“Great.” Dani’s gaze falls on me again. “Get your things, and I’ll wait for you in the parking lot. We have to go now.”
“But . . .” I protest feebly to no avail. A few minutes later, I jump into Dani’s car, clutching my small backpack. I can’t believe it. She busted me out.
“I’m supercool. I know,” she says.
“Gabriel? Really? I thought redheads weren’t your type.”
“Ed Sheeran changed my mind.”
“What did you do?”
“I promised to accept an invitation to go out.”
“You can’t go through life using your looks to get your way.”
“Of course I can.”
I snort. “Where are we going?”
“Insomnia, of course.”
My eyes widen in surprise. Insomnia is the most popular club in town, and Dani’s favorite place to go on Friday nights. I’ve never been there because you have to be twenty-one to get in. And I’m only eighteen, which Dani seems to have completely forgotten.
“I don’t know if you forgot but I’m eighteen. And, you don’t really expect me to go smelling like French fries and looking like this, do you?”
“One, I’m eighteen too. Two, you’ll change at my house.”
“So you can lend me one of those dresses where you can see right down to my soul? I’ll pass.”
Dani bursts out laughing. “You are so dramatic. It’s not a crime to show your knees, Raquel.”
“For your information, in some parts of the world it is.”
“We are not in some parts of the world.”
“Green,” I tell her when I see the traffic light turn green. Dani is easily distracted while driving.
“Relax, we only have two weeks of summer left, and you’ve done nothing but work.”
“Fine, but I won’t spend a penny.”
“That’s not a problem.”
“Of course, I forgot your ability to get what you want.”
Dani puts her sunglasses on top of her head and winks at me. “Oh yes. Now.” She parks one house away from hers. “Time to get beautiful.”
Once we get to her house, I watch her walk past the front door and go to her bedroom window. “Dani?”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you that my parents don’t know about my nights out, so we have to sneak in and out.”
This girl is incredible.
What feels like an eternity later but was actually only an hour, we arrive at Insomnia, and somehow we’re able to get in despite being underage. Dani lent me a tight, black dress that fits my body perfectly. Even though she’s more voluptuous than I am, the dress is molded to my silhouette, as if it had been mine to begin with. It doesn’t go all the way to my knees, landing about midthigh, but I feel like I can move around and still stay covered.
The first thing I notice is that not everyone else can get in. The admission line is really long, and there are a lot of people that the doormen send away. Now that I’m inside, I understand why. This is not just any club. It’s chic and modern and very upscale. There are colored lights and moving effects all around us. The dance floor is wide and full of couples. The place is vibrating with music—I’m vibrating with it—and it’s impossible to hear anything else. How are people supposed to communicate in places like this? As if Dani hears my thoughts, she comes closer to me.
“I’m going to get us something to drink!” she shouts in my ear and then disappears.
Shaking my head, I take my time to inspect my surroundings. There are lots of pretty, well-dressed girls here. I was expecting something like this because Dani doesn’t go just anywhere. Her family has money, sure, not in an exaggerated way like Ares’s family, but they live well. So it’s only natural that the places Dani frequents are classy and impressive. There are some very handsome guys here too.
However, they’re nothing like my Ares.
My Ares?
I’ve already appropriated him without his consent.
Scanning the place, I notice that there’s a second floor with tables overlooking the dance floor, and it’s at that moment that my eyes meet the pair of deep blue eyes that haunt my days and nights.
Ares.
My unrequited love is sitting there, looking beautiful as usual. He’s wearing black pants, black shoes, and a gray shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He’s playing with the piercing in his lip, and his black hair is in that perfect messy style that only looks good on him. Unconsciously, I move toward him, like metal toward a magnet. His eyes have me trapped, and I’m under his spell. It’s not until I meet the security guard in front of the staircase that leads to my prince charming that I wake up from my trance.
“This is a VIP area, Miss,” the guard says to me firmly. Ares smirks down at me from on high, all mighty and arrogant.
I look away from Ares and shake my head to clear it. “Oh, I-I, he . . . I thought we could all go up there.”
“No, access reserved.” The guard makes a gesture for me to go away.
Of course, the self-important Ares is in the VIP area, I think. He’s too special to mix with the sweat and pheromones of the common people dancing down here.
Reluctantly, I go back the way I came and meet Dani on the way.
“I thought I wouldn’t find you!” she screams in my ear and hands me a fluorescent pink drink.
“What is this?”
“It’s called Orgasm! You have to try it!”
A drink called Orgasm. . . .
Even a drink has had more sex than me.
Slowly, I inspect the small glass from all sides. I sniff it and the smell is so strong. My nose becomes irritated, and I sneeze. Dani downs hers in one gulp, leaving me stunned. She encourages me to drink and for some reason my eyes travel to that little VIP area. Ares raises a glass with what looks like whiskey in it, as if making a toast with me and then takes a sip.
Are you challenging me, Greek God?
In one gulp, I drain the glass, and the bittersweet liquid slides down my throat, setting everything in its path on fire.
This definitely doesn’t feel like an orgasm!
When I cough, Dani pats me on the back. We head to the bar, where Dani hands me two more drinks. I dumbly think it’s one for me and one for her, but no, they’re both for me. Five drinks later, Dani takes me to the dance floor, and I have too much alcohol in my system to care.
“Let’s dance!” she encourages as we make our way through the mass of people.
It feels good to be so spontaneous and not to feel embarrassed. Oh, the advantages of alcohol. Everything around me is colorful and the music reverberates throughout my body as I dance and dance and dance. Out of curiosity, I glance up at the stupid royalty sitting in the VIP section. He’s staring at me like a hawk watching from the heights for its prey.
Can’t he stop looking at me? Or does he like what he sees?
Don’t be delusional, Raquel, he clearly told you he doesn’t like you.
Then why is he looking at me?
I feel the urge to show off to him.
I’ll give you something to look at, Greek God.
I begin to dance slowly, moving my hips to the rhythm of the music. Running my hands through my long hair and then down the sides of my breasts, my waist, my hips, I reach the end of my dress and play with the hem, lifting it a little. Even from this distance, I can see Ares’s eyes darken, and he brings his glass to his lips. Those lips that licked my neck and thighs, leaving me wanting more. Ares has teased me twice, and it’s about time he gets what he deserves.
I’ll prove to him that I don’t forget anything, and that even a Greek god can have a taste of his own medicine.
Seductive Raquel mode: activated.
EIGHT
The Candle Room
With so much alcohol in my veins, it’s very hard to focus on being sensual.
I have to try anyway. I need to get revenge on Ares. He’s played with me twice already, and he can’t go through life inciting innocent souls like mine and leaving them wanting.
Innocent souls . . .