The One Left Behind (The One Series) (34 page)

“Although I think you look delectable in a towel, you better hurry up and get dressed before the limo gets here,” he says.

“I can’t decide what I want to wear.” I move over to our walk in closet and grab two dresses. I hold up a strapless dress that has a sweetheart neck. It is purple on the bust and black from the waist down. The length of the dress stops just above my knee and hugs my curves. The second option is a one shoulder dress that is figure hugging with purple on the top and blue on the bottom.

Pierce’s eyes lock on the first dress. “The purple and black one, definitely.”

I hang the one shoulder dress back up and put the other one on. I pull it up and turn my back to Pierce. “Would you mind zipping me up?” I feel his hand grab the zipper and as it makes its way up, he pushes my hair to the side of my shoulder running his fingertips ever so gently across my upper back. The sensation sends gooseflesh across my skin and I shiver involuntarily. I can feel his breath on my neck as the zipper reaches the top. Once Pierce lets go, he places a long, gentle kiss on the back of my neck. I lean my head back against his chest and close my eyes as he wraps his arm around my waist.

“If you start doing things like that to me we will never be ready by the time the limo gets here,” I say as I become increasingly aware of every inch of his body that is making contact with mine.

“Well, with you wearing a dress like that it’s going to be hard not to.” Pierce says as his hands slide their way down my body.

I grab his hands and still them. “You picked the dress. I can always change into the other one if this one is too distracting.”

“No, keep it on. All night when I’m running my hands over your body while we’re dancing, my mind will be counting down the minutes until I get to take this off you,” he whispers in my ear.

“Had I known the affect this dress would have on you, I would’ve worn this on our first date. After all, this is the dress Morgan and I found when we went shopping for that occasion.”

“If you wore that on our first date, we wouldn’t have made it out the door.” I see the lustful expression on his face through the mirror and I know if I don’t move away from him soon I won’t want to leave the house.

I turn in his arms to face him and Pierce leans in to kiss me. He embraces me around the waist and picks me up. Before this can go any further and get out of hand, the doorbell rings. “Ah, saved by the bell,” I say laughing at the scowl on Pierce’s face.

“For now.” Pierce says with a sexy smile that holds all kinds of promises of what’s to come later tonight.

We walk out the door to meet the limo driver who has the door held open. When I enter I see Colby and Damon are already in it.

“Happy birthday, bestie!” I say to Colby as I give her a hug in the car. Pierce and Damon do a man shake and then he gives Colby a hug wishing her a happy birthday before he hands her a gift.

“Oh, presents!” Colby says excitedly and begins to open up the envelope that has her card in it. In typical Colby mode, she throws the card to the side and takes out the two passes in it. “Shut up! Sky diving?! Damon, they bought me two passes for sky diving! We’re going sky diving!” Colby jumps across the limo and gives Pierce and me a hug while squealing like a teenage girl who just had a boy tell her he likes her. “This is so fucking cool! I love it! I was so jealous when I saw your pictures and I’ve wanted to go ever since! Thank you so much.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Damon says with much less enthusiasm than Colby. “Looks like I’ll be facing my fear of heights.” Damon shifts in his seat uncomfortably and nervously scratches his eyebrow.

“Oh, get over it. If Addy can do it so can you. Man up!” Pierce slaps Damon on the back and squeezes his shoulder while chuckling at the sudden paleness of Damon’s face. “You will be fine and if you freeze up there, I’m sure Colby won’t mind pushing you out,” Pierce jokes.

The limo pulls up to Morgan and Jeremy’s building. As soon as the driver opens the door everyone can hear them bickering yet again.

“I knew we were going to be late. I hate being rushed out the door,” Jeremy gripes.

“This time was not my fault. You cannot blame me for your lack of self-control.” Morgan says as she glares at Jeremy and pulls down her dress.

