Figure Eight (Celtic Knot Book 2) (10 page)

Great. Just fucking great
.

This day had to go down in history as one of the worst birthdays on record. I brought my knees to the floor and tried to pick up all of the items I had spilled, when I noticed a rather large set of feet approach me. I looked up to find Rownan chuckling before he bent down to help me.

“Either you have a severe case of butter fingers, or you just really enjoy picking things up off of the floor.”

I couldn’t stop my laugh. It felt nice to be humored, when inside, I was feeling desolate.

“My strap broke on my bag,” I explained to him. I looked over to find Rownan with the card in his hand that Kelly had left for me this morning. He opened it to reveal the happy birthday message that Kelly had wrote.

“Is this old, or recent?” he asked as he extended the card back to me.

“Oh, uh, it is recent. This morning in fact.” I said as I grabbed the card from him and put it back into my purse along with my other belongings.

“It’s your birthday?” he asked with a wide toothy grin. Tiny dimples formed in the sides of his cheeks each time he smiled and it made him look sexy. Dangerously sexy.

“Uh, yeah. I am twenty-six today,” I said nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal.

“Got big plans for this evening then?” he asked as he helped me to my feet.

“If big plans include going home and watching TV or reading a book, then yes.” I chuckled slightly.

“Oh, no, no, no. We cannot have that, love. You need to celebrate. I’m taking you out.”

“Oh, no Rownan, that’s ok, really. I am completely fine with a bag of popcorn and a cheesy movie,” I responded.

“Well, I am not. You are going out. I’ll be by your place at eight. Be ready.”

Not giving me a chance to refuse, he turned and walked out of the studio. There was the dominant Rownan that I hadn’t seen before. I shrugged inwardly. What harm would it do to go out and have some fun?

It was my birthday after all.

Rownan showed up right at eight on the dot. I answered the door wearing a three-quarter length sleeve peasant dress that hit me mid-thigh. It was sky blue and the back was made of a soft crochet material. I paired it with my comfy cowboy boots and gold bangle earrings. My hair was in a side ponytail that let waves cascade down my right shoulder. Rownan was wearing a black dress shirt and black slacks. The spicy scent of his cologne filled the air around me and I had to stop myself from taking a deep inhale.

“Hello, birthday girl. Are you ready for some fun?” I smiled at how excited he looked. It was a relief to be able to take a break from my reality even if for only a few hours.

Rownan drove us downtown to a club called Intentions. At first, I was nervous because it was extremely close to Dominic’s apartment. But after finding refuge inside, I felt better about being in the area. The interior of the club was amazing. It was decorated in almost every purple color you could think of. Purple walls, purple chandeliers, even the floor was purple. Lights flashed all over the dance floor on the lower level as music pulsed through the speakers. The floor vibrated through my boots with each step we took.

Rownan led me over to the bar where he signaled to the bartender. Even though the tall, muscular guy was busy, he dropped everything when he saw Rownan.

“Rownan, my man! What brings you in here?” he said as they gave each other a bro code handshake.

“Jake, good to see you, mate. It is my friend Ashley’s birthday and we are celebrating her glorious years here on this earth. I think she needs a shot,” he said as he looked down at me and smiled mischievously. His infectious grin made my own mouth twitch up at the corners. The last few days have been some of the most horrible in my life. I didn’t think that I would be able to trust again after Jared’s infidelity, and then I met Dominic, who no holds barred, completely captivated my heart and soul. I have never fallen for someone as fast as I had with him, and to be without him now was pure torture. I was so thankful for Rownan bringing me out tonight. Maybe I could have a bit of fun, even if for one night, and eradicate Dominic from my memory for a few hours.

“What is your poison, love?” Rownan asked me as he leaned in to reach my ear. The loud music that bounced off of the walls of the club made it difficult to hear even though we were already extremely close. I pondered his question for a moment. The honest answer would have been
Dominic is my poison
, but since Rownan was referencing the libation variety of poison, I had to go with my second most honest answer.

“Whiskey, neat,” I answered with authority in my voice.

“Damn, your girl has balls, Ro. That is my kind of woman,” Jake the bartender said as he winked at me and went about pouring my shot.

“Make it two, mate,” Rownan said holding up two fingers. When Jake sat the amber liquid in front of us, Rownan and I, each picked up the tiny glasses and held them in front of us.

