Once I have the dress sorted the best I can, I slip into a pair of six-inch heels that were laying on the bed with my outfit. Charlotte and Harley didn’t waste time after I stepped out of my bedroom to usher me out to a waiting Uber. The entire way they kept up a conversation laughing and joking.
When we arrived at the club, there was already a line and I thought I could use it as an excuse to get out of this. Nope, Charlotte walked straight up to the bouncer said a few words and now here we are inside dance music blaring and people everywhere.
Harley tugs on my hand as she pulls me along guiding me to the side of the club where there’s a bunch of tables. The closer we get to the area, my eyes widen at the group standing there.
“What’s going on?” I ask as we get close enough that they can hear me.
“Happy Birthday!” Victoria and several of the other women yell over the music while smiling like the Cheshire Cat who was up to no good. The guys standing behind them throw grins in my direction. Well, all of them but one.
Shadow.
He merely looks as if he’d rather be anywhere but here.
He’s not the only one who feels that way. I want to escape under a rock right now. This is attention I don’t need. Before everything, I would have loved it. I used to love going dancing. Now, not so much.
“Thank you,” I murmur, politely with a forced smile on my face.
“Oh, don’t look so freaked out, Luna,” Tinsley laughs as she steps forward smiling brightly. I’d met her on one of the days Victoria, Raven, and Rachel came by the house to see me. She and her ol’ man, Coyote, just went through their own ordeal a bit ago. I’m not sure what all went down but I know it had to do with Coyote’s son.
“Exactly, oh and don’t think we’re not going to get into the fact you never told us when your birthday was, and we’d missed the last one. However, we’ll be discussing that tomorrow,” Victoria proclaims, her hand on her hip.
I find it eerie how alike her and I look. It’s because of my resemblance to her that I’d been taken in the first place. Maybe I should hold a grudge toward her, but I don’t, it’s not her fault that Parker and Victoria’s mother had kidnapped me.
“Yeah, babe, we’re here to have fun,” Raven states her baby bump becoming more pronounced. Stepping forward she hugs me to her and whispers in my ear. “We wanted you to have a night out. Fun without having to worry about a repeat. So, Luna, babe, let your hair down for once without freaking. Nothing will happen to you today nor tomorrow. Only happy things for you.”
Nodding, I give her a smile in appreciation as she steps back and moves into Blaze’s embrace. I soak in what Raven said and make a quick decision. I can have fun tonight. She’s right, with all the guys here, I can be the old me again. The one who moved on the dance floor.
“Alright, let’s get on that dance floor,” Harley yells, taking me by the hand and dragging me out onto the dance floor.
Guess it’s time to let my hair down and do as Raven stated.
I’m safe. These people are all here as my friends to make sure I enjoy a day I didn’t even tell them about.
My heart is pounding against my chest but not for its normal reason. Nope, it’s pounding against my chest from being out on the dance floor with all the girls. Occasionally, one of the guys would come out, but mainly they’d stayed at the table drinking while watching over their women.
More than once my eyes caught sight of Shadow, though he’d looked bored, his gaze was trained our way. I don’t know if he was watching the other women, all of us, but I like to think he was watching me.
Especially, when Victoria, Raven, and I started dancing against each other. Let’s just say Blaze and Tracker didn’t appreciate the fact other men were seeing the show we’d put on and hauled them back to the table a few minutes ago. I have barely left the dance floor, other than to get a bottle of water.
I know they wanted me to have fun tonight, but that fun isn’t going to involve me drinking. Nope, I’m not taking that chance. Bottled water it is for me.
Finally needing to go to the restroom, I let Charlotte and Harley know and make my way across the dance floor. I catch Victoria’s and Raven’s eye and point in the direction of the restrooms as I head that way. When they nod, I make my way down the hall and into the ladies’ room.
I’m just finishing up and standing up to straighten my dress up when the door opens and laughing women step in.
“Did you see her out there?” One of them says.
“Oh, I saw her,” another cackles.
“It was pathetic,” a third voice states.
“More like gross. I mean, did you see how she was dancing with those two chicks that came in with the hotties from that club? She must be a lesbian,” the first woman snickers.
Oh God, they’re talking about me.
“I saw and I felt like I needed to bleach my eyes out. I mean seriously. What do those men see in women like them. Give me a chance at one of them, especially the dark haired broody one that came up to the bar near us. I don’t know why he’s kept