I don’t understand how two people can bicker so much. I’m sure it doesn’t help that they live in the same building. I’m glad Pierce and I never bicker like that. It makes me wonder if Colin and I ever fought or if we had an easygoing relationship. It’s hard to imagine how it would’ve been given how rocky things have been since the accident. I look back up at Morgan to take my mind off of these thoughts, and notice her hair is a little out of place and it isn’t like her to be disheveled. Her hair? Her dress?

“Lover’s quarrel?” Damon asks and Colby smacks him in the back of the head.

“They can’t even stand to be in the same room with each other for five seconds, let alone be civil long enough for clothes to come off,” Colby informs Damon.

Morgan shoots Jeremy the evil eye.

“Relax everyone. I had a lady friend over and when Morgan helped herself into my place without knocking,” Jeremy looks at Morgan with a smug look on his face, “which is rude by the way—the girl thought Morgan was a girlfriend or something. Whatever she thought, my friend didn’t like it and tried to take a swing at Morgan. It was quite funny actually.” Jeremy leans back and starts chuckling seeming very proud of himself.

Colby and I laugh and stop as soon as we see Morgan giving us all a death stare.

“I need a drink. Please tell me there’s alcohol in this limo,” Morgan says clearly flustered as she tosses her purse onto the seat.

As if Pierce knew Morgan would need one, he has one ready and hands it to her.

The guys are in conversation when Colby interrupts them. “Hey Jeremy, I thought Colin was coming?”

“He is. He’s just going to meet us there. Work stuff.” Jeremy shrugs his shoulders and goes back into his conversation with the guys.

The club is packed. We have to squeeze our way through part of the dance floor to get access to the stairs that lead to the VIP area which has its own dance floor, bar, and bathrooms. The area overlooks the main dance floor letting us take in all the craziness that’s happening below.

The music is flowing right along with the drinks. Pierce had given his card to the server and told him all drinks were on him. Everyone insisted on splitting the bill, but Pierce wouldn’t have it. I spend the night dancing with Pierce and as the alcohol flows so does my body. I’ve slow danced with him before, but not fast paced like tonight, and I’m not surprised by how well he moves. He has a natural rhythm and confidence that exudes from him, making me feel bold enough to let loose. With both hands placed firmly on my hips, he leads us across the dance floor. With each song we dance to, he always pulls me flush against his body so that not an inch separates us while staring intently into my eyes. Having my body so close to Pierce and feeling him rub up against me is turning me on. The way his body connects with mine feels intimate and like we’re the only two people on the dance floor. I’m not sure how long we’ve been here, but I see Colin arrive at our table. When he sees me looking at him, he strides toward our direction. Colin stands beside us so that he can look at us both. Pierce says hello and greets him with a handshake. His jaw is a little tight but I commend him for being the bigger person and not giving Colin a bunch of shit. Colin gives me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Hey, mind if I steal a dance with Addison?” he asks Pierce.

“Not at all, man. I’m going to order some drinks. Want one?”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind I’ll take whatever you’re having,” Colin replies.

“A bay breeze and two whiskeys coming right up.” Pierce kisses me before he leaves to grab us some drinks. I look back at Colin and see his jaw ticking.

As the new song starts. Colin and I start dancing. We dance so easily together and for the first time I feel comfortable around him. I don’t know if it’s the alcohol or the fact that Pierce is here with me, but I can definitely tell we’re on our way to becoming friends. I see the shift in our friendship and that we’re finally moving past the awkward stage we have been stuck in. I notice something catch Colin’s eye when he begins to laugh. “Wow, you guys must have started drinking early if that’s happening,” he says as he nods toward the corner behind me. I turn my head to see what Colin is talking about and can’t believe my eyes. Jeremy and Morgan are actually being civilized. Actually, they’re being more than civilized as they grind all up on each other.

“I’m going to have to make a mental note to take a photo and show it to her tomorrow. She will never believe me if I tell her she was dancing on him like that.”

We both laugh and continue to dance.