“Happy birthday, gorgeous girl. May your days be better than the ones before, and your next year be plenty to celebrate. Cheers, love.” We clinked our glasses together before tipping the shots back. I welcomed the burn of the whiskey as it coated my throat and settled warm in my belly. I closed my eyes, licked my lips, and savored the sweet flavor of the liquor before I opened my eyes. I was surprised to meet the heated stare of Rownan after appreciating and welcoming my shot. Heat rose in my cheeks as the corner of his mouth turned up in a devilish smile.

“How about one more and we hit the dance floor, eh? I can show you my mad skills,” he smiled. I smiled in return before nodding my head and Rownan signaled to Jake for another round. After taking our shots, and the effects of the alcohol started to seep in, I allowed Rownan to lead me to the dance floor where I decided to let everything go. I took all thoughts of Dominic, Knox, Kelly, and even Asher and Drake, and bid bon voyage to them and allowed myself to live in the moment, even if it would only last for the night.

The club was packed by the time that Knox, Victoria, Toby and I arrived. My thoughts were centered on getting my ass to the bar as fast as I could in order to start wiping away the memories and thoughts about Ashley that were driving me insane.

I pushed my way through the throes of people, not even caring if my friends were behind me or not. I was a man on a mission, a mission to abolish all thoughts of my situation from my mind, even if it meant that I have to inebriate myself to do so. Knox, Vic, and Toby caught up with me just as the bartender, and my friend, Jake, made his way over. Reaching out my hand, our firm grips collided as we greeted each other.

“Nic, good to see you, man. What can I get for you?” he asked as he reached into the cooler in front of him to retrieve two bottles of beer and popping the top off with a bottle cap key.

“I need something strong and punishing.” I admitted as I tapped my fingers on the hard wood of the bar. I looked back at Knox, Toby, and Victoria before suggesting, “A round of tequila?” They all nodded, and I instructed Jake to give us eight shots. I needed the foggy effect of the alcohol to course through my veins.

“We also want one of the VIP rooms upstairs,” I requested.

“You got it, man.”

Knox had his phone whipped out and was punching a text out in rapid pace. He caught me staring at him and quickly put the phone back into his pocket. Leaning in, he yelled so that I could hear him through the deafening tone of the music.

“Kelly is going to join us as soon as she finishes her event at that new restaurant down the road that is if you are ok with that. I know with everything that is going on you probably don’t…”

I pulled away before he had the chance to finish his sentence and held my hands up in surrender.

“It is ok, Knox. I know you like her. Just because she is Ashley’s best friend, I am not going to stop you two from seeing each other. Hell, maybe she can give me some insight on why the fuck her friend did this to us,” I replied.

I grabbed two of the shots of tequila that Jake had placed in front of us and tossed them back one after the other. The singe of heat coated my throat and I reached for one more shot and tossed it back just as quick.

“Whoa, Nic, if you are on a mission to get plastered tonight, then so be it, but I am not cleaning up if you purge it all later. Note it, man.” He said in a false sense of seriousness.

“Duly noted, Knox.” I replied with a chuckle.

After Vic, Toby and Knox took their shots, I grabbed the key that Jake handed me and we made our way up stairs to the VIP room. The music dulled to a low roar as we all entered the purple room. Huge, plush sectional couches were lined along the walls with one of them being completely made of glass that faced the dance floor below. There was a personal bar, complete with bartender in the room, so we had no need to go down to the first level, unless we needed the restroom. VIP privileges provided us with two servers as well to be at our beck and call.

I walked to the bar and ordered a whiskey on the rocks. I did want to be able to somewhat enjoy this time out with my friends, and decided to slow down on drinking, although my mission was to still get shit faced. After the bartender handed me my drink, I walked over to the glass wall to look down upon the dance floor below. Knox, Victoria, and Toby sat down on one of the sectionals and ordered a few pitchers of beer from the server. I leaned my forehead on the wall and closed my eyes, welcoming the coolness of the glass on my flesh. After a few deep breaths, I opened my eyes and leaned back to take a sip from my whiskey, only I paused before the glass made contact with my lips when something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye.

I did a double take just to be sure what I saw was real or not. My blood began to boil and my heart beated frantically. Sweat started to form on my brow and the back of my neck. I felt my body temperature rise with each sharp intake of breath as my eyes focused in on the couple dancing below me.

“Son of a fucking bitch!” I roared as I continued to look down and watch Ashley on the dance floor...with Rownan fucking Kleinfield.