Girls'' Night


    The shot of tequ burns as it goes down my throat.


    Nikki squeals from beside me and the both of us grimace. I lost count of the shots, but it is way more than I am used to and it''s starting to make me feel a bit wheezy.


    She leans toward the mirror, applying more blush on the apple of her cheeks. We''re sitting side by side on the floor, our knees knocking together as we do our makeup in her


    room.


    "Happy birthday to youuuuuuu," I start, iling my arms around.


    Nikkiughs, throwing her head back.


    "Happy birthday to youuuuuu." I swipe my brush across my eyelid.


    Nikki shakes her head. "You sound terrible."


    I shoot her a shocked look. "Excuse me?"


    "You''re so off key, but that''s fine with me. You can keep singing."


    She keeps giggling as I belt out the end of a slurred version of "Happy Birthday".


    There''s a warmth inside me, spreading with every second, and it also spreads up to my


    head. My limbs feel looser and my mind is pleasantly fuzzy. Not too much, but just enough that everything feels funnier, a little easier, a little more electric.


    When Nikki finishes her winged eyeliner, she serves us another shot and I take it. We finish our makeup and then we change into our dresses and heels.


    We''re standing quietly in front of her mirror, looking at ourselves. Nikki is wearing a sexy number, a red dress that hugs her curves perfectly and matches her bold lips. I''m wearing a little ck dress, hoping not to upstage the birthday girl.


    A wide smile spreads on Nikki''s lips. "Damn, we look hot."


    I take in the sight of us, and run my hands down my waist. "Yeah."


    Nikki blows out a steady stream of air. "We''ve had enough to drink, right? We can''t get


    theads them, so we gotta make sure we''re good."


    think about it for a second, feeling my body spin a bit. We''ll be out for a bit, so I shrug.


    She smiles wide and fills the sses, raising them toward me. "To a night we won''t


    "To a night we won''t regret," I say,ughing as we clink our sses and down another


    round


    Aikki hisses. "Well, we might regret the hangovers tomorrow."


    1 blink. "No, no, no talk of that. We''re celebrating tonight!"


    I grab my phone, ordering a car for us, "Okay, car''s on its way!"


    We grab our tiny purses and make our way downstairs, stillughing, still a little wobbly from the tequ. We have to hold on to the railings so we don''t miss a step and it''s so funny to us, we can''t stopughing.


    When we walk into the living room, we stay quiet. Parker, Zaid and Aiden are sprawled out on the couches, controllers in hand andpletely focused on their game.


    Parker is the first one to turn toward us. He pauses the game and whistles low.


    Zaid and Aiden turn. The shift is immediate, eyes darkening, the gamepletely forgotten.


    Parker pushes himself off the couch to grab Nikki by the waist and pulls her into a kiss. She melts into it, smug and pleased, while I make my way to the couch, throwing myself onto Zaid''sp with a dramatic sigh, stretching my legs out across Aiden''s,


    Zaid''s hands automaticallynd on my waist, his fingers spreading across the fabric of my dress, his grip tightening slightly. He touches the skin of my thigh and I giggle at him.


    Aiden''s eyes are fixed on me, drinking in my legs, my makeup, my hair. "Feels like we should be going with you."


    "Nope." Nikki pops the p as she peels herself away from Parker''s lips. "Girls'' night. Plus, my other friends are single, so it wouldn''t be fair."


    Girls'' Night


    The guys groan in protest.


    Zaid''s hand slips lower as if that''ll convince me to stay.


    Iugh, shifting in hisp so I can straddle him, pressing my lips to his in a slow, deep kiss. The tequ makes me bolder, the way his fingers tighten in response makes me feel like I''m on top of the world.


    When I finally pull away, Aiden is watching, eyes hooded, lips twitching.


    So, of course, I crawl off of Zaid''sp and set myself on him, brushing my lips over his, teasing, before deepening it. Aiden groans against my mouth, his hand sliding up my thigh.


    "Jesus Christ," Parker mutters.


    The sound of my phone buzzing again has me pulling away. I nce at the screen. "Our ride''s here."


    I stand, about to walk away, when Zaid''s hand mps around my waist, halting


    me before I can move. "Be careful."


    I grin, pecking his lips onest time before walking away. "Always."


    Nikki and I climb into the car, and the second we shut the door, she startsughing.


    "What?" I look at her, alsoughing because it''s contagious and anything could make meugh at this point.


    "That was so hot," she whispers.


    I snort.


    "I mean, both of them kissing on you like that? Damn. I''m kinda jealous."


    That makes meugh louder, heat in my face. "Yeah, it feels good to be with them."


    We spend the rest of the ride giggling and talking about how hot we find our guys. When we arrive at the club, the music is thumping out into the street. Nikki''s friends are waiting for us and we all hug like we''ve known each other for years.


    Girls'' Night


    We only have to wait in line for a few minutes and then we are dancing. Alcohol buzzes in our veins and weugh. The night is fun, light and everything it should


    be.


    Soon, we''ve made friends with a dozen other girls and we''ve formed a protective group. Nikki''s friends start dancing with other guys and we''re dancing with each other.


    It feels good to be free.


    "I need some water," I yell over the music, leaning into Nikki''s ear.


    She nods at me, giving me a thumbs up.


    I walk away, smiling as I stumble toward the bar. I manage to get the bartenders''


    attention and ask for some water. She sets it in front of me and I take a long,


    cooling sip.


    "Alina Hanson?"


    I almost spit the water from my mouth when I look up. I blink, confusion spreading through me. "Mr. Admas?"