AS WE’RE DANCING, there’s a certain peace that settles over us. She’s less tense and I can feel that she’s more comfortable around me. That’s a nice feeling since I’m a little less on edge with her as well.

“Are you having fun?” I ask her.

“Yeah,” she giggles. I can tell she’s obviously had a good head start on the drinking thing. Good thing they got the limo. She wouldn’t be able to drive home. “How about you?”

I think about my answer for a second. Am I having fun? For the first time I can say, “Yes. I just got here, but so far it’s been cool.” She smiles at me so I grin back.

“I’m glad you came tonight. It’s nice to have everyone here together celebrating. Don’t you agree?”

“Yeah, kind of feels like old times.” I’m a little saddened by my statement, but it’s almost a bitter sweet thing. Of course I’m sad that she’s here with another guy who she is obviously crazy about, but I’m glad that she’s still in my life and we can all hang out like we used to. She gets quiet on me and I’m afraid I’ve upset her with my comment. “Hey, I didn’t say that to bring all the other crap up. I just meant that it’s nice that we can all hang out and have fun. We haven’t done this in a long time.” She relaxes again and I’m glad I put her at ease. The song ends and I pull away. Pierce is waiting behind me to step back in.

“Thanks for the dance. I’ll hand you back over to Pierce now.”

“Thanks, Colin.” She smiles at me again and it helps heal my heart just a little more.

I walk by Pierce and pat him on the back. “Your whiskey is over there on the table,” he says to me.

“Thanks, man.”

I walk over to the table and grab my drink. I look over at Jeremy and Morgan and have to laugh because they’re arguing…again. I swear they should be on a soap opera show or something. I can sense that something is up between them and I’m going to pester Jeremy until he spills.

There’s not really a whole lot going on for me up in the VIP lounge. Everyone is clearly coupled up and I’m kind of the odd man out. So I make my way down to the lower level to mingle a little. I see a few girls that catch my eye dancing alone. I’m not looking to get laid or anything, I just want to be social, something I haven’t been for a while. Charlotte is the first person I’ve really talked to outside my circle of friends, and it’s been very nice. On nights we’re both working late we take turns bringing each other take out. Once we’re done eating we work in a comfortable silence.

I scan the dance floor and see a redhead locking eyes with me. I go over and ask if she wants to dance. We don’t do much talking since the music is insanely loud, but I did catch that her name was Cindy. She had a nice smile but had this ‘I’m so dumb I must be cute’ thing going on. Very unattractive. After the song is over I excuse myself for fear of losing brain cells.

I walk around and dance with a few other girls. They’re nice and friendly and help me loosen up a little more. It’s been a while since I’ve been a single guy, so I almost don’t know how to act in these situations. I’m definitely not looking for any type of relationship— physical or otherwise. I’m just not ready yet, but this is a nice start and makes me feel like I can breathe. The suffocating depression is slowly slipping away and I’m finally able to enjoy myself.

I go to the bar to order another round of drinks for everyone. I’m sure they’re getting empty by now. As I’m waiting, a beautiful blonde comes up next to me. “Hey, I saw you dancing out there. You’ve got some moves,” she says with a flirty smile. I swear to you I almost blush.

“You mean you saw me awkwardly move around a girl?” She starts to laugh so I grin at her looking down at the bar.

“No, I’m serious. You’re a good dancer. It’s hard to find a guy who can carry himself on the dance floor. I was impressed.” She holds out her hand, “I’m Rebecca by the way.”

I shake her hand. “I’m Colin, nice to meet you.”

We start talking about nothing of real importance. We’re just two random people striking up really random conversation. I find myself taking pleasure in her company so when my drinks are set in front of me, I ask a waitress to bring them up to my friends. I’m not taking things any farther than this bar with Rebecca, but for the first time since the accident I’m having fun and able to let loose a little while enjoying the company of another woman. It feels good to be moving on.