibi before making my way through the small crowd.

Truthfully, my feet ached in my heels and the makeup on my eyelids weighed them down, but there was something about Deezy’s that awoke the carefree nature I was usually teased for. The music thrummed through the floor and furniture, racketing up into my limbs and shaking the tension loose.

Tamera and I never needed alcohol to let loose, all we needed was good music.

She found me only minutes later, her hips swaying to the beat. “Just one drink tonight,” she declared, scooting into the booth opposite me. “We’re responsible adults and I’m too old for hangovers.”

“You’re only thirty,” I pointed out, taking a sip of my cocktail. “That’s hardly old at all.”

“Babe, thirty is too old for hangovers,” she corrected. “When I was twenty-two, I could drink a bottle of vodka neat and still get up for school the next day. If I have more than three vodka sodas now, I won’t open my eyes for three to five business days.”

I laughed at the look of pure disgust on her face, briefly remembering the wildcat that was a younger Tamera. She was always the life of every party, even now. It was almost funny how much she’d changed. She owned her own company at the age of thirty, had big plans for the future and loved every second of it.

I still felt like a first year student.

I missed nights like this one; nights when we could blow off some steam and scream our hearts out to our favorite songs. I was so glad Tamera had dragged me out of bed.

“I’m going to the ladies’,” I said, sliding out of the booth carefully. I shot Tamera a grin and she waved, her lips wrapped around her straw. She pulled my drink towards her and lay a proprietary hand over it as I left.

The ladies’ room was just behind the main bar and I had to cross the small dance floor to get to it. But it was so easy to get lost in the heavy bass that by the time I reached the other side, I was swaying to every beat.

I rounded the corner and almost barreled into someone coming out. I stumbled a little and stuttered an apology without looking up, intent on staying upright in my heels.

“Devon?”

I looked up, briefly wondering which of my friends I’d almost shoulder checked in my hurry to the bathroom, and balked. My limbs locked up in surprise and my eyes went wide.

“What a surprise,” Alex said, her sharp mouth curving into a soft smile.

I unlatched my tongue from the roof of my mouth and cleared my throat, keenly aware of the weight of her gaze. “Hi,” I said, a little breathless becauseholy shit, was she always that hot?

I racked my brain, flashes of our first meeting zipping through my head. She was beautiful, yeah, but this? Dark cherry curls framed her sculpted face, her smoky eyes dark and glittering. Her short black dress tightenedmylungs just looking at it. But it was her lips that stole the air from my chest.

And I was certain I was in trouble.

10. A Beautiful Secret

Alex

“Areyouokay?”Iasked, ignoring the heavy thud of my own heart.

Devon blinked, the warm lights overhead glancing off the gold on her eyelids as they lifted to mine. “Yeah,” she said, adding in an unconvincing nod. “Just surprised to see you here of all places.”

I frowned in thought, and we both shuffled out of the way when another woman tried to walk past us. “I don’t usually come to these kinds of places,” I admitted, not sure why I felt the sudden urge to do so. I was just as surprised to see her, not to mention at the entrance of the restroom of all places.

“Oh, I haven’t been here in ages,” she said quickly, looking over her shoulder. “My best friend convinced me to come. She said we needed a girls’ night.”

I watched the blood climb high into her cheeks and grinned, unable to stop myself.

“Well, don’t let me keep you from a fun night,” I said, stepping out of the way. “I’ll see you on Monday.”

“Yes! On Monday. Uh, bye!”