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He smirked at Isla.
“How about now?”
“R-right now? Okay, just give me a minute to change. Can you wait for me?”
“Of course,” Kade said.
He saw her hurry back to the orphanage and smiled when he saw her pyjamas. She was wearing pink bunny slippers on her feet, and her night shorts were just peeking out from under her big sweater.
“Cute,” he said to himself as she went back inside the front door.
After about ten minutes, he saw the door to the orphanage open, and the blonde girl he knew well skipped down the steps. She was wearing clothes that showed off her creamy skin and made her curvy body look even better.
Her bare legs seemed to go on forever, and he couldn’t help but stare. She wore only a short, Aztec-patterned mini skirt to cover up. When he looked higher, his jaw dropped when he saw the grey long-sleeved crop top that cut low to show off her generous cleavage.
Kade whispered, “F**k me.”
God must be putting him to the test.
“Do I look good?”Isla asked as she slid into the passenger seat. She smoothed her hands over her skirt and fidgeted, showing that she was a little nervous.
“Okay? You look really hot.
Kade’s blunt words almost made her gasp, but she bit her lip before she could. She looked down at her bare thighs and got embarrassed.
“Thanks”
Isla was startled by a sudden ringtone. Kade smiled apologetically and reached for his phone in the middle console. There was a picture of Micah on the screen.
Kade mumbled, “Shit.”
He answered by swiping his finger across the screen, and he spoke before his friend could say anything.
“I know, I know, I’m late. I had to get someone.
He looked over at Isla, who was already looking at him with interest. When she realised she was staring, her eyes got bigger, and she turned her body to look out the window.
“Come on, Kade,” Micah said. “I’ve been waiting here for 30 minutes.” I would have beaten you if I wasn’t about to get laid.
Kade rolled his eyes because he knew that was total bullshit.
“Okay.” I’ll be there in 20 minutes.
He sighed and hung up, then threw his phone into the cupholder without thinking.
“Who was that?””Isla asked.
“Not a single important person.”
Kade reached over her seat and pulled her seatbelt across her chest to buckle her in.
“Are you ready to go?””
Isla nodded, her face turning red from his polite behaviour.
Kade smirked and put his arm behind her seat so he could back out of the parking lot and head to the party.
*************
Kade pulled up to the valet at Luxe nightclub. The loud music and sights were all too familiar. He got out of the car and quickly opened the door for Isla, who looked a lot more nervous than before.
“Thanks, Danny.”
Kade nodded his thanks as he threw the keys to the Range Rover to the middle-aged man.
“Look after her.”
He raised his eyebrows in a serious way as he pointed to his car, even though the worker knew Kade well and knew he was joking.
“Always do”
Danny laughed and shook hands with the tattooed man before getting into the car.
“I’m nervous,” Isla said as they got closer to the entrance. She pressed against his side as they got closer to the loud, crowded building, and her heartbeat was louder than the music.
“Hey, look at me.”
Kade took her aside and raised her chin so that their eyes were locked on each other.
“Just stick with me while we’re in there. You don’t need to worry about anything.
Isla nodded and bit her bottom lip nervously. She believed what Kade was saying—she trusted him. But her body couldn’t help but react to being in a completely new place.
“Okay,” she said, her voice shaking.
“Okay,” Kade said again, this time with a smile Rod.
He took her hand and led her back to the busy crowd. Because he was a VIP member, he was able to skip the long line of people who were waiting to get in.
Isla couldn’t hear herself think anymore when they came in.
The music was so loud that it hurt her ears, and she could feel the bass rumble in her chest. Flashing lights of different colours made the sweat on grinding bodies stand out, as well as the sinful things that happened in dark corners.
Isla held Kade’s shirt tightly as she looked at the new pictures with excitement. A tattooed arm wrapped around her waist, and his lips whispered in her ear.
“Welcome to the party”
“Kade! You bastard!”
Kade rolled his eyes and straightened up when he heard the familiar voice over the music. He turned around to see Micah’s green eyes and quickly looked over the short brunette who was holding onto his arm.
“Didn’t I tell you I was coming?”
Micah drank from his drink and then turned his head towards Isla.
“Who’s this?”
When Kade squeezed Isla’s side a little, she paid attention to the conversation again. She looked up at him in confusion.
“Say hello, pretty girl,” he said softly in her ear.
When Isla realised she was being rude, her mouth made a “o.”
“Hi, I’m Isla. It’s nice to meet you.” She stopped talking because she didn’t know what to call him.
“Micah,” the boy said in a sweet voice.
His arm came free from the brunette, and he didn’t listen to her when she told him to stop. He stepped closer to Isla and leaned down so she could hear him better. He pointed to his empty glass.
“I’ll get a refill.” Do you want anything, sweetheart?”
Isla’s eyes got big when he made his offer, and she stepped back into Kade’s chest to put some space between them.
“Uh, I don’t know—”
“Stop being a f*****g prick, Micah,” Kade snapped. The boy with the curly hair was like this with all the girls he brought around, and most of the time he didn’t mind; in fact, sometimes they even shared.
Isla was different, though.
He thought she was his and his alone. Maybe he was selfish for thinking that, but the thought of another man touching her made him sick to his stomach.
“What’s wrong with you?”Come on, don’t be like that,” Micah said with a laugh.
Kade growled, “I said f**k off.”
Micah got a little more serious when he heard his voice, and the boy with the green eyes stepped back and raised his hands to protect himself.
“Okay, okay, damn.” He gave his boss the middle finger as he walked back.
“Come to the bar and find me when you’re ready.”
Kade gritted his teeth as he watched his friend walk away into the crowd, the short brunette stumbling to catch up with him. Micah was loyal, but he didn’t like some of his friend’s less pleasant traits.
“You two are friends?”Isla asked in surprise. It looked like Kade could barely stand Micah. Wasn’t that what friends were supposed to do?
“It’s not easy.”
Isla was about to say something when Kade took her hand and led her to the stairs.
“Wait, where are we going?”
“Being a member has its perks,” Kade said with a wink as he led her to the VIP lounge.
Kade led Isla up the stairs and told her to stay a few steps ahead of him.
But when she turned a corner, Kade couldn’t see her for a moment. He also couldn’t see the drunk man in his 40s who was coming down at the same time.
The man was swaying as he held onto the railing and went down the steps one at a time.
But when he saw the short blonde girl who he thought was alone and weak, he stopped moving.
“Hey, sweetheart,” the man said with a mischievous look in his bleary eyes.
“Why are you up here all by yourself?”
The man with the bald head and a beer belly that stuck out a little bit reached out to touch Isla’s hair, which was falling down her back in messy waves.
“U-um, I’m actually with someone,” Isla said shakily as she tried to get away from him. But the man was quicker and pulled her close to his swaying body.
Kade turned the corner and was shocked to see this drunkard pushing Isla around. His jaw clenched, but when she screamed, he saw red.
“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
He hit the drunk man’s head against the wall, which made him moan and let Isla go.
Kade quickly picked Isla up and held her close. His face twisted in worry when he heard her sniffle and shake